What is the operating system - Essay Example

Your full February 20, Operating System An operating system (OS) is “a software program that enables the computer hardware to communicate and operate with the computer software” (Computer Hope, para.1). If there is no OS in the computer, it does not know how to use or operate the softwares installed in it. An OS lets the user feel that he is in control of all the devices and the programs installed in the hard disk. For example, we see the mouse pointer on the screen, and we move it hither and thither according to our requirements, to open folders and to browse the web.

For a layman, it is only simple pointer acting according to our commands, but actually there is a whole software program that is running behind the scenes, and is controlling all its moves. That software program is the OS. When we purchase a computer system, it may or may not have an OS in it. The user has to install it. There are different types of OS, which have come over the period. For example, Windows 2000/XP/7 (types of Windows OS which is the most common OS developed by Microsoft, compatible with PC and IBM), Apple Mac OS (which is the only OS introduced by and for Apple), Ubuntu Linux (PC and IBM compatible, a variant of Linux), Google Android (which is a new OS that goes with smart phones that support Android functionalities), and iOS (for Apple iPhones).

Hence, OS can be found not only in computers, but also in small electronic devices like mobile phones nowadays. Discussion about OS cannot be completed with an account of how to install an OS. Suppose that you have to install Windows 7. Place Windows 7 DVD in the DVD-ROM, and start the PC. This starts Windows 7 booting, followed by a progress bar. A screen appears that asks for language, time and currency format, and also the input method. After inserting user settings, click the install option after reading the license terms.

Select Custom (Advanced) option, and disregard the Upgrade option to do a clean install. Select the appropriate drive where the Windows files will be installed. Windows 7 will start copying files to the hard disk while rebooting the system a few times in a number of steps. PC reboots from the DVD, since it is the first boot device. After the reboot, select the computer name and the username. An account with the name of administrator will be created. Now, select password and password hint for the administrator’s account.

Type the product key, although you can still proceed but that will be a trial version then. Windows will have to be activated within the next thirty days. Review your settings, which include time, time zone, date, and computer’s location. Windows will restart, and the OS will boot up. You can now log in. To conclude, the function of an OS is to control complicated tasks that a computer needs to perform, and to keep the computer updated with the changing requirements of the time and user. An OS makes the device flexible and easy to use, since it organizes the way the hardware and software interact with each other.

Works CitedComputer Hope. Operating System. 2013, Computer Hope. Web. .