PAPER NO.

CT 21
PART I
SECTION 2

CERTIFIED
INFORMATION COMMUNICATION
TECHNOLOGISTS
(CICT)

OPERATING SYSTEMS-PRACTICAL

STUDY TEXT
GENERAL OBJECTIVE
This paper is intended to equip the candidate with the knowledge, skills and attitude that will enable him/her to
manage operating systems in an organization

LEARNING OUTCOMES

A candidate who passes this paper should be able to:

Install, update and uninstall operating systems
Manage files and directories using an operating system
Configure an operating system to handle various tasks
Handle maintenance and performance issues of an operating system
Troubleshoot operating systems
Secure data using an operating system
Manage user accounts.

CONTENT
1. Introduction to operating systems
 Definition of an operating system
 History of operating systems
 Functions of operating systems
 Types of operating systems
 Interfaces
 Computer hardware review
 Operating system installation
 System calls
 Operating system structures
 Selecting an operating system

2. Installing an operating system

 Pre installation tasks
 Installation tasks
 Installation methods
 Installation process
• Installing operating system
• Uninstalling operating system
• Reinstalling operating system
• Upgrading operating system
 Multiboot configuration
 Troubleshooting operating systems

3. Processes and threads

 Processes
 Threads
 Inter-process communication
 Classical PC problems
 Scheduling
 Memory management

4. Deadlocks
 Resources
 Introduction to deadlocks
 The Ostrich algorithm
 Deadlock detection and recovery
 Deadlock avoidance
 Deadlock prevention
5. Workgroups and domains
 Workgroups
 Joining a workgroup
 Domains
 Joining a domain
 Creating user accounts

6. Using management console and scheduler

 Management consoles
 Snap-ins
 Using consoles
 Using scheduler

7. Control panel
 Overview of control panel
 Accessing control panel items
 Changing the settings of the control panel items

8. Configuring hardware settings

 Viewing hardware profile
 Creating or modifying hardware profile
 Activating and deactivating hardware profile
 Plug and play hardware
 Add/remove hardware
 Troubleshooting hardware

9. Configuring the display

 Setting display properties
 Setting multiple display
 Using multiple display
 Troubleshooting

10. Configuring operating system settings

 Performance option
 Environment variables
 Start up and recovery settings
 Troubleshooting operating system

11. Using registry

 Accessing the registry
 Structure of the registry
 Using the registry editor

12. Disk management

 Installing a hard disk
 Formatting a hard disk
 Setting up hard drives
 Analyzing hard disks
 Defragmenting hard disks
 Partitioning a hard disk
 Working with different volume types
 Upgrading a hard disk
 Managing disks on a remote computer
 Managing disk quarters
13. File systems management
 Creating files and directories
 Mounting drives on different file system
 Sharing files and folders
 Securing files and folders
 Securing resources using NTFS permissions

14. Emerging issues and trends

Table of Contents page

Topic 1: Introduction to operating systems ................................................................................. 5

Topic 2: Installing an operating system ...................................................................................... 23
Topic 3: Processes and threads .................................................................................................. 47
Topic 4: Deadlocks .................................................................................................................... 63
Topic 5: Workgroups and domains ............................................................................................. 87
Topic 6: Using management control and scheduler .................................................................... 92
Topic 7: Control panel ............................................................................................................. 111
Topic 8: Configuring hardware settings ................................................................................... 113
Topic 9: Configuring the display ..............................................................................................136
Topic 10: Configuring operating system settings ......................................................................138
Topic 11: Using registry .......................................................................................................... 146
Topic 12: Disk management ......................................................................................................151
Topic 13: Files systems management ....................................................................................... 184
Topic 14: Emerging issues and trends ...................................................................................... 199
 TOPIC 1:

INTRODUCTION TO OPERATING SYSTEMS

DEFINITION OF OPERATING SYSTEM

An operating system is a group of computer programs that coordinates all the activities among
computer hardware devices. It is the first program loaded into the computer by a boot program and
remains in memory at all times.

HISTORY OF OPERATING SYSTEMS

Historically operating systems have been tightly related to the computer architecture, it is good idea to
study the history of operating systems from the architecture of the computers on which they run.
Operating systems have evolved through a number of distinct phases or generations which
corresponds roughly to the decades.

The First Generation Vacuum Tubes and Plug boards-The 1940's

The earliest electronic digital computers had no operating systems. Machines of the time were so
primitive that programs were often entered one bit at time on rows of mechanical switches (plug
boards). Programming languages were unknown (not even assembly languages). Operating systems
were unheard of .The first ones used mechanical relays but were very slow, with cycle times
measured in seconds. Relays were later replaced by vacuum tubes. These machines were enormous,
filling up entire rooms with tens of thousands of vacuum tubes, but they were still millions of times
slower than even the cheapest personal computers available today.

The usual mode of operation was for the programmer to sign up for a block of time on the
signup sheet on the wall, then come down to the machine room, insert his or her plug board into
the computer, and spend the next few hours hoping that none of the 20,000 or so vacuum tubes
would burn out during the run. Virtually all the problems were straightforward numerical
calculations, such as grinding out tables of sines, cosines, and logarithms.

By the early 1950s, the routine had improved somewhat with the introduction of punched cards. It
was now possible to write programs on cards and read them in instead of using plug boards;
otherwise, the procedure was the same.
The Second Generation Transistors and Batch Systems-The 1950's

The introduction of the transistor in the mid-1950s changed the picture radically. Computers became
reliable enough that they could be manufactured and sold to paying customers with the expectation
that they would continue to function long enough to get some useful work done. For the first time,
there was a clear separation between designers, builders, operators, programmers, and maintenance
personnel.

These machines, now called mainframes, were locked away in specially air-conditioned computer
rooms, with staffs of specially-trained professional operators to run them.
When the computer finished whatever job it was currently running, an operator would go over to the
printer and tear off the output and carry it over to the output-room, so that the programmer could
collect it later. Then he would take one of the card decks that had been brought from the input room
and read it in. If the FORTRAN compiler was needed, the operator would have to get it from a file
cabinet and read it in. Much computer time was wasted while operators were walking around the
machine room.

Given the high cost of the equipment, it is not surprising that people quickly looked for ways to
reduce the wasted time. The solution generally adopted was the batch system. The idea behind it
was to collect a tray full of jobs in the input room and then read them onto a magnetic tape using a
small (relatively) inexpensive computer, such as the IBM 1401, which was very good at reading
cards, copying tapes, and printing output, but not at all good at numerical calculations. Other, much
more expensive machines, such as the IBM 7094, were used for the real computing.

Third Generation-The 1960's

The systems of the 1960's were also batch processing systems, but they were able to take better
advantage of the computer's resources by running several jobs at once. So operating systems designers
developed the concept of multiprogramming in which several jobs are in main memory at once; a
processor is switched from job to job as needed to keep several jobs advancing while keeping the
peripheral devices in use.

For example, on the system with no multiprogramming, when the current job paused to wait for other
I/O operation to complete, the CPU simply sat idle until the I/O finished. The solution for this
problem that evolved was to partition memory into several pieces, with a different job in each
partition. While one job was waiting for I/O to complete, another job could be using the CPU.

Another major feature in third-generation operating system was the technique called spooling
(simultaneous peripheral operations on line). In spooling, a high-speed device like a disk interposed
between a running program and a low-speed device involved with the program in input/output.
Instead of writing directly to a printer, for example, outputs are written to the disk. Programs can run
to completion faster, and other programs can be initiated sooner when the printer becomes available,
the outputs may be printed.
Another feature present in this generation was time-sharing technique, a variant of multiprogramming
technique, in which each user has an on-line (i.e., directly connected) terminal. Because the user is
present and interacting with the computer, the computer system must respond quickly to user requests,
otherwise user productivity could suffer. Timesharing systems were developed to multi-program large
number of simultaneous interactive users.

Fourth Generation

With the development of LSI (Large Scale Integration) circuits, chips, operating system entered in the
system entered in the personal computer and the workstation age. Microprocessor technology evolved
to the point that it becomes possible to build desktop computers as powerful as the mainframes of the
1970s. Two operating systems have dominated the personal computer scene: MS-DOS, written by
Microsoft, Inc. for the IBM PC and other machines using the Intel 8088 CPU and its successors, and
UNIX, which is dominant on the large personal computers using the Motorola 6899 CPU family.

FUNCTIONS OF AN OPERATING SYSTEM

The basic functions of an operating system are:

i. Booting the computer

ii. Performs basic computer tasks eg managing the various peripheral devices eg mouse,
keyboard
iii. Provides a user interface, e.g. command line, graphical user interface (GUI)
iv. Handles system resources such as computer's memory and sharing of the central processing
unit (CPU) time by various applications or peripheral devices
v. Provides file management which refers to the way that the operating system manipulates,
stores, retrieves and saves data.

i. Booting the computer

The process of starting or restarting the computer is known as booting. A cold boot is when you turn
on a computer that has been turned off completely. A warm boot is the process of using the operating
system to restart the computer.

ii. Performs basic computer tasks

The operating system performs basic computer tasks, such as managing the various peripheral devices
such as the mouse, keyboard and printers. For example, most operating systems now are plug and
play which means a device such as a printer will automatically be detected and configured without
any user intervention.
 iii. Provides a user interface

A user interacts with software through the user interface. The two main types of user interfaces are:
command line and a graphical user interface (GUI). With a command line interface, the user interacts with
the operating system by typing commands to perform specific tasks. An example of a command line
interface is DOS (disk operating system). With a graphical user interface, the user interacts with the
operating system by using a mouse to access windows, icons, and menus. An example of a graphical user
interface is Windows Vista or Windows 7.
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.

iv. 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 maximize the functionality of the overall system.

v. Provides file management

The operating system also handles the organization 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).

TYPES OF OPERATING SYSTEMS

As computers have progressed and developed, so have the operating systems. Below is a basic list of the
types of operating systems and a few examples of operating systems that fall into each of the types. Many
computer operating systems will fall into more than one of the below types:
GUI - Short for Graphical User Interface, a GUI operating system contains graphics and icons and is
commonly navigated by using a computer mouse. Examples of GUI operating systems are:
- System 7.x
- Windows 98
- Windows CE
 TOPIC 8

CONFIGURING HARDWARE SETTINGS

Definition - What does Hardware Configuration mean?

Hardware configuration references the details and system resource settings allotted for a specific
device. Many computer specialists improve hardware performance by adjusting configurations,
which may also include settings for the motherboard and the BIOS, as well as the bus speeds.

VIEWING HARDWARE PROFILE PROPERTIES

To view the properties for a hardware profile, in the Available Hardware Profiles list, select a
profile, and then click Properties. This displays the Properties dialog box for the profile.
If Windows XP Professional identifies your computer as a portable unit, the This Is a Portable
Computer check box is selected. If Windows XP Professional determines that your portable
computer is docked, it automatically selects that option.

CREATING A HARDWARE PROFILE

You must be logged on as an administrator or a member of the Administrators group in order to

complete this procedure. If your computer is connected to a network, network policy settings
may also prevent you from completing this procedure.
1. Open System in Control Panel.
2. On the Hardware tab, click Hardware Profiles.
3. Under Available hardware profiles, click Profile 1 (Current), and then click Copy.
4. Type a name for the new hardware profile, and then click OK.
5. You can customize your new profile by enabling or disabling devices for that profile in
Device Manager For more information about Device Manager, click Related Topics.
Note
• To open System, click Start, click Control Panel, click Performance and Maintenance, and
then click System.
• The profile named Profile 1 (Current) provides a model for you to create new hardware
profiles. It will not appear in the list of available hardware profiles shown during startup.

TO ENABLE OR DISABLE A SERVICE FOR A HARDWARE PROFILE

1. Open Services
2. Right-click the service that you want to enable or disable, and then click Properties.
3. On the Log On tab, click the hardware profile that you want to configure.
4. Click Enable or Disable, and then click OK.

Important

• Changing the default service settings might prevent key services from running correctly. It is
especially important to use caution when changing the Startup Type and Log On As settings of
services that are configured to start automatically.

PLUG AND PLAY HARDWARE

In computing, a plug and play device or computer bus, is one with a specification that facilitates
the discovery of a hardware component in a system without the need for physical device
configuration or user intervention in resolving resource conflicts.
Plug and play devices can be due to boot-time assignment of device resources and to hot-
plug systems such as USB and IEEE 1394 (FireWire).
ADD/REMOVE HARDWARE

Windows 2000 Professional automatically installs and configures most Plug and Play–compliant
devices. For devices that are not automatically configured, the Add/Remove Hardware wizard,
shown in Figure 19.2, installs and configures legacy and Plug and Play devices that require
installation information, such as the driver location.

Figure 19.2 Add/Remove Hardware Wizard

The Add/Remove Hardware wizard provides an easy way to install and configure non–Plug and
Play devices that have not been automatically recognized by Windows 2000 Professional.
To use the Add/Remove Hardware wizard to install hardware:
1. In the Control Panel, double-click the Add/Remove Hardware icon, and then
click Next .
2. Click Add/Troubleshoot a device, and then click Next.
3. The wizard now searches for new Plug and Play hardware.
If the wizard does not find a new device, it displays a list of the existing devices and gives you
the option to troubleshoot any of them. You can select a device from the list to launch the
Hardware Troubleshooter.
TROUBLESHOOTING HARDWARE PROBLEMS

When your computer is acting peculiarly, turn off the computer. Click on the Start button,
select the Shut Down option, and then choose Shut Down. Leave the PC off for 1 to 2
minutes. Turn the PC back on again.

An Unresponsive PC
First check the cable. Unplug it from the computer and the outlet. Re-plug in both
sides and try booting it again.

Check the wall outlet. Plug something else into the outlet and see if it works.

Turn the system off and wait 30 seconds and then try again.

Reach behind the machine and see if you feel air blowing out of the power supply.
If you do, then you know the machine is getting some power.

Look at the keyboard for the indicator lights being lit up as the machine boots.

Sometimes the monitor has something to do with the system acting up. Unplug the
power cord from the monitor and the wall and re-plug it. Unplug the cable from the
computer to the monitor and re-plug it into the monitor. Try rebooting.

Listen to identify a beeping series if there is one to report it to the technical help.

Turn in all comments to the Help Desk.

Monitor Troubleshooting

Symptom:
The monitor screen is black

Diagnosis
Check to see if the computer turned on.

Is the computer turned on? There is a light on the CPU. If the computer is on, it will
be lit.

Check to see if the monitor getting power.

If no lights appear on the front of the monitor at all, it is not getting any power from
the power source. Check to see if ALL plugs are secure.
 Power cord from the computer to the power strip.

Power strip to the wall socket.

Check to see if the Power Strip turned on.

There is a light on the strip. If the strip is on, the indicator light will be on.

Check to see if the monitor getting a signal from the computer.

There is a light on the monitor. If the monitor is on, it will be lit. If it is

turned on, check the contrast and brightness buttons to see if they have
been tampered with.

A green light on the front of the monitor would indicate that it is getting a
signal from the computer.

An orange light would indicate there is not signal from the computer.
Make sure the computer is on and you see lights on the front of it. Check
the cable that runs from the monitor to the computer to see if it has
worked loose.

Check to see if the brightness has been turned entirely down.

Make sure you check the brightness and contrast buttons or settings on the monitor.

Check to see if the computer in Power Save or Sleep mode.

Move the mouse or press any key on the keyboard to see if the
computer will "wake-up."

Check to see if all peripherals plugged in.

Verify that all cables and cords leading in to and out of your computer to
insure they are all in tight and not disconnected.

Secure the following to the computer:

Monitor

Mouse

Keyboard

Printer

Network cable to computer and wall (Blue)