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| Question | Answer |
| What is meant by the phrase booting your computer | Booting is a start-up sequence that starts the operating system of a computer when it is turned on. A boot sequence is the initial set of operations that the computer performs when it is switched on. Every computer has a boot sequence. |
| Performing basic computer tasks | The operating system performs basic computer tasks, such as managing the various peripheral devices such as the mouse, keyboard and printers. |
| Provides a user interface | User interacts with software through the user interface. The two main types of user interfaces are: command line and a graphical user interface (GUI). The operating system is responsible for providing a consistent application program interface (API) which is important as it allows a software developer to write an application on one computer and know that it will run on another computer of the same type even if the amount of memory or amount of storage is different on the two machines. |
| Provides file management | The operating system also handles the organisation and tracking of files and directories (folders) saved or retrieved from a computer disk. The file management system allows the user to perform such tasks as creating files and directories, renaming files, coping and moving files, and deleting files. The operating system keeps track of where files are located on the hard drive through the type of file system. The type two main types of file system are File Allocation table (FAT) or New Technology File system (NTFS). |
| Handles system resources | The operating system also handles system resources such as the computer's memory and sharing of the central processing unit (CPU) time by various applications or peripheral devices. Programs and input methods are constantly competing for the attention of the CPU and demand memory, storage and input/output bandwidth. The operating system ensures that each application gets the necessary resources it needs in order to maximise the functionality of the overall system. |
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