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PC PACKAGES

DRAME ANE MOHAMED

BSC IT 1
ASSIGNMENT 1

1 DEFINITION OF OPERATING
SYSTEM
An Operating System is the most essential System
software that manages the function of a computer. It is
a software, that makes the computer ready for. The
operating system basically organizes and controls the
hardware and the software resources so that the
computer works in away the user wants it to. The most
common operating systems are that developed by
Microsoft, better known as the windows family. Then
there is the UNIX operating system and the Macintosh
operating systems developed by Apple. There are
many special-purpose operating systems also
available, depending on the kind of application it is
being used for. Example: robotics and mainframes etc.

2. EXPLAINATION OF DISK
OPERATING SYSTEM
Disk Operating System also known as DOS (Disk
Operating System) is a set of programs whose main
functions are to manage disk files, allocate system
resources according to the requirement. It is the
medium through which the user and external devices
attached to the system communicate with the system.
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DOS translates the commands issued by the user in 5

the format that can be understood by the computer and
instructs the computer to function accordingly. The
result of all the actions are again converted in such a
manner as is understood by the user. It is a single-user
operating system.

3 EXPLAINATION OF DIR COMMAND

The dir command allows us to see the available files in

the current and/or parent directories. DIR [drive:][path]
[filename] [/P] [/W] [/A[[:]attributes]] [/O[[:]sort order]]
[/S] [/B] [/L] [/V]
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Syntax: C:\> DIR A:\> DIR

4.1 HOW TO CHANGE DIRECTORY?

The Change Directory (CHDIR) or CD command
enables the user to move around the directories in a
disk. Type the CD command at the command prompt.
Syntax: A:\> CHDIR {path} or a:\> CD {path}

4.2 HOW TO MAKE DIRECTORY?

To create a directory, DOS provides the MKDIR (Make
Directory) or MD command. Syntax: A:\>MKDIR [drive:]
{pathname} or A:\>MD [drive:] {pathname} Square
brackets indicate that [drive:] entry is optional.
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4.3 HOW TO DELETE DIRECTORY?

To delete or remove a directory DOS has the RD

(Remove Directory) command Example: # 1. A:\>
RD \EMP\SALARY removes the SALARY sub-directory
in EMP directory.
5 THE USE OF WILDCARD CARACTERS

DOS recognizes two wildcard characters: asterisk (*)

represents one or more characters that a group of files
has in common; and the question mark (?) represents
a single character that a group of files has in common.
We can use wildcards to replace all or part of a file's
name or its extension.
Example:
*.TXT All files with a .TXT
extension

???.* All files having 3 letter

names, with any or no extension

6.1 RENAMING FILES

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The REN command stands for "Rename". When we

use the REN command, we must include two
parameters

REN oldname newname

6.2 DELETING FILES

DOS provides DEL command

Syntax: DEL {drive:} {path} {filename}

7 EXPLAINATION OF MICROSOFT WINDOWS

Microsoft Windows has a series of operating systems

produced by Microsoft. The first Windows operating
system was introduced in November 1985 in response
to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces
(GUIs). Microsoft Windows came to dominate the
world's personal computer market, overtaking Mac OS,
which had been introduced previously. The most recent
client version of Windows is Windows Vista; the most
recent server version is Windows Server 2008. Vista's
successor, Windows 7 (currently in public beta) is to be
released between July 1, 2009.

MS Windows 1.x
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Windows 1.x launches the MS-DOS Executive on start.

The MS-DOS executive is like a File Manager, except
that there are no icons and no drag-and-drop.
Programs and directories can be opened by double-
clicking, but other disk functions must be done through
the menu.

MS Windows 2.x

Like Windows 1.x, Windows 2.x starts up with the

Windows MS-DOS Executive. Windows version 2.03
runs only in real mode like 1.x, however Windows 2.1
introduced 386 enhanced mode, which allowed
Windows to use memory beyond 640k. Windows 2.x is
packaged with the same applications as Windows 1.x,
but the window management is significantly improved.
Overlapping windows are allowed, and windows may
be freely resized and moved on the screen.

MS Windows 3.x

Improved in design, mostly because of virtual memory

and loadable virtual device drivers, which allowed them
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to share arbitrary devices between multitasked DOS

windows. Microsoft replaced the old MS-DOS
Executive with Program Manager and its companion,
File Manager. Program manager gives the user large
Macintosh like icons to click on to start programs.
Although program groups cannot be imbedded in other
program groups, the icons are drag and droppable
between groups. On the technical side, Windows 3.0 is
capable of running in 8086 "real mode" (640k limit),
286 "standard mode" and 386 "enhanced mode" which
also allows page swapping (hard drive space is the
limit). Windows 3.0 was the last version of Windows
that ran on 8088/8086 IBM PC compatibles.

MS Windows 95, 98 and Me

Windows 95 featured a new user interface, supported

long file names, could automatically detect and
configure installed hardware (plug and play), natively
ran 32-bit applications, and featured several
technological improvements that increased its stability
over Windows 3.1. Windows 95 used pre-emptive
multitasking and ran each 32-bit application in a
separate space. Security was still an issue in this
system. Windows 95 was now bundled together with
MS-DOS 7.0. Microsoft released Windows Me in 2000,
which used the same core as Windows 98 but adopted
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some aspects of Windows 2000 and removed the "boot

in DOS mode" option. It also added a new feature
called System Restore, allowing the user to set the
computer's settings back as it was at an earlier date.
Me is also the last DOS-based Windows release which
does not include Microsoft Product Activation.

Windows NT

The NT family of Windows systems was marketed for

higher reliability business use. The first release was
MS Windows NT 3.1 (1993) which was followed by NT
3.5 (1994), NT 3.51 (1995), NT 4.0 (1996), and
Windows 2000 (2000). 2000 is the last NT-based
Windows release which does not include Microsoft
Product Activation. Microsoft then moved to combine
their consumer and business operating systems with
Windows XP, coming in both home and professional
versions. Windows Server 2003, released a year and a
half after Windows XP, brought Windows Server up to
date with MS Windows XP. After a lengthy
development process, Windows Vista was released
toward the end of 9 2006, and its server counterpart,
Windows Server 2008 was released in early 2008. In
2009, Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2
entered beta. Microsoft plans to release Windows 7 in
late 2009 or early 2010.
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File Management

File management requires organization and using the

tools available to make the task easier. File
management in windows takes place in Windows
Explorer, by increasing the viewable area we are
minimizing the amount of scrolling. Pressing the F11
key substantially increases the visible area. By default,
the Explorer toolbar at the top with the standard button
is visible. Windows has the ability to display folders and
files using Tile, Icon, List, Thumbnail, and Detail views.
They can be easily changed using the View menu or
the Views toolbar button. When Explorer is set to use
Details view the right pane contains a series of details
listed across the top of the right pane. The default
details are Name, Size, Type, and Date Modified. Any
one of the columns may be clicked to set it as the
default to be used in the sort order. The small
arrowhead following the detail name indicates whether
the sort is in ascending or descending order

Using essential accessories in Windows

Disk cleanup
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Regular maintenance of the computer is necessary for

its smooth running. The Disk Cleanup Utility of
Windows determines which files on a hard drive may
no longer be needed and removes those files. In
addition to freeing up potentially significant amounts of
hard drive space, using Disk Cleanup on a regular
basis significantly improves system performance. Disk
Cleanup can be accessed in the following way: Click
Start then Programs then Accessories then System
Tools then Disk Cleanup Instead of automatically
proceeding with cleanup once the drive analysis is
complete, Disk Cleanup allows us to review the
categories of files to be deleted. One can choose the
option of deleting the files. In case one doesn’t want to
delete them one can use drag and drop to move any
files to a safe location

There are a number of different types of file categories

that Disk Cleanup targets when it performs the initial
disk analysis. Depending on the system the category
may be listed.

Downloaded Program Files These are ActiveX controls

and Java applets downloaded from Web sites that are
temporarily stored in the Downloaded Program Files
folder.

Temporary Internet Files Recycle Bin i

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Temporary Remote Desktop Files

Setup Log Files
Backup Files for Previous Operating System
Offline Files
Compress Old Files

Disk Defragmenter

When files are created, deleted, or modified i. e. when

any kind of manipulation takes place with files, it's
almost a certainty they will become fragmented.
Fragmented means that different parts of the file are
scattered across the hard disk in noncontiguous
pieces. The more fragmented files there are on a drive,
the more the performance and reliability of the drive
suffers. This is because the different pieces have to be
brought together from various parts. The Disk
Defragmenter Utility reorganizes noncontiguous files
into contiguous files and optimize their placement on
the hard drive for increased reliability and performance.

Entertainment

Entertainment in Windows has utilities like sound

recorder, volume control and media player etc. It is
basically to use resources for entertainment which can
be downloaded or attached.
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Games

Games utility in Windows has certain preloaded games

on it for the user. Games available are solitaire, pinball
minesweeper etc. An in-built calculator is available in
windows. Other utilities available are imaging (for
viewing images) fax, notepad (for creating text files),
paint (for creating and modifying image files), WordPad
(for writing documents)

8 EXPLAINATION OF LINUX

Linux is a free Unix-type operating system originally

created by Linus Torvalds with the assistance of
developers around the world. Developed under the
GNU General Public License, the source code for
Linux is freely available to everyone and is therefore
also known as open source software. It is not a single
program; it is an operating system. One doesn’t have
to install Linux in the hard disk to use the Linux
operating system. There are several "versions" of Linux
that can be downloaded and burned to a CD. These
variants of the Linux operating system, known as "Live
CD" versions, will boot Linux directly from the CD on
systems that are capable of doing this. There are
several popular Live CD distributions, such as MEPIS,
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Knoppix and Sax. Most major Linux distributors (SUSE,

Mandriva, Ubuntu) also offer Live CD versions of their
products. Linux's functionality, adaptability and
robustness, has made it the main alternative for
proprietary Unix and Microsoft operating systems. IBM,
Hewlett-Packard and other giants of the computing
world have embraced Linux and support its ongoing
development. Well into its second decade of existence,
Linux has been adopted worldwide primarily as a
server platform. Its use as a home and office desktop
operating system is also on the rise. The operating
system can also be incorporated directly into
microchips in a process called "embedding" and is
increasingly being used this way in appliances and
devices.

Following are certain important features of

Linux

Multitasking: several programs running at the same

time

Multiuser: Several users working on the same machine

at the same time

Multiplatform: Runs on various platforms not just Intel

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Several multiple threads can run on a single memory

space

Linux only reads from disk those parts of a program

that are actually used.

all source code is available, including the whole kernel

and all drivers, the development tools and all user
programs; also, all of it is freely distributable
support for many national or customized keyboards,
and it is fairly easy to add new ones dynamically

Many networking protocols are supported

The Linux file structure is grouped according to

purpose. All directories are grouped under the root
entry "/".

Below is a list of the directory tree

root - The home directory for the root user

home - Contains the user's home directories along with
directories for services
ftp
HTTP
bin - Commands needed during bootup
sbin - Like bin but commands are not intended for
normal users. Commands run by LINUX.
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usr - Contains all commands, libraries, man pages,

games and static files for normal operation.
bin - Almost all user commands. some
commands are in /bin or /usr/local/bin.
sbin - System admin commands not needed on
the root filesystem. e.g., most server programs.
include - Header files for the C programming
language. Should be below /user/lib for consistency.
lib - Unchanging data files for programs and
subsystems
local - The place for locally installed software and
other files.
man - Manual pages
info - Info documents
doc – Documentation
tmp
X11R6 - The X windows system files. There is a
directory similar to usr below this directory.

Linux Installation

Prerequisites for installing Linux:

1. Machine should be higher than or a 386

2. It should have a CD-ROM

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3. If installation is through LAN, network interface card

should be installed

4. One should be able to boot from the CD-ROM or

floppy drive

5. Space required would depend on how much of the

software is being installed, ideally 1 GB of space is
required.
6. Installation time may vary from one to three hours

Linux requires one partition which will have the root

filesystem in it. One will have to boot with the boot disk.
The boot disk loads onto the ram disk a small set of
files and installation tools which is required to install the
program. After boot all the recent Linux versions
support menu-driven or screen-oriented programs. The
program will automatically prompt us to the next step.

The first step after booting would again be partitioning.

It will ask for creating a partition or leave the existing
partitioning. After partitioning, Linux will ask to
associate its filesystem names with non-swap
partitions. Once the partitions have been prepared, the
installation becomes automatic. After installation is
complete, the installation program will go through a
number of configuration files. This includes specifying
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our modem and mouse device, as well as our time

zone. Follow the menu options.

9 DEFINITION OF WORDS PROCESSING

Word processing, requires a computer, a special

program called a word processor, and a printer. A word
processor allows us to create a document, store and
display it on a screen, modify it by entering commands
10 THE BASICS FEATURES OF WORDS
PROCESSORS
On opening of a word document, we see the Title bar at
the top of the screen. On the Title bar, Microsoft Word
displays the name of the current document. The Menu
bar is generally found directly below the Title bar. The
Menu bar has the following menu: File, Edit, View,
Insert, Format, Tools, Table, Window, and Help. By
clicking the left mouse button on the links, a drop-down
menu is seen. To select an option, click the option or
use the arrow keys to move to the option on the drop-
down menu and press Enter. To exit Word:
1. Click File.
2. Click Exit, which can be found at the bottom of the
drop-down menu.
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3. If we have entered text, we will be prompted: "Do we

want to save changes to Document1?" To save our
changes, click Yes. Otherwise, click No.
4. Specify the correct folder in the Save In box.
5. Name our file by typing a name in the File Name
field. 6. Click Save.

Cut and Paste

AutoText
Highlighting of text by Using the F8 and Arrow Keys
Highlighting by Using the Mouse
Typing and Using the Backspace Key
The Delete Key
Font Size

11 HOW TO WORK WITH PARAGRAPH?

For creating space before a paragraph
highlight the paragraph.
Choose Format > Paragraph from the menu.
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Choose the Indents and Spacing tab.

Enter no of points in the Before field.
Click OK.
For creating space after a paragraph
Highlight the paragraph
Choose Format > Paragraph from the menu.
Choose the Indents and Spacing tab.
Enter the number of points in the After field.
Click OK.
12. DEFINITION OF LINE SPACING AND
EXPLAINATION OF CHECKING AND
CORRECTING SPELLINGS.
Line Spacing
Line Spacing sets the amount of space between lines
within a paragraph. Single spacing is the default. The
following are the steps to specify the line spacing in a
paragraph.
Highlight the paragraph Choose Format > Paragraph
from the menu.
Choose the Indents and Spacing tab.
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Click to open the drop-down menu on the Line Spacing

field.
Click the spacing we want.
Click OK.

Checking and correcting spellings Spell

Check

Word can check spelling and grammar of the text.

Spelling errors are displayed with a red wavy line under
the word. Grammar errors are displayed with a green
wavy line under the error. To spell check the entire
document, press F7 and click the spelling icon, or
choose Tools > Spelling and Grammar from the menu.
If only part of the document is to be checked, highlight
the area. Then press F7 and click the spelling icon, or
choose Tools > Spelling and Grammar from the menu.
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13 THE STEPS TO IMPORT A GRAPHIC

The following steps show how to import a

graphics file:

Click the mouse at the point where we want to insert

the graphic.
From the Insert menu, choose Picture, From File.

In the File name box, type or select the name of the file
we want. If we do not see the file we want to import,
select a different drive or directory.

Click the Open button.

14 EXPLAINTATION OF FIND AND REPLACE

COMMAND
To look for a particular word or piece of text, one can
use the Find command.
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Choose Edit > Find from the menu.

Type the word we want to search for in the Find What

field.
Click Find Next. Click Find Next till it searches the
whole document and the following message should
appear: "Word has finished searching the selection. Do
you want to search the remainder of the document?"
Click No.
Click Cancel.

15 EXPLAINTATION OF TABLE IN WORD

PROCESSING
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16 EXPLAINATION OF TEMPLATES AND

WIZARDS
Templates are a special type of Word document that
can hold text, styles, macros, keyboard shortcuts,
custom toolbars and AutoText entries. A document
created using a template will have access to all of these
features. We don't need to use all (or even any) of
these features for templates to help us and those with
whom our work. It's important to remember that the only
way start a new document by working through a
template is to begin a new document from “File” >>
“New” on the menu bar.
The “New Document” panel will appear on the right side
of the Word window. Underneath the section named
“Templates,” click “On my computer…”
The “Templates” window will appear, and ask for our
selection. There are a wide variety of templates to
choose from, especially in the “Letters and Faxes” tab.
Use the tabs to cycle through the different categories of
templates available to us.
Some of the more common templates have previews
available. If we would like to see a preview of the layout
of the template, click on one of the template
names/icons under the tab menus, and look for the
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preview image on the right side of the window under the

"Preview" section. When we find a template we like,
select the template, and then click on the "OK" button.
Some templates may not be currently installed on the
computer. In these cases, Word will prompt to insert the
installation disk. If we do not have this disk, then we will
not be able to use that template. However, we can also
visit the Microsoft Template Gallery to download and
install new templates.
Using the Template Wizard
The template wizard allows us to go through each step
of the document creation process, and will ask us to
input certain information along the way. To navigate
through the template wizard, one has to input
necessary information at each step, and then click on
the "Next" button to proceed to the next step. Once the
process is over one can edit the document as required.
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