Operating System Basic Introduction

Introduction 

All computers need basic software known as an Operating System (OS) to function. The OS acts as interface between the user, application programs, hardware, and system peripherals show on below

The operating System is the first software to be loaded when a computer boots up. Application programs are loaded after the Operating System. Users interact with the computer and software through the OS. The OS interprets input given by a user through a keyboard, mouse, or other input device and takes appropriate action. 

Operating system can be of two types:- Network operating system (NOS)  and simple stand alone desktop O. S I.e Client O. S for example :- 

Only PC loaded with NOS can act as server. PC loaded with NOS or Client OS can act as client. 

Microsoft Operating System 

DOS version

The Combination of Microsoft DOS and Microsoft Windows 3.1x was the most popular operating system until 1995. In 1995, Microsoft releases Window 95, Which was then upgraded to Window 98. Windows 95 is a combination of OS as well as GUI. Other operating systems that have adopted a similar approach are Microsoft Windows NT,  Windows 2000 , and Windows ME/Windows XP. Some of the popular version of MS-DOS and their features were:- 

Features of DOS:- 

Command prompt interface

DOS provide a text-based interface called the command prompt. Form the command prompt, commands can be issued to perform file and disk management, and execute programs. The results of these commands are presented to the user as text messages. 

Utility programs

DOS provides a number of utility programs (files with  .EXE and  .COM extensions in the C:\ DOS\ directory)  to perform various file and system management tasks. Examples of DOS utilies are FORMAT, EDIT, MSD (Microsoft Diagnostics), and SCANDISK. 

DOS Editor

DOS 5 and 6 is bundled with DOS Editor, a text editor application that can be used to edit DOS configuration files as needed

Command EDIT starts DOS Editor that allows you to create, edit, save and print text files. Using DOS Editor you can choose the commands from menus. 

Several functions can be performed on text files. 

CONFIGURING THE DOS

CONFIG.SYS:- 

This file has commands and instructions used for loading device drivers and memory managers, and also or configuring system settings. These commands are executed when the system boots up. These commands (also known as parameters)  can be edited to have varing effects on the hardware components of the computer system. CONFIG.SYS is a text file that resides in the root directory of the boot drive (usually C:\). It is edited using a simple text editor such as EDIT. Some of the CONFIG.SYS parameters and their usage are shown below:

>BUFFERS- Each buffer takes up 532 bytes of memory. This parameter is used to reserve a specified number of buffers for information transferred to and from the hard disk. BUFFERS are not required, when you are using the SMARTDRV disk-caching program. 

• for example,  BUFFERS=30

>COUNTRY- It enables DOS to use country-specific conventions for displaying time, date, and currency symbols. You must specify the country code (e.g 091 for India and 044 for UK) , required character set, and the file containing country into.