operating systems

Question 1

what does an OS do

Answer 1

manages hardware and provides a platform for different applications to run on

Question 2

what is an user interface (2)

Answer 2

program that allows users to interact with hardware / systems eg GUI and CLI
allows them to input data and display date on the screen

Question 3

what does memory management do (3)

Answer 3

controls the transfer of data between the VM and RAM by receiving data from the secondary storage and sending it to the main storage (RAM)
it also allocates certain applications to certain memory addresses to prevent them from overwriting each other
also switches between them so fast it looks like it’s multitasking

Question 4

how are peripherals managed

Answer 4

OS allows device drivers to be installed that act as translators which allow external hardware to communicate with the processor and send data to and from peripherals (control them)

Question 5

how are users managed

Answer 5

os provides security through accounts and passwords
also sets different access rights

Question 6

how are files managed

Answer 6

files/folders can be created, saved, opened, named, deleted, moved or edited
files are also allocated to folders

Question 7

what does the utility software do (2)

Answer 7

preforms housekeeping actions and manages a computer system to help it run efficiently and smoothly
also preforms additional tasks that the OS doesn’t

Question 8

what does the encryption software do (3)

Answer 8

scrambles / encodes data so that it cannot be understood when intercepted
then only authorised users can access personal data using a key
follows the data protection act

Question 9

what causes defragmentation

Answer 9

occurs when files are saved on a hard disk then deleted and new files take up more space than there is left therefore splitting up the order of files to different areas

Question 10

what is defragmentation (2)

Answer 10

when files/data are reorganised by collecting free space and moving files fragments together consecutively
so the access time is faster as individual files doenst have to be reassembled so less physical movement for the head of the read / write, hence saving time

Question 11

what is data compression (2)

Answer 11

when an algorithm is used to remove unnecessary data eg reducing colour depth or the resolution
it also can reduce file sizes to use less storage / disk space, allowing faster transmission and more files to be stored