What is the role of operating system?

Question

Kindly explain.

Answer 1

The OS is what controls the computer function - Windows is an OS for example. Every computer has what's called a BIOS chip mounted on the motherboard. When you boot, the BIOS go through it's series of checks. It inspects all the circuitry and checks to see what kind of hardware and peripherals are installed on the computer (key board, mouse, printer, scanner, cd, etc) and if the correct drivers are there to operate them. If anything is out of place it beeps at you and stops.

If everything checks out it looks at each drive and looks for the first executable file - usually WIN.EXE on the C:, but could be elsewhere depending how your PC is set up. That's how it knows to boot from the hardrive or floppy or CD.

Once the OS has been launched, it goes through and checks the registry looking for more executables. The regisrty is nothing more than a list of system files that's on your computer. A table of contents of sorts. When it finds an EXE it launches it. The more EXE's the longer it takes for you desktop to load. This is also where spyware gets installed which is why you have a hard time deleting it. Once it's done you're ready to work.

Now, even though you may not be activley doing something (gaming, surfing, etc) there are still things running in the background. Your CD-rom, printer, scanner, card readers, etc, are all sitting waiting for a command. What's going on behind the scenes is the OS is constantly looping - going through that list of executables waiting to see if you have sent something to or from any of those peripherals. It does this so fast you can't comprehend it. This is how the computer knows when you've inserted a cd in the drive, have printed a page, inserted a smart card/flash drive, etc.

Spyware/popups are also in this list and it's looking too. This is why it runs so slow if there is spyware - it's hogging all the resources - your RAM (your internal workspace). You know how it is when your desk is overloaded and you can't work? Same thing here. Spyware sucks up your desk space and other things can't run. Clean the spyware and it speeds up.

Anyway, the OS keeps track of all of this so you don't have to.

Answer 2

Operating system is the layer between hardware and softwares. Operating system handles for you all the hardware related stuff that you want to do. Without OS, you will have to program in assembly language.

Answer 3

Without an operating system, your computer wouldn't do much at all. The OS stitches all the hardware together to make a functioning machine.

Rawlyn.

Answer 4

What do u feel when u r walking on a railway platform??
A support!!! A feeling that u have got something beneath u that provides u the support to do all those jobs that u wouldn't have been able to perform in the open space.
That's the way an operating system works. It provides support to all the applications that needd a platform to execute.

Answer 5

Opeating System is a systems software which basically makes your input/output and memory devices i.e. keyboard,mouse,printer,hard disk,ram work. the Operating System boots the computer. the operating system manages memory. the operating system acts as a middle man between hardware and application software. with out operating system the computer would just a box.

common eg. of operating system

MS-DOS
WINDOWS 3.X
WINDOWS 95,98
WINDOWS XP
LINUX
ETC

Answer 6

Operating System is the interface between human and machine.
It converts high level language like English (human understandable language) into low level language 0,1(machine level language) and vice versa.
It also manages memory (main memory - RAM), Processor Allocation, Disk Management, Sharing external devices(like printer) between multiple users and lot more...

Answer 7

It functions as the link between the hardware and the applications....it provides a base on which applications can use the processor.

Also, it functions in maintaining the hardware with tools such as error check, defrag or format.....

Answer 8

Let me explain you in simple manner with example.

In your Education:
Class Room, black board, Notebooks, Pens = Hard ware
Text books = Software
Teacher/Professor = Operating System

that's all..

Answer 9

the os privides a user interface and communication between the hardware and softare.
or something to that effect.

hope it helps
LLAP

Answer 10

OS Is ued to start run computer it is type of progerm with set of instruction & due to this u r abe to run computer