CIS105 - Assignment 1 - : Hands-On Project 1.1: Using The Taskbar o Proceed To Do All Steps 1 Through 4

This document outlines an assignment for a CIS105 course that involves completing hands-on projects and exercises using Windows features like the Task Manager, Windows Explorer, and Action Center. It provides instructions for using the Task Manager to investigate a potential memory leak by adding page faults as a column. Students are asked to submit their completed work and screenshots in Canvas for grading.

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CIS105 - Assignment 1 - : Hands-On Project 1.1: Using The Taskbar o Proceed To Do All Steps 1 Through 4

Uploaded by

Daemon Cooper

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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

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CIS105 - Assignment 1 - (25 lab points)

When you have completed your work, please submit your document onto Canvas for
grading. If you are unsure how to do so, please ask your Instructor.

 Hands On Assignments - (12 lab points)

> Hands-on Project 1.1: Using the Taskbar (page 9)

o Proceed to do all steps 1 through 4.

 For all labs take screenshots of each step.
 Please note I only need the final screenshot to show that you have
finished the steps.

Results here:

 >> Additional Step:

Introduction to Windows Task Manager

Windows Task Manager is a powerful tool built into Windows which can help us
determine many things about our computer. It can show us what applications we currently
have open, what processes are currently running in the background, detailed readings of the
current CPU and memory usage and more. However, it also has more functionality than what
you just see. We have the ability to customize it and use it to help us determine further
information about our computer and what is going on in the background of our computer.

For this lab we are going to pretend that we are investigating a potential memory leak.
Memory leaks though not as common now as they were in older machines can still be an issue
and are sometimes difficult to pinpoint. What is a memory leak? A memory leak occurs when a
computer program incorrectly manages memory allocations which can cause a computer to run
very sluggish and will generally cause it to crash. The Task Manager however, can help us
pinpoint the cause of these errors. To do this, please follow the steps listed below.

Open the Windows Task Manager

o Right click the Taskbar and select open Start Task Manager
Next select the tab that says Processes. By default you should see five columns labeled the
following.
o Image Name
o User Name
o CPU
o Memory
o Description

List at least two Processes that are currently running on your machine, be sure to list all the
information from the five columns.

These five columns provide us a good amount of information however they won’t help us much
when we are trying to determine if there is a memory leak happening. Memory Leaks happen
in the background of your computer so they are not readily visible by the default view in the
Windows Task Manager. Fortunately we have the ability to add additional columns which will
provide the information that we are looking for.

- While still remaining on the Processes tab select view and then press on the select
columns option. You should see a screen similar to the one below.

- Select the Page Faults box and press OK; you should now see an additional column in
the Processes tab.
- By adding this column we are now able to determine if there is a memory leak. Finish
this lab by taking a screen shot of the Task Manager.
o If you are unsure how to do this, make sure the Task Manager is selected and
press Alt + PRT SCREEN. Press Ctrl + V to paste the image into your document.
o Or, use the Windows Snipping Tool

So what are page faults? The simple answer is that a page fault can be a common problem
with virtual memory which can result in a memory leak. Granted there has to be a very large
number of page faults happening at a very fast pace (i.e. hundreds to thousands of page faults
per second). A more detailed explanation is that a page fault occurs when a program requests an
address on a page that is not in the current set of memory resident pages. What happens when a page
fault occurs is that the thread that experienced the page fault is put into a Wait State while the
operating system finds the specific page on the disk and restores it to physical memory.

Results here:

> Hands-on Project 1.2: Using Windows Explorer (page 19)

Proceed to do all of the steps, you may take screen shots for the steps or type up
the steps that you took.

Results here:

> Hands-on Project 1.4: Using the System Information Utility (page 22)
Proceed to do all of the steps, you may take screen shots for the steps or type up
the requested information.

Results here:

> Hands-on Project 1.5: Using the Action Center (page 25)
Proceed to do all of the steps, you may take screen shots to show that you have
done the steps or type any steps taken.
For Step 2 if you see any problems listed please DO NOT take any actions to
resolve them. Instead research solutions for the problems and list what step or
steps should be taken to resolve it.

Results here:

 Applying Concepts - (4 lab points)

Do both of the Applying Concepts listed in Chapter 1. Pages 15 & 27

You may take screen shots to show your work or type up the steps that you took.

Results here:

 End of Chapter exercises - (4 lab points)

Answer all of the Thinking Critically questions. (page 34)

Type up your answers; explain why you chose each specific answer.
Results here:

Answer all of the Real Problems, Real Solutions questions. (page 34)
Explain your solution.
Results here:

 Additional Lab (not in textbook - required)

COMPARE OPERATING SYSTEMS - Research Project (5 lab points)

This exercise can be completed outside the classroom on any internet connected computer.

The goal of this lab is to help you learn a brief history of PC operating systems and
appreciate why many of today’s operating systems share similar features.

Modern operating systems, such as Windows, Linux, and Mac OS, have many similar
features because they share a common history.
Exercise: