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| Hardware and Software Parts of PC hardware and its functions |
Hardware and Software Parts of PC hardware and its functions
Introduction to Operating Systems
Types of software:
1). Operating system:
Hardware and Software Parts of PC hardware and its functions
The operating system is the central part of the computer system, or we can say that it is the lifeline of the computer. We will install the OS on a computer so that it can function smoothly.
•An Operating System (OS) is a software that acts as an interface between computer hardware components and the user. Every computer system must have at least one operating system to run other programs. Applications like Browsers, MS Office, Notepad Games, etc., need some environment to run and perform its tasks.
•The OS helps you to communicate with the computer without knowing how to speak the computer's language. It is not possible for the user to use any computer or mobile device without having an operating system.
•Some popular Operating Systems include Linux Operating System, Windows Operating System, VMS, OS/400, AIX, z/OS, etc.
•Suppose all the devices like keyboard, mouse, CPU, monitor are connected and now you think as we switch on the power supply, the computer will start working. No, this is not possible until we install the operating system on it.
•The earlier OS was MS-DOS which make use of Command Line Interface(CLI). After then, windows was developed by Microsoft which make use of Graphical User Interface(GUI). So, they keep on evolving.
It will allocate resources to each task.
• It will keep the all hardware parts of the system in a ready state so that it can follow the instructions given by the user.
• It enables the user to access and use application software.
• It schedules the multiple tasks by priority.
• It controls the improper use of the computer.
• It sets the coordination between the different devices.
• It prevents the error during the use of the software.
• It enables the computer to access network.
• It manages different computer resources such as software, hardware etc..
• It controls the input and output devices of the computer.
• It detects, installs and troubleshoot devices.
Types of Operating System (OS)
•Batch Operating System •Multitasking/Time Sharing OS
•Multiprocessing OS •Real Time OS
•Distributed OS •Network OS •Mobile OS
Batch Operating System
•Some computer processes are very lengthy and time-consuming. To speed the same process, a job with a similar type of needs are batched together and run as a group.
•The user of a batch operating system never directly interacts with the computer. In this type of OS, every user prepares his or her job on an offline device like a punch card and submit it to the computer operator.
Multi-Tasking/Time-sharing Operating systems
•Time-sharing operating system enables people located at a different terminal(shell) to use a single computer system at the same time. The processor time (CPU) which is shared among multiple users is termed as time sharing.
Real time OS
•A real time operating system time interval to process and respond to inputs is very small. Examples: Military Software Systems, Space Software Systems are the Real time OS example.
Distributed Operating System
•Distributed systems use many processors located in different machines to provide very fast computation to its users.
Network Operating System
•Network Operating System runs on a server. It provides the capability to serve to manage data, user, groups, security, application, and other networking functions.
Mobile OS
•Mobile operating systems are those OS which is especially that are designed to power smartphones, tablets, and wearables devices.
•Some most famous mobile operating systems are Android and iOS, but others include BlackBerry, Web, and watchOS.
What is Kernel in Operating System?
•The kernel is the central component of a computer operating systems. The only job performed by the kernel is to the manage the communication between the software and the hardware. A Kernel is at the nucleus of a computer. It makes the communication between the hardware and software possible. While the Kernel is the innermost part of an operating system, a shell is the outermost one.
Device Drivers:
Driver software is a type of system software so that we can use our devices smoothly without any troubleshooting problem. This type of software enables the components to perform their tasks as directed by the OS.
•Some tools are there, whose drivers are already installed on the computer by default for ex-mouse, keyboard and touchpad.
If the device is new for the operating system like the printer, then we have to install the drivers so that it get familiar with the OS. We can install them from the websites of the manufacturers or some other alternative source like from the internet.
There are some examples of devices which requires drivers:
•Mouse •Keyboard •Touch pad •Printer
•Display card •Network card •Sound •Function keys
Firmware Software
•Firmware is a special type of computer software that offers low-level control for the specific hardware of a device.
•Firmware can act as a complete operating system for less complex devices or provide a standard operating system for more complex software to perform all monitoring, control, and data manipulation functions.
•Let’s see some examples of devices containing firmware:
•Consumer appliances
•Embedded systems
•Computers and computer peripherals
•TV remote
•Beyond the simplest devices, almost electronic devices contain firmware.
Utility Software
•Utility software is a kind of system software which acts as an interface between system software and application software. These are those programs which are specifically designed for some particular purpose like maintenance of the computer or diagnose any error in the computer.
•Generally, these are third-party tools which come along with the operating system.
The features of the utility software are as follows
•To protect us against external threats, the inclusion of a firewall is there.
Example: windows firewall
• It can scan hardware diagnostic services like performance monitor, hard disk sentinel.
• It can also compress files so that the disk space can be optimized. E.g., WinRAR, WinZip.
• Utility can do disk partition services like Windows Disk Management.
• Utility can help us in recovering in our lost data. E.g., iCare Data Recovery, Ease Us Data Recovery Wizard etc.,
• Utility can back up our data to increase the security of our systems like Cobian and Clonezilla.
• Utility can do de-fragmentation of a disk so that the scattered file can be organized on the drive. E.g., Disk Derangement, Little Snitch etc.,
• Utility can perform antivirus and security software so that the security of the files and the applications can be maintained. E.g., AVG, Microsoft Security Essentials etc.,
Starting and shutting down the system
Windows Explorer
Microsoft Word
Creating Files and Folders
Creating a new document
Saving a document
Multiple Views and Layouts (changing page· setup)
Moving around the document
Spelling and grammar checking
Basic Formatting
Creating and formatting Table in Word Creating list (Numbered and Bulleted)
Changing Fonts
Line and Character spacing
Using Styles, Header and Footer
Using Clip Art , Hyperlink and Bookmark
Printing a document
Mail Merge
Introduction to Mail Merge
Main document
Data file and Data file field
Merged document
Steps in Mail Merge