4. Managing an OS

Question 1

What are management interfaces used for?

They can be a graphical or command-line tool

Answer 1

System configuration

i.e. Control panel, management consoles, Registry Editor (regedit), Command Prompt/PowerShell

Question 2

How to access sysadmin tools in Windows 10?

sysadmin = System administration

Answer 2

• Right-clicking Start button
• Pressing Windows+X

Question 3

What is a process?

Answer 3

Main unit controlling a program and managing its memory from the OS

Question 4

What are threads?

Answer 4

Parts of a program scheduled for execution by the CPU

A process may contain one or more threads

Question 5

What does the Task Manager allow you to do?

Answer 5

• Shut down processes
• Monitor PC resources

Question 6

4 ways to run Task Manager in Windows?

Answer 6

• Right-click taskbar
• Right-click Start button
• Click Windows+X
• Click CTRL+SHIFT+ESC

Question 7

What does it mean to “kill” a process?

Answer 7

Terminating a process via task manager

Always try to close or end a task normally before “killing” it

Question 8

How to kill a process on the command line?

Answer 8

taskkill

Question 9

What is are Windows services?

Answer 9

Background process that run without user interation or visible window

Windows Services handle key functions like sign-in, network browsing, and file indexing for faster searches. They’re installed by both Windows and third-party apps like antivirus, databases, or backup tools.

Question 10

What does Task Scheduler do in Windows?

Answer 10

Sets tasks to run at a particular time

Tasks in Task Scheduler can run once in the future or on a recurring schedule. They can execute simple applications or batch files. Access Task Scheduler via its console or through Computer Management.

Question 11

What is the Windows’ Task Scheduler equivalent for Linux?

Answer 11

cron

Question 12

What is a memory leak?

Answer 12

When a process keeps claiming memory addresses without releasing them

Badly written programs & malware can cause memory leaks

Question 13

What is virtual memory aka?

Answer 13

Pagefile

Question 14

What is virtual memory (pagefile)

Answer 14

Portion of storage used as an extension of RAM when the physical RAM is full

Question 15

Downside to virtual RAM?

Answer 15

Hard drives are slower than RAM

But using an SSD will greatly improve performance

Question 16

What is Windows’ Disk Management used for?

Answer 16

Formatting storage devices & managing partitions

Question 17

What does partitioning mean?

Answer 17

Logically dividing a disk into separate areas, each accessible by the OS as its own drive

Question 18

What should you do before using Disk Management?

Answer 18

Back up data

Question 19

What does reformatting or partitioning a disk do?

Answer 19

Delets data stored on it

Question 20

What does the term “console” refer to?

Answer 20

command line or command prompt

But they have different technical meanings in Windows & UNIX/Linux

Question 21

What does access control mean?

Answer 21

System/data can only be used by an authorized person

Question 22

What account is created/used when an OS is first installed?

Answer 22

Local administrator account

Question 23

When should the local administrator account be used?

Answer 23

To manage the computer

i.e. install apps/devices, troubleshooting, etc.

Question 24

How do Standard user accounts differ from the admin account?

Answer 24

Unable to alter system settings and can only save files within their user/public profile

i.e. a user named David could only save files within C:\Users\David or C:\Users\Public. Administrators can access any folder on the computer.

Question 25

How do you create a loacal account instead of a microsoft account?

Answer 25

Clicking I don’t have this person’s sign-in information

Question 26

1 CLI that is not case sensitive?

Answer 26

Windows PowerShell

In Linux, the command environment is case-sensitive