Chapter 2 Introducing Operating Systems

Transcription

1 Chapter 2 Introducing Operating Systems Name: Reviewing the Basics: 1. List the four major functions of an Operating System: 2. Which OS is only used on Apple Macintosh computers? 3. Which OS often used for server applications is a scaled down version of Unix? 4. List the various versions of the Microsoft OS that followed Windows 3.1. e. f. g. h. i. 5. Which Microsoft OS s support 16-bit or 32 bit device drivers? 6. List 3 keystroke shortcuts and tell how they might be useful. 7. List three types of information that are kept in the Windows Registry.

2 8. How many ways can you describe to launch an application from the desktop? (use the back of the paper if needed to answer) 9. List five commands you can enter in the Run dialog box to launch a Windows Utility program and describe what they do. e. 10. What is the name of the file used by Windows to hold data and instructions in virtual memory? 11. What is Boot Camp? Why would you want to have it? 12. Files that end in.ini or.inf are what kind of files? Why are they important? 13. Identify each icon in the control panel:

3 Thinking Critically: 1. Is a mouse more likely to be controlld by a device driver or the system BIOS? Explain your answer. 2. Name one devices that is likely to be controlled by the system BIOS. 3. You want to know about a computers RAM. What do you do? 4. Explain why 16-bit software is considered legacy software. 5. You want to know if your motherboard will handle the OS you have. What do you do to find out?

4 Hands On Projects: 1. Using Windows XP, do the following to gather information about your computer: Click Start, click run, and then type msinfo32.exe in the run dialog box. Click OK and the System Information dialog box opens. Browse through the different levels of information in this window and answer the following questions. i. What OS and OS version are you using? ii. What is your CPU speed? iii. What is your BIOS manufacturer and version? iv. How much RAM is installed on your video card? Explain how you got this information? v. What is the name of the driver file that manages your parallel port? Your Serial port? vi. How is IRQ 10 used on your system? IRQ 4? vii. Which DMA channels are used on your system and how are they used? 2. Using Device Manager in Windows XP, answer the following questions about your computer. The access device manager, open the system properties dialog box through the control panel, click on the hardware tab, then click on the device manager button. Does your computer have a network card installed? If so, what is the name of the card? Name three settings that you can change under Device Manager. i. ii. iii. What are all the hardware devices that Device Manager recognizes are present? 3. Disconnect your mouse and then practice using the keyboard in case you must troubleshoot a system when the mouse does not work. Do the following: Open Explorer and display the files in the root directory of the C: drive. List the steps and keystrokes you used to do this. Unhide all the files in this folder. For Windows XP, from the tools menu select Folder Options, select the View tab, and then select Show hidden files and folders. Also uncheck Hide extensions for known file types. And also uncheck Hide protected operating system files. List the steps and keystrokes you use What is the exact size of the file Boot.ini in bytes, and the date and time the file was last modified?

5 Real Problems, Real Solutions You ve just been hired as a PC support technician in the IT department of your university. At the job interview, you were promised a two-week training period, but by noon on your first day on the job it dawns on you that training period means you gotta train yourself really quick. Listed below are some problems you encounter that day. How do you solve these problems and what Windows tools do you use? 1. A history professor calls you into his office and tells you he thinks the memory on his computer needs upgrading. He wants you to tell him how much RAM is currently installe What do you do? 2. A PE instructor discovers the history professor has Windows XP on his desktop. She thinks she has a version of Windows 9X/ME on her desktop and wants you to tell her exactly which OS she has installe What do you do? 3. The Offices Administrator for Career Education is working from home today. She calls you to say she must connect to the Internet but her dial-up connection is not working. Walk her through the steps to verify that Windows XP is recognizing her modem correctly. What are these steps? 4. A student in a computer lab is trying to answer a question in the lab about Windows XP Automatic Updates. She needs to know if the system is set to receive Windows updates automatically. What steps do you give her to find the answer? 5. A student in the Media Center complains that his monitor is flickering. You suspect the resolution is set too low under Windows XP. List the steps to find out eh current resolution on your Windows XP system. What is the highest resolution possible for your monitor? 6. A student in a computer lab asks you how much space is free on her drive C using Windows XP. What steps do you use? 7. Your boss asks you to go down the hall to the Windows XP computer in the break room and find out the path and name of the device driver for the optical drive (CD drive or DVD drive) that is installe What steps do you use? What is the path and name of the optical drive device driver on your Windows XP system?