What is an operating system? - P1

What is an operating system – P1

An operating system is a piece of software that is stored on the hard drive, which the computer uses when you switch the computer on. This piece of software creates an interface between the user and the computer, which you can run programmes on your operating system, all of the different operating systems differ in some shape or form, that’s why depending on what operating system you are running depends on what software you can run and can’t run. Without an operating system you wouldn’t be able to use a computer, as this is the main piece of software.  A operating system also has control over all of the hardware inside of the computer, like the HDD and the motherboard, so the operating system is the most important thing. There are a few different types of operating system out there, which are mentioned in this post.

Health and Safety - CS1 - P1

First before you read on any further into this blog you must know health and safety, by this I mean whenever you need to change something inside of a computer you must have an anti-static mat, an anti-static wristband and the cables to interconnect them. The reason for having this part of equipment is to prevent damage to your computer. The reason your computer may get damaged if you do not use this equipment is because you could have a slight positive or negative charge, and then when your touch the computer it could send that charge through the part of the computer and cause damage.

                                             

To use the equipment you must first lay the mat on a table or on the ground, it doesn’t matter. Then lay the computer on the mat, making sure you don’t touch anything inside until you’ve done the required steps. Then put on the wristband and attach the wristband to the mat, there should be somewhere on the mat where the clip attaches to. Then get the wire with the crocodile clip on, clip it to the mat the same way you did the wristband, then attach the crocodile clip anywhere on the casing of the computer. Then there should be one more wire, the last one will plug into the power supply in the wall and also into the mat. Once you have done all of these steps you are ready to start working on your computer.

Also, when you remove equipment from the computer you should always place them inside an anti-static bag, to prevent them from getting damaged.

Operating systems - CS1 - M1

There are three main types of operating systems you can either download from the retailers’ website or you can buy from a retailer, these are, Linux, Microsoft Windows, and Apple MAC. What the operating system does is it provides an interface between the client (you) and the computer system.

First of I’ll explain the drawbacks and perks of a windows 7 Operating system, this is the newest version of windows that Microsoft has released. One of the drawbacks of windows 7 is the fact that the computer needs at least 1 GB of RAM, 1 GHz CPU and at least 16GB storage space, this is bad if you have a fairly old PC as only the newest versions of PCs can support windows 7. Some advantages of windows 7 if you have the requirements is the fact that it is faster than the previous versions of windows. 7 is fully compatible with windows vista, meaning that it would be easy to upgrade from vista to windows 7 if you need too, also, most, if not all programmes and software is compatible with windows 7, apart from software that is made and designed for MAC PCs. So a list of perks is as follows:

- Fully compatible with Vista.

- Runs faster than previous versions of windows.

- Most if not all programmes are compatible with windows 7.

- Windows 7 is easy to use for someone with little or no computer knowledge.

Disadvantages

- Need at least the following spec

- 1GB RAM

- 1GHz CPU

- 16GB Storage space

- Meaning that only the newer computers can support windows 7.

The next operating system I am going to talk about is the snow leopard operating system; this was made by Macintosh and is the newest Operating System offered by Macintosh. Some of the advantages and disadvantages of this operating system are as follows. the snow leopard Operating System uses 64 Bit technology, which is faster than 32 bit (the most common CPU speed) even in applications that are designed for 32 bit, so meaning if you have a 64 bit processor you will get the true speed. The Snow leopard OS also has improved security, unlike Windows 7 it uses multi layered Security protections, to stop people from accessing your files, people who use windows as an operating system need to have security installed as there are a lot of viruses that can infect as windows pc, it is harder to make a virus to infect a Macintosh computer though, meaning that you are less likely to get a virus. This operating system also has speed enhancements to the previous versions. The only problem with this OS is the fact that it is a lot more complicated to use than it is to use a windows operating systems, so in total these are all the possible advantages and disadvantages:
Advantages:

- Enhanced Security

- Faster speed on 64 bit computers

- Faster than previous versions

- Good for video and pictures as the operating system is built for designing.

Disadvantages

- Hard to use as it is more of a professional piece of software.

And last but not least I am going to talk about Linux operating systems, some of the advantages of Linux is the fast that it doesn’t cost anything to download or to install, since it is open office software. Another advantage is the fact that the software is stable and doesn’t have to be restarted every now and again to keep up the performance of the operating system; it also has a fast performance as it doesn’t have as many applications or programmes to run the operating system as the other OS needs. Linux is also very flexible, so it will be easy to run any high speed network connections if need be. It is also is compatible with all Unix applications, the software installation is very easy and quick, and also Linux is very secure because there aren’t many backdoors that hackers can use to get into your computer. The only bad thing about Linux is the fact that it can be complicated to fix if there is a problem and there wouldn’t be anywhere you could ask for help because it is free software. A list of advantages is as follows:

- Cheap

- Stable software

- Runs fast

- Flexible

- Compatible with all Unix applications

Disadvantages

- Can be complicated if something goes wrong

- Not very up-to-date like windows and MACs

One final thing you have to consider when you are purchasing an operating system, you should check the specifications that your computer needs, and this is usually found on the back of the box or on the retailers’ website. You can check what your computer has by entering the BIOS settings; you can access it when you start up your computer, by usually pressing f2. I would recommend that you get windows, as it is very fast, reliable and it is the easiest Operating system to use, not as complex as the other two OS.

Ports - CS1

Ports

Here is a picture of the ports on the back of a computer; I will also explain what they are used for.

First I will start with the basics, the power supply, this is simple, it is where the power cable goes into the system to give it power, and without it you wouldn’t have power to your system therefore won’t be able to use it.

Next I will explain the PS/2 ports, there are two of these ports, one that is purple and one that is green, the green one is the one that you plug your mouse into, and the purple port is the port that you plug your keyboard into, a mouse is something that you will use to control the ‘mouse’ on the screen, and you will use the keyboard to insert characters into your computer to give it instructions.

Next it’s the VGA port, this port is a port that you plug your monitor into, it basically tells the display monitor what it should be showing you, most monitors support VGA, but if your computer has a different port for a display then you should check the port before you get the monitor.

Next it is the parallel printer port, this is self-explanatory, it is what you plug old fashioned printers into, and it sends information to the printer about what it should print off, newer printers these days use USB ports as they are faster and easier to use.

Next I will explain about USB ports, what they are is things you would plug accessories that you could purchase for a computer, for instance, some mouse’s use USB and flash drives use USB ports, they are universal and almost all things can be changed to use USB ports, so it is good to make sure that your system has them.

Next I will explain the Ethernet port; this is the port that you would use to connect your computer up to other computers, or make a network of computers, using an Ethernet cable.

Last I will explain the input/output sound, it’s pretty simple, you would plug microphones in here and you would also plug in any external speakers that you might have. They need to be a 3.5mm jack so make sure it is the right size for the port. an example of a computers ports is shown below:

Internal Memory - CS1

Internal Memory

A computers internal memory is what is used for the computer to store data to do with things like the operating system. These bits of internal memory are usually stored onto little microchips on the motherboard; the memory can vary from a couple of megabytes to several gigabytes.

Processor cache is something that is used by the internal memory, basically what this does is it has two levels, level one data is accessed by the processor as this is what the processor needs in order to do the instructions it is set, and level 2 cache, which is what holds a little bit of information that is stored on your hard drive, the reason it does this, is the computer predicts what you are going to do next and it tries to get that information before you need it to try and speed up the access times.

You don’t really need to know much about internal memory because of the fact that it is already built into the computer and there won’t be many times when you will need to take it out or replace it with a new one, which would be fairly difficult.

Network Card - CS1

Network Card

This part of the computer system is vital if you want to have access to the internet, or if you wish to connect your computer up to someone else’s, a network card is something that can come built into the computer or it can be sold separately, you should check the back of the computer for an Ethernet port before purchasing a network card, below is a picture of a what an Ethernet port looks like, so you know what you are looking for.



An Ethernet port basically connects you and someone else together, by the use of Ethernet cables, you can also connect to the internet by using this method, if you are connecting to the internet this way then you will have to have a special modem to convert the digital signals that your computer sends into signals that the lines can handle, which are analogue, without a Ethernet port it would make it more difficult for you to communicate using your computer system.

If you don’t have an Ethernet port built in with your computer then you can simply just insert one into an available PCI slot, like you would with the graphics card, so don’t panic if you can’t see an Ethernet port, as you can install one.

Power Supply - CS1

Power supply

Before you start touching the power supply, please refer to the health and safety at the top of this page.

This is pretty much self explanatory; you need a power supply that will supply your computer with the power that it needs to run. The power supply is located at the back of a computer case, it is fairly easy to replace or insert a different one if need be.

What you need to do is you need to first of all unscrew it, (because it needs to be secured into place), then it should just slide out, then you will need to disconnect all of the other wires that are going to the motherboard, slide the new one in (making sure you have the right size power supply is vital so measure the old one before purchasing or getting a new one, I know I’ve made this mistake), screw It back into place then simply just plug the wires back into the motherboard, it is as simple as that.

Also in a power supply you have a thing called AC and DC, these stand for Alternate current and Direct current. This is the form of which the electricity is transferred through the power pack. Alternate current (AC), is where the electricity current can go in any direction, meaning it can go back and forward if it wishes too. AC is better to use for transferring electricity to long distances, that’s why most power sockets you will find in a home uses AC. DC is different though. DC means direct current, which is where the current is sent directly to the point of which it is needed. DC is less reliable than AC because it doesn’t travel long distances.