IST 222 Day 3

Homework for Today Take up homework and go over Go to Microsoft website and check out their hardware compatibility list

Complete discussion from Day 2 Outline

Read about the hardware – Chapter 2 pp

How an Operating System Works An OS Provides a User Interface An OS Manages Files and Folders An OS Manages Applications An OS Manages Hardware

An OS Manages Files and Folders Windows uses several different file systems: –FAT – most recent version is FAT 32 –NTFS Supported by Windows NT, 2000 and XP Designed to be used on hard drives to give more security than does FAT

Files and Directories When a hard drive is first installed and formatted, there is a single directory on the drive that is called the root directory (C:\) A physical drive can be divided into one or more partitions, either primary or extended Primary partition can have just one logical drive Extended partition can have one or more logical drives Most hard drives contain one primary partition that has one logical drive (C:) and one extended partition that has one or more logical drives Each logical drive is formatted for a specific file system (FAT or NTFS) Each logical drive has its own root directory C: might be formatted using FAT and D may be formatted using NTFS

An OS Manages Applications OS allows us to install and run a application XP is available to the application for the entire time it is running The application passes certain information to XP as it executes An application is written to work with a specific OS Windows NT/2000/XP offer four ways to execute software: –Shortcut icon on the desktop –Use start menu –Use the run command –Use Windows Explorer

OS Manages Hardware OS uses device drivers to interface with hardware Device drives are small programs stored on the hard drive A device drive is specific to a certain device Windows 98 supports 16-bit and 32-bit drivers Windows NT/2000/XP only support 32-bit drivers Always check HCL before installing a device

OS Tools Device Manager – primary tool used to manage hardware devices You can update a driver, enable or disable a device, or uninstall a device from this window System Information Utility –Similar to Device Manager, but gives more info Microsoft Diagnostic Utility – available in DOS and Windows 9x

Homework for Next Class 1.Chapter 2 – Go over the Reviewing the Basics – p. 69. You don’t have to turn this in, just go over the material 2.P. 71 of your A+ text: Project 2-1 – Using the System Information utility. Answer questions a.-g. using this utility. 3. Lab 1.3 of your lab book. Use Shareware to examine a computer. Answer all questions associated with the lab.