Zusammenfassung der Ressource
Operating Systems
- Description
- A computer will not run without an operating system, as it is the program that controls the running of the computer
- When a PC is switched on, the first
thing that happens is that the
operating system is loaded into
memory usually from the hard-drive.
The computer is designed with a
small amount of software on a ROM
chip, which allows the computer to
find the main part of the operating
system
- This process is called booting
- An operating system can carry out the following functions
- It loads and runs programs
- It maximises the use of memory (RAM)
- It handles inputs and outputs
- If interuptions occur, then it handles them
- It maintains the security of the system
- Applications software is specific to a certain operating system and so cannot run under
another one. For example, a Windows program could not run under a UNIX or Linux
operating system