Here's a set of common operating system interview questions for fresher interviews.

1. Explain Virtual Memory:

Answer: Virtual memory is a memory management technique where the operating system uses both
hardware and software to allow a computer to compensate for physical memory shortages by temporarily
transferring data from random access memory (RAM) to disk storage.
Follow-up:
How does virtual memory improve system performance?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of virtual memory?
Explain demand paging and page replacement algorithms used in virtual memory.

2. Explain Segmentation and Paging:

Answer: Segmentation and paging are memory management techniques used in operating systems.
Segmentation divides memory into logical segments while paging divides memory into fixed-size pages.
Follow-up:
What are the differences between segmentation and paging?
How do segmentation and paging contribute to memory protection and sharing?
Can segmentation and paging be used together? If yes, how?

3. Explain Deadlocks:

Answer: A deadlock occurs in a system when two or more processes are unable to proceed because
each is waiting for the other to release a resource.
Follow-up:
What are the necessary conditions for a deadlock to occur?
How can deadlocks be detected and resolved?
Explain the various strategies for deadlock prevention.

4. Explain Semaphores and Locks:

Answer: Semaphores and locks are synchronization primitives used to control access to shared
resources in a concurrent system. Semaphores can be used to control access to a resource with a
counter, while locks provide exclusive access to a resource.
Follow-up:
What are the differences between binary semaphores and counting semaphores?
Explain how deadlock can occur with locks and semaphores and how it can be prevented.
Compare and contrast semaphores and monitors.

5. Explain Synchronization Techniques:

Answer: Synchronization techniques are used to coordinate the execution of multiple threads or
processes to ensure they do not interfere with each other while accessing shared resources.
Follow-up:
What are the different synchronization primitives available in operating systems?
Explain the concept of mutual exclusion and its importance in synchronization.
 Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of busy waiting and blocking in synchronization.

6. Explain Scheduling Algorithms:

Answer: Scheduling algorithms determine the order in which processes are executed by the CPU.
Common scheduling algorithms include First Come First Serve (FCFS), Shortest Job Next (SJN), Round
Robin, and Priority Scheduling.
Follow-up:
Compare and contrast preemptive and non-preemptive scheduling algorithms.
Discuss the criteria used for selecting a scheduling algorithm for a particular system.
How do real-time scheduling algorithms differ from general-purpose scheduling algorithms?

7. Explain Deadlock Avoidance and Recovery Algorithms:

Answer: Deadlock avoidance and recovery algorithms are used to prevent deadlocks or recover from
them if they occur. Techniques include resource allocation graphs, Banker's algorithm, and rollback and
compensation mechanisms.
Follow-up:
How does Banker's algorithm prevent deadlocks in a system?
Explain the concept of transaction rollback and compensation in deadlock recovery.
Discuss the trade-offs involved in implementing deadlock avoidance and recovery algorithms.

8. Explain Memory Management Techniques:

Answer: Memory management techniques are used to manage and optimize memory usage in an
operating system. This includes allocation, deallocation, and protection of memory.
Follow-up:
Compare and contrast static and dynamic memory allocation techniques.
Explain the concept of memory fragmentation and its impact on system performance.
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of paging and segmentation in memory management.

Let's delve deeper into the follow-up questions for each topic:

1. Virtual Memory:

How does virtual memory improve system performance?

Virtual memory allows the operating system to run more programs than it could with just physical
memory alone. It does this by storing parts of programs and data that aren't currently in use on
disk storage, freeing up physical memory for active processes. This results in better multitasking
and overall system responsiveness.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of virtual memory?
Advantages: Allows efficient use of physical memory, enables multitasking, facilitates memory
protection, and provides a consistent memory interface to processes.
Disadvantages: Can incur performance overhead due to page faults and disk I/O, requires
additional hardware support, and can lead to fragmentation of disk space.
Explain demand paging and page replacement algorithms used in virtual memory.
 Demand paging is a technique where pages are loaded into memory only when they are needed,
reducing the amount of memory required to run a program initially. Page replacement algorithms,
such as Least Recently Used (LRU) or First-In-First-Out (FIFO), are used to decide which pages to
evict from memory when space is needed. These algorithms aim to minimize the number of page
faults and optimize memory usage.

2. Segmentation and Paging:

What are the differences between segmentation and paging?

Segmentation divides memory into logical segments based on the program's address space, while
paging divides memory into fixed-size blocks called pages. Segmentation supports variable-sized
logical units, while paging uses fixed-size units. Segmentation can lead to fragmentation, while
paging reduces fragmentation by dividing memory into equal-sized pages.
How do segmentation and paging contribute to memory protection and sharing?
Segmentation and paging provide hardware-enforced memory protection by assigning each
segment or page with its own access permissions (read, write, execute). They also facilitate
memory sharing between processes by allowing multiple processes to map the same physical
memory pages or segments, enabling efficient inter-process communication.
Can segmentation and paging be used together? If yes, how?
Yes, segmentation and paging can be used together in a two-level memory management system
known as segmented paging. In this system, the logical address space is divided into segments,
and each segment is further divided into pages. This allows for flexible memory allocation and
protection while reducing fragmentation.

3. Deadlocks:

What are the necessary conditions for a deadlock to occur?

Deadlocks occur when four conditions are simultaneously satisfied: mutual exclusion (resources
cannot be shared), hold and wait (processes hold resources while waiting for others), no
preemption (resources cannot be forcibly taken), and circular wait (a circular chain of processes is
waiting for resources held by each other).
How can deadlocks be detected and resolved?
Deadlocks can be detected using resource allocation graphs or by periodically checking for
circular wait conditions. Once detected, deadlocks can be resolved using various techniques such
as process termination, resource preemption, or rollback and compensation mechanisms.
Explain the various strategies for deadlock prevention.
Deadlock prevention strategies aim to eliminate one or more of the necessary conditions for
deadlock. This can be achieved by ensuring that at least one of the conditions never holds, such
as using non-preemptive resource allocation, ensuring a fixed order for resource requests, or
using resource hierarchy.

4. Semaphores and Locks:

What are the differences between binary semaphores and counting semaphores?
Binary semaphores have only two states (0 and 1) and are typically used for mutual exclusion
between processes. Counting semaphores can have values greater than 1 and are used for
 controlling access to a finite number of resources.
How does deadlock can occur with locks and semaphores and how it can be prevented?
Deadlocks can occur with locks and semaphores if processes acquire resources in a different
order or if multiple locks are held simultaneously, leading to circular wait conditions. Deadlock
prevention techniques such as ensuring a fixed order for acquiring locks or using timeouts and
resource preemption can help prevent deadlocks.
Compare and contrast semaphores and monitors.
Semaphores and monitors are both synchronization primitives used to coordinate access to
shared resources. Semaphores provide low-level control over resource access using wait and
signal operations, while monitors encapsulate shared data and synchronization primitives within a
single object, providing higher-level abstraction and easier programming.

5. Synchronization Techniques:

What are the different synchronization primitives available in operating systems?

Different synchronization primitives include semaphores, locks (mutexes), condition variables,
barriers, and monitors. Each primitive has its own use case and level of abstraction for
coordinating access to shared resources.
Explain the concept of mutual exclusion and its importance in synchronization.
Mutual exclusion ensures that only one process at a time can access a shared resource,
preventing race conditions and maintaining data integrity. It is achieved using synchronization
primitives such as locks or semaphores.
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of busy waiting and blocking in synchronization.
Busy waiting (spinlocks) involves repeatedly checking a condition in a loop until it becomes true,
which can waste CPU cycles and lead to high CPU utilization. Blocking involves suspending a
thread until a condition is met, which is more efficient but may introduce latency and
synchronization overhead.

6. Scheduling Algorithms:

Compare and contrast preemptive and non-preemptive scheduling algorithms.

Preemptive scheduling allows the operating system to forcibly interrupt a running process to give
CPU time to another process with higher priority, while non-preemptive scheduling allows a
process to run until it voluntarily releases the CPU. Preemptive scheduling is more responsive and
fair, while non-preemptive scheduling is simpler and may lead to poor CPU utilization.
Discuss the criteria used for selecting a scheduling algorithm for a particular system.
Scheduling algorithms are selected based on factors such as the nature of the workload (CPU-
bound or I/O-bound), system requirements (real-time or general-purpose), and system
characteristics (number of processors, memory size). Common criteria include throughput,
turnaround time, response time, and fairness.
How do real-time scheduling algorithms differ from general-purpose scheduling algorithms?
Real-time scheduling algorithms prioritize tasks based on deadlines and ensure that critical tasks
are completed within specified time constraints. General-purpose scheduling algorithms, on the
other hand, focus on optimizing system throughput and response time without strict timing
requirements.
7. Deadlock Avoidance and Recovery Algorithms:

How does Banker's algorithm prevent deadlocks in a system?

Banker's algorithm ensures that the system remains in a safe state by simulating the allocation of
resources to processes and checking if there exists a safe sequence of resource requests. If a
safe sequence exists, the allocation is granted; otherwise, the process is blocked until resources
become available.
Explain the concept of transaction rollback and compensation in deadlock recovery.
Transaction rollback involves undoing the effects of partially completed transactions to restore the
system to a consistent state. Compensation involves compensating for the effects of completed
transactions by applying compensating actions or transactions. These mechanisms are used to
recover from deadlocks and ensure