Chapter 8

Operating Systems and

Utility Programs
By: James Granahan
Objectives
• Identify the types of system software
• Summarize the startup process
• Describe the function of an operating system
• Discuss ways that some operating systems help
• Explain the purpose of the utilities included with most
operating systems
• Summarize the features of several stand-alone
operating systems
• Identify devices that use operating systems
• Explain the purpose of several stand-alone utility
programs
 System Software
• System software consists of the programs that
control or maintain the operations of the computer
and its devices.
• System software serves as the interface between the
user, the application software, and the computer’s
hardware.
 Operating Systems
• An operating system • In most cases, the
(OS) is a set of operating system is
programs containing installed and resides
instructions that on the computer’s
coordinate all the hard disk.
activities among
computer hardware
resources.
Some Functions of an Operating System
• Starting a Computer
– Booting is the process of starting or
restarting a computer.
• Cold Boot
• Warm Boot
 Recovery Disk
• A boot drive is the drive from which
your personal computer boots (starts).
– In most cases, the C drive is the boot
drive.
• A recovery disk, also called a boot disk,
is a floppy, Zip disk, CD, or DVD that
contains a few system files that will
start that computer.
 Providing a User Interface
• Command-Line Interface
– A user types commands or presses special
keys on the keyboard to enter data and
instructions.
• Menu-Driven Interface
– Provides menus as a means of entering
commands.
• Graphical User Interface (GUI)
 Managing Programs
• Single user/single tasking operating
system
• Single user/ multitasking operating
system
– Foreground
– Background
 Managing Memory
• The purpose of a
memory manager is to
optimize the use of
random access memory.
• Virtual memory is a
portion of a storage
medium that the
operating system
allocates to function as
additional RAM.
 Scheduling Jobs
• Job
• Buffer
• Spooling
• Queue
 Configuring Devices
• A driver, short for • Plug and Play is
device driver, is a when the operating
small program that system
tells the operating automatically
system how to configures new
communicate with a devices as you
specific device. install them.
 Monitoring Performance
• A performance monitor is a program
that assesses and reports information
about various computer resources and
devices.
• A network operating system, or network
OS, is an operating system that
organizes and coordinates how multiple
users access and share resources on a
network.
 Security
• Log on
– Accessing a computer or a network
• User name or User ID
– A unique combination of characters that
identifies one specific user.
• Password
– A private combination of characters
associated with the user name that allows
access to certain computer resources.
 Operating Systems
• File Manager • Image Viewer
– A utility that – A utility that allows
performs functions users to display and
related to file copy the contents of
management. a graphics file.
 Types of Operating Systems
• Stand-alone
– Examples- DOS, UNIX, and Linux
• Network
– Examples- NetWare, Windows Server 2003,
and Solaris
• Embedded
– Examples- Windows CE.NET, and Palm OS
 Examples of Stand-Alone Operating
Systems
• DOS
– Refers to several single user operating systems
developed in the early 1980s for personal
computers.
• Windows XP
– It is Microsoft's fastest, most reliable Windows
operating system.
– It also has three editions- Windows XP Home
Edition, Windows XP Professional, and Windows
XP Tablet PC Edition.
 Stand-Alone Operating Systems
• A stand-alone operating system is a
complete operating system that works
on a desktop computer, notebook
computer, or mobile computing device.
• Some stand-alone operating systems
are called client operating systems.
 Examples continued
• Mac OS X
– It is a multitasking operating system available only
for computers manufactured by Apple.
• OS/2 Warp Client
• Unix
• Linux
– It is a popular multitasking UNIX—type operating
system.
 Network Operating Systems
• Netware • Linux
• Windows Server • Solaris
2003 – It is a version of
– It is an upgrade of UNIX developed by
Windows 2000 Sun Microsystems.
Server.
• OS/2 Warp Server
for e-business
• UNIX
 Embedded Operating Systems
• Windows CE.NET
• Pocket PC 2002
• Palm OS
• Symbian OS
 Stand-Alone Utility Programs
• Antivirus Programs • Personal Firewalls
– Protects a computer – A personal firewall is
against viruses by a utility program that
identifying and detects and protects
removing any a personal computer
computer viruses from unauthorized
found in memory, on intrusions.
storage media, or on
incoming files.
 Summary
• This chapter defined an operating
system and then discussed the
functions common to most operating
systems. It also introduced several
utility programs that are commonly
found in operating systems. Finally, it
talked about stand-alone utility
programs and their applications.