Internal command

External commands

Internal commands are available for use as soon as we get command prompt.

External commands are not available for use as soon as we get command prompt.

Do not require corresponding .com or .exe files

Require corresponding .com or .exe files

Internal commands are : cd, md, rd, copy con, del , ren etc.

External commands are: tree, fdisk, format, xcopy etc.

Difference between Internal and External Command

Batch Files

The batch file command can be used to make choices, perform repetitive tasks, call subroutines, and operate in various ways.

The purpose of batch file is to save time and effort. Batch file has extension bat. Primary name of batch file must not match with internal and external command. First preference is given to execute .exe file, second preference is given to execute .com file and at last .bat file.

Below is a sample batch file used to create a directory ‘nagendra’ and to display date and time.

C:\>Copy con dewangan.bat (enter)

Date (enter)

Time (enter)

Md nagendra (enter)

(control+z followed by enter)

To run this batch file

c:\> dewangan (enter)

explanation:

first date command will execute and will show system date, and if we wish we can set new date.

next time command will execute and will show system time, and if we wish we can set new time.

Next md nagendra will execute and will create directory nagendra.

Basic commands in DOS( NOTE: DOS IS NOT CASE SENSITIVE)

Internal Commands

(i) CD : this command displays you the current directory where you are. Usages:

C:\NAGENDRA\> CD (enter)

NAGENDRA

(ii) DIR: this command is useful to display files, directories in various formats.

Disk information report.

C:\NAGENDRA\> DIR /W

explanation: gives output in multiple columns

C:\NAGENDRA\> DIR /AD

Explanation: gives listing of directory only.

C:\NAGENDRA\> DIR /AH/P

Explanation: gives listing of hidden as well as non-hidden files page wise

C:\NAGENDRA\> DIR /O:N

Explanation: gives listing of files and directories in ascending order

C:\NAGENDRA\> DIR /O:-N

explanation: gives listing of files and directories in descending order

C:\NAGENDRA\> DIR /S

explanation: gives listing of files and directories as well as subdirectories.

(iii) TYPE : this command is useful to display content of a file.

Usages:

C:\NAGENDRA\> TYPE dewangan (enter)

Displays content of file dewangan

Explanation: this command will display content of file dewangan page wise

You can create new text file

C:\NAGENDRA\> TYPE dewangan | more (enter)

(iv) COPY CON: can be used to create a file

C:\NAGENDRA\> COPY CON DIKSHA (enter)

Include text

Press enter to change line

When no more text to type press enter

Press control+z or F6 followed by enter key

(v) VOL: this command gives user volume serial no. label of disk

C:\NAGENDRA\> VOL (enter)

(vi) CLS: this command clears the screen

C:\NAGENDRA\> CLS (enter)

(vii) DATE : this command gives date set in system as well as allows to change date

Suppose you want to change date to 4 feb 2009 format is in mm/dd/yyyy

C:\NAGENDRA\> DATE 2/4/2009 (enter)

Suppose you want to display date then command would be

C:\NAGENDRA\> DATE (enter)

(viii) REN: when you want to rename a file.

Suppose there is a file DIKSHA and you want to assign it name DHARMENDRA

C:\NAGENDRA\> REN DIKSHA DHARMENDRA (enter)

(ix) TIME : this command gives time set in system as well as allows to change time

Suppose you want to change time to 2:10 PM format is in HH:MM:SS C:\NAGENDRA\> TIME 2:10 AM (enter)

Suppose you want to display TIME then command would be

C:\NAGENDRA\> TIME (enter)

(x) PATH: to display and/or set path for various program such as turboc, windows etc.

To display we can use

C:\NAGENDRA\> PATH (enter)

To set path we can use

C:\NAGENDRA\> PATH =c:\windows;.c:\tc\bin;c:\windows\command (enter)

Benefit of path is that we can run program from any directory for which path is set.

(xi) COPY: copies one file to other file

suppose there is a file SUNITA it is required to copy it with name MEENA

C:\NAGENDRA\> COPY SUNITA MEENA (enter)

(xii)DEL: to delete file

C:\NAGENDRA\> DEL MEENA (enter)

deletes a file with name MEENA

(xiv) CD \: changes directory to root directory.

C:\NAGENDRA\> cd\ (enter)

Suppose you are in root directory and want to go inside directory NAGENDRA you can use

C:\ \> CD NAGENDRA (enter)

changes directory to NAGENDRA

C:\NAGENDRA\> cd ..

changes directory to parent directory of current directory

(xv) MD: makes directory

C:\NAGENDRA\> MD DHARMENDRA (enter)

creates directory DHARMENDRA inside NAGENDRA directory

(xvi) RD: removes a directory which is empty and is in current directory

C:\NAGENDRA> RD DHARMENDARA (enter)

removes directory DHARMENDRA which is empty

(xvii) ECHO: display message in batch file

@ ECHO OFF

When used in batch file it hides printing of name of commands being executed

@ ECHO ON

When used in batch file it displays printing of name of commands being executed

(xviii) PROMPT: changes the command prompt the way it looks

C:\NAGENDRA> PROMPT “HELLO” $P$G

Now prompt looks like below

HELLO C:\NAGENDRA>

To change it to default

HELLO C:\NAGENDRA> PROMPT $P$G (enter)

$p displays current drive and directory and $g displays greater than symbol.

External Commands:

(i) MOVE: use this command to moves a file from one directory to other and to renames a file or directory

suppose there is a file SUNITA and it is required to rename it as MEENA

C:\NAGENDRA\> MOVE SUNITA MEENA(enter)

suppose there is a file ANITA and it is required to move it under directory priyanka. Directory priyanka already exists in current directory.

C:\NAGENDRA\> MOVE ANITA PRIYANKA (enter)

(ii) CHKDSK: it is used to check the status of a disk and displays a status report. This command can also fix common disk errors.

C:\> CHKDKS (enter)

(iii) MEM: display amount of RAM available in system, how much have been used and how much is free in extended and conventional memory

C:\> MEM (enter)

(iv) EDIT: edit is a text editor provided with the MS-DOS to reate and edit text files. This sis a full-screen editor that allows you to create, edit, save and print text files. When using the MS-DOS editor you can choose commands from menus and specify information and references in dialog boxes.

To use this editor type

C:\> edit file (enter)

If the file doesn’t exist edit creates it. If the file exists, edit opens it and displays it content on the screen.

(v) FORMAT: format command s used to prepare a disk for use with DOS. This is an external command.

C:\> format a: (enter)

During format DOS creates sector and tracks, this division helps the DOS to organize the information stored on the disk and root directory is created along with FAT.

C:\> format a:/q (enter)

Quicks formats a disk and FAT is rebuild

C:\> format a:/s (enter)

formats a disk and makes the disk DOS bootable and transfers the system files.

(vi) MORE: more command displays the output of command page wise

C;\> TYPE dewangan | more

C:\ DIR | MORE

Displays directory information page wise.

(vii) SORT : to display output of previous command in ascending or descending order

C:\> dir | sort | more

Displays content of directory in ascending order page wise

C:\> dir | sort /r | more

Displays content of directory in descending order page wise

(vii) TREE : to display output of directory structure in tree like form.

C:\> TREE | more

Displays structure of directories in tree like shape with page wise

C:\> TREE /F | more

Displays structure of directories in tree like shape with page wise including files also.

(viii) APPEND: allows files in other directory to be opened as if it were in current directory

C:\NAGENDRA> APPEND D:\RANU

Now directory d:\ranu is appended to c:\nagendra directory therefore file of d:\ranu

can be searched and accessed from c:\nagendra.

(ix) XCOPY: selectively copies file. It can create directory, subdirectory as needed and copy files within them.

It can be used as simple copy command. For example to copy a file TEENA that already exists with file name MEENA command would be

C:\NAGENDRA\> XCOPY TEENA MEENA (ENTER)

To copy a file TEENA that already exists with file name MEENA inside root directory c:\> command would be

C:\NAGENDRA\> XCOPY TEENA C:\MEENA (ENTER)

To copy all files of directory SUNITA that already exists, with directory name REENA inside root directory c:\> command would be

C:\NAGENDRA\> XCOPY SUNITA\*.* C:\REENA /S (ENTER)

(x) SYS: transfers system files (IOS.SY, MSDOS.SYS and COMMAND.COM) in a drive so that disk can be DOS bootable

C:\NAGENDRA\> SYS A: (enter)

It Makes a floppy disk bootable without formatting.

(x) LABEL: using this command new label (volume name) can be given to a disk drive

C:\NAGENDRA\> LABEL (enter)

Now you would be needed to enter less than or equal to 11 characters lengthy name

To erase disk label simply press enter to come to DOS prompt.

(xi) ATTRIB: using this command a file or directory can be made read-only, system, or hidden etc.

Suppose it is required to make a file dewangan read only, system and hidden then command would be

C:\NAGENDRA\> ATTRIB +R +H +S dewangan (enter)

Suppose it is required to make a file dewangan non read only, non system and non hidden then command would be

C:\NAGENDRA\> ATTRIB -R -H -S dewangan (enter)

(xii) PRINT: print command prints a text file while you are using some other MS-DOS commands.

This command can print in background to an output device connected to one of your system’s serial or parallel port.

C:\> PRINT sample.txt (enter)

It will ask “name of list device [prn]” press enter at this prompt

It will flash message:

Resident part of print installed

C:\sample.txt is currently being printed.

Now you get DOS prompt and you can run any other command.

The PRINT command keeps printing in the background.

C:\> PRINT emp.sal /p (enter)

Adds file emp.sal to the print queue.

C:\> PRINT emp.sal/c (enter)

Command removes file emp.sal from the print queue.

C:\> PRINT /T (enter)

Command will stop the print command and remove all the files from the print queue.

(xii) DISKCOPY: diskcopy command copies entire content of one floppy disk to another floppy disk sector by sector, older data of disk is erased and both source and destination disk must be of same storage capacity.

C:\> DISKCOPY A: A: (enter)

We have to carefully read the prompt given by MS-DOS because we can make many copies of many disk by giving single time DISKCOPY command.

(xiii) DISKCOMP: diskcomp command compares entire content of one floppy disk to another floppy disk sector by sector and both source and destination disk must be of same storage capacity.

C:\> DISKCOMP A: A: (enter)

We have to carefully read the prompt given by MS-DOS because we can compare many copies of many disk by giving single time DISKCOMP command.

(xiv) DOSKEY: DOSKEY is a memory resident program which can be used to edit command lines, recall command lines, and create macros.

To start DOSKEY use command below

C:\> DOSKEY(enter)

Recalling a command

Up arrow-recalls previous command

Down arrow- recalls next command

Page up- recalls oldest command

Page down-recall most recent command

Editing command line

Left arrow, right arrow, can be used to move character by character control +left arrow and control +right arrow can be used to move cursor word by word in left and right direction

Key

Function

HOME	Moves the cursor to the beginning of the line

END	Moves the cursor to the end of the line

ESC	Clears the command from the display

F1	Copies one character from the template to the ms-dos command line

F2	Searches forward in the template for the next key you type after pressing F2

F3	Copies the remainder of the template to the command line.

F4	Deletes characters, beginning with the current character position, up to a character you specify.

F5	Copies the current command into the template and clears the command line.

F6	Places and end-of-file character at the current position on the command line

F7	Displays all commands stored in memory, with their associated numbers.

F8	Searches memory for a command that you want DOSKEY to display.

F9	Prompts you for a command number and displays the command associated with number you specify.

(xv) HELP: this command gives help about command.

C:\> HELP DIR (enter)

Displays help about the command name given after ‘help’

(xvi) BACKUP and RESTORE: backup and restore were separate commands in prior to DOS 6.22. DOS 6.22 uses MSBACKUP command for both BACKUP and RESTORE.

Using this command we can take backs up or restores one more files from one disk onto another. This is an external command. During backup information on the hard disk is copied on the floppy disk or tapes and during restore information on the floppy or tapes or copied into hard disk.

C:\> MSBACKUP (enter)

Backup type:-

Full backup: will backup all of the selected files to the destination.

Incremental backup: backs up all selected files that have changes since the most recent all selected files or incremental backup.

Differential backup: backs up all the selected files that have changed since the last all selected files backup.

We can use tab key to move from one field to another field.

(xvi) FDISK: This command configures a hard disk for use with MS-DOS.

When started, this command displays a series of menus to help you partition your hard disk. It erases all the data of the disk.

C:\>FDISK (enter)

It provides menu options of which are as follows:

create dos partition or logical dos drive: to create partition on a new hard disk drive select this option. When you select this option by entering 1 at choice you will receive three options:

create primary DOS partition: If you are partitioning a new drive then choose this option. You have to specify size of the partition
create extended DOS partition: after creating primary dos partition you should select this option to create additional partition if space is left on hard disk.
create logical DOS drives in extended DOS PARTION.

set active partition
delete partition or logical dos drive
display partition information

Compare PC, PC-XT, and PC-AT, Pentium computers.

Pc-5150 model

Pc-xt-5160 model

Pc-at-5170 model

Pentium

Intel 8088 microprocessor with 4.77 MHz, 8 bit bus width

Intel 80286 microprocessor with 6 or 8 MHz, 16 bit bus width

Intel 80586 microprocessor with 60 to 266 MHz, 32 bit bus width

Rom based diagnostic test

Basic language interpreter embedded in ROM

256 kb ram

256 or 640 kb ram

16 MB ram

16 to 256 MB RAM

One or two Floppy drive with 360 kb and no hard-disk

One Floppy drive with 360 kb and 10 or 20 MB hard-disk

One Floppy drive with 1.2 MB and 20 or 30 MB hard-disk

Two Floppy drive 1.2 MB and or 1.44 MB, 10 GB hard-disk

Write short notes on disks.

Hard disk is a magnetic disk on which you can store computer data. The term hard is used to distinguish it from a soft, or floppy disk. Hard disk has more than thousand times of data storage capacity when compared to floppy. A floppy can store 1.44MB whereas modern hard disk can store 300 GB of data.

A single hard disk consists of platters. Floppy disk contains only one platter made of plastic. Platter is a round magnetic plate that constitutes part of a hard disk. Each platter requires two read/write heads, one for each side. All the read/write heads are attached to a single access arm so that cannot move independently. Each platter has the same number of tracks, and a track location that cuts across all platters is called a cylinder. For example a typical 84MB hard disk has two platters and 1053 cylinders. Hard disks are less portable although it is possible to buy removable hard disk.

Structure of hard disk/Floppy:

Cylinder: a single-track location on all the platters making up a hard disk. For example if a hard disk has four platters, each with 600 tracks then there will be 8 tracks for each cylinder (assuming that each platter has tracks in both sides).
Track: a ring on the disk where data can be written. A typical floppy disk has 80 (double density) or 160 (double sided high density) tracks.
Sector: is track is divided into a no. of sectors. The density of tracks is measured in terms of tracks per inch (TPI).

Commonly Used Terms

Interleave: when data is arranged in non-contiguous way to increase performance it is known as interleaving.
Seek time: time a program or a device takes to locate particular piece of data is known as seek time.
Access time: it is time required to position the read/write head to particular sector on the disk.
Latency time: in accessing data on a disk, latency is defined as the time it takes to position the proper sector under the read/write head.
Disk mirroring: a technique in which data is written to two duplicate disks simultaneously. This way if one disk fails the system can switch to other disk without any loss of data or service.
Disk striping: a technique in which data is broken into smaller units and are written to multiple available disks.
Smart (self monitoring, analysis and report technology): a standard for disk drives and software which continuously monitor disk drive’s health and report potential problems.
MTBF: mean time between failures. It is measured in hours and reports sturdiness of hard disk drives.
RAID (redundant array of inexpensive/independent disks): a category of disk drives that employ two or more drives in combination for fault tolerance and performance.

Structure of Dos Disk

Each floppy disk or hard disk contains sector, tracks and more than one platter in case of hard disk. When we intend to use it with DOS we have to format it. The file system used by DOS is FAT.

The master boot record MBR is the information in the first sector of any hard disk or diskette that identifies how and where an operating system is located so that it can be booted into the computer’s main memory. The MBR is also sometimes called the partition sector or the master partition table because it includes a table that locates each partition that the hard disk has been formatted into. In addition to this table, the MBR also includes a program that reads the boot sector record of the partition containing the operating system to be booted into RAM in turn, that record contains a program that loads the rest of the operating system into RAM.

Boot Sector: the boot sector contains details about the disk’s characteristics, plus a boot strap loader.

FAT: the principal file allocation table.

Additional FAT(s): system use one or more duplicate FATs which are updated at the same time as the main FAT. This can be used in the event of corruption of the main FAT.

Root Directory: the root directory is distinct from sub-directories in that it is in a fixed position and of fixed size. This is not generally a problem since the root should be used mainly for sub-directory entry.

The boot sector further requires elaboration. It consists of the following components:

machine code jump to boot strap loader
maker’s name and version
Allocation details; e.g. sectors/cluster, no. of FATs.
Bootstrap loader

List out different of version of MS-DOS and features

Version

Year

Features

1.0

1981

Based on IBM PC floppy disk storage single level file storage

2.0

1983

Based on IBM PC/XT with 10 mb hard disk hierarchical storage of files

3.0

1984

Based on IBM pc/at with 20 mb hard disk supported RAM disk.

3.1

1984

Some support for networks such as file sharing, locking

3.1

1986

3.5” floppy disk drive and support for IBM token ring network

3.3

1987

Support for new IBM PS/2 computers 144 mb floppy disk multiple 32 mb hard disk support and support for LIM expanded memory system.

1988

Simple window based command shell up to 2gb disk partition.

5.0

1991

Improved memory management improved shell and extended command, 2.88 mb floppy supports.

6.2

1995

Memory doubling

7.0

1997

Hidden OS working with windows 3.2, 95 and so on

Diagnostic Test

Working of booting process:

As soon as the computer is turned on, the basic input-output system (BIOS) on your system’s read-only memory chip is “woken up” and takes charge. BIOS is already loaded because it is built-in to the ROM chip and, unlike RAM, ROM contents don’t get erased when the computer is turned off. BIOS does the power on self test(POST) known as diagnostic test if particular hardware is mal-functioning it gives appropriate message.

First it looks on drive A at a specific place where operating system boot files are located if it is not presented on floppy on drive A it searches in hard disk. It finds IO.SYS and MSDOS.SYS. BIOS next looks at the first sector( a 512 bytes area) and copies information from it into specific locations of RAM this information is known as the boot record or Master Boot Record It then loads the boot record into a specific place in RAM

What is the difference between system and application software?

System software

Application software

Offers several advantages and conveniences to application programmers and computer users.

Offers several advantages and conveniences to end users to perform general purpose tasks like word processing, spreadsheet etc.

Good system software allows application packages to be run on the computer with less effort

Without system software, application software cannot be run on the computer system

The production of system software is a complex task that requires extensive knowledge and considerable specialized training in computer science and high familiarity with computer system architecture.

The production of application software is a complex task that requires extensive knowledge and considerable specialized training in computer science, computer languages and less familiarity with computer system architecture.

System software is normally developed and distributed by the computer manufacturers.

Application software is normally developed and distributed by the Software developing companies.

System software controls computer resources like: hardware peripherals, memory, processing time etc.

Application software uses resources allocated by System software.

Differentiate program and package.

Program

Package

Everything that can be seen but cannot be touch, which makes the computer work, is program. Program is collection of computer instructions.

Package is collection of program.

System software, package, utility and so on. All are under scope of program.

Package is collection of programs to perform general purpose tasks such as spread sheet, word processing etc.

Normally a program is developed by a single developer or limited no. of developers

Normally a group of developers and big software company are involved in development in package.

Not much stress is given on software engineering principles

Much stress is given on software engineering principles and practices.

Windows

MS-DOS

It is multiprogramming, timesharing and preemptive OS

It is single programming, non timesharing non preemptive OS

It has graphical user interface.

It is menu and popup menu based OS

Just select and choose the option from the menu, there is no need to remember name of commands and syntax

It is not GUI

It is not menu and popup menu based OS

It is required to remember name of commands and their syntax

It provides access to internet

It doesn’t provide facilities to access internet

It better provides security

It doesn’t provide security

It is has better networking support

It has poor networking support

New program when installed in windows it configures itself automatically.

New program installation requires manual configuration in Autoexec.bat and config.sys

It provides consistent, attractive and easy to use interface

It doesn’t provide consistent, attractive and easy to use interface.

Compare windows and Linux/Unix

Windows

Linux/Unix

It is multiprogramming, timesharing and preemptive OS. It is single user OS

It is multiprogramming, time sharing and preemptive OS. It is multi-user OS.

It has graphical user interface.

It is menu and popup menu based OS

Just select and choose the option from the menu, there is no need to remember name of commands and syntax

Unix is not GUI but Linux is GUI based.

Unix is not menu and popup menu based OS. Linux is not fully menu and popup based OS but it is gradually switching to more and more GUI based

Unix/Linux requires to remember name of commands and their syntax

It provides security

Unix/Linux provide better security than windows

It is has better networking support

It has far superior networking support

Wide range of application software is available.

Very few application programs are available

It provides consistent, attractive and easy to use interface and even a beginner can use it

Unix doesn’t provide consistent, attractive and easy to use interface and a beginner can not use it. Linux provide consistent, attractive and easy to use interface and a beginner can use it.

It uses FAT32, NTFS file system

It uses ext2, ext2 file systems.

It does not treat hardware devices as files

It considers hardware devices as files

DOS

Linux/Unix

It is single programming, non timesharing and non preemptive OS. It is single user OS

It is multiprogramming, time sharing and preemptive OS. It is multi-user OS.

It is non GUI based and requires remember name of commands and syntax

Unix is not GUI but Linux is GUI based.

Unix is not menu and popup menu based OS. Linux is not fully menu and popup based OS but it is gradually switching to more and more GUI based

Unix/Linux requires to remember name of commands and their syntax

It very poor in security

Unix/Linux provides better security than windows and DOS offer.

It is poor networking support

It has far superior networking support even than windows

It provides easy to use interface and even a beginner can use it. Commands are not case sensitive.

Unix doesn’t provide consistent, attractive and easy to use interface and a beginner can not use it. Linux provide consistent, attractive and easy to use interface and a beginner can use it. Commands are case sensitive.

It uses FAT file system. It is disk operating system

It uses ext2, ext2 file systems. It is file system operating system.

It does not treat hardware devices as files

It considers hardware devices as files

It doesn’t provide remote procedure call

It provides remote procedure call

It doesn’t provide email, internet access facility

It provides email, internet access facility

Role of Control Panel

Control Panel is full of specialized tools that are used to change the way Windows looks and behaves.

Some of these tools help you adjust settings that make your computer more fun to use. For example, use Mouse to replace standard mouse pointers with animated icons that move on your screen, or use Sounds and Audio Devices to replace standard system sounds with sounds you choose. Other tools help you set up Windows so that your computer is easier to use. For example, if you are left-handed, you can use Mouse to switch the mouse buttons so that the button on the right performs the primary functions of selecting and dragging.

To open Control Panel, click Start and then click Control Panel. If your computer is set up in Classic view using the more familiar Start menu, click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.

Various Tasks that can be done are as follows:

Accessibility Options: it helps handicapped and physically disable person to use computer
Add Hardware: new hardware such as sound card, display card etc. can be configured
Add remove program: you can add new program or remove existing program
Administrative tools: you can add user, groups and can perform system administrative tasks.
Date and time: system date and time can be seen and set.
Display: you can set appearance, theme, back ground, screen saver etc.
Fonts: you can add new fonts to system
Internet Options: you can set internet security, privacy and other configuration
Keyboard: you can set keyboard repeat rate and typing rate.
Mouse: you can change configuration of mouse and swap mouse buttons
Printer and Faxes: we can add/remove printer and faxes
Regional and language settings: we can change currency, date, and time format according to our region.
Scanner and Camera: we can configure scanner and camera so that it can be used.
Scheduled tasks: we can schedule some tasks to run it periodically.
Sound and Audio Device: we can configure and set audio hardware.
System: allows to access system configuration.
Taskbar and Status bar: we can add/remove items in taskbar and status bar.
User Accounts: we can create user and set accessibility for user.
Fire Wall: we can set fire wall to protect our computer from virus and unauthorized access.
Wireless Network Setup Wizard: we can set wireless networking.

Features of GUI

Common features of GUI

On screen overlapping/ tiled windows.
Pointing device, usually a mouse, by which the user can move a screen cursor, serving as an input device.
Various GUI elements/controls
Higher level GUI elements such as menus, dialog box etc.

Various main features of GUI

The main central are is used to display and interact with user data which can be textual and/or graphical.
Slide bars or sliders used to navigate about the data by re-positioning the viewing window. We can use Page Up/Page Down keys and other combination of keys.
Title bar generally indicates the name of the program currently being used and possibly will show the name of the file.
buttons also appear in the window structure such as minimize, maximize and restore, and close
Other GUI elements can be list box, combo box, command button etc.
A window will have facilities for movement, resizing the windows.

History of windows System with main features

Windows

Year

Summary of main features

1985

Ran on Intel 286 processors. Attempt to emulate apple interface. Provided basic iconic program and file facilities. Used tile windows.

1988

Used overlapping windows. Intel 286 and 386 version were produced.

1990

Protected mode of Intel 386 used up to 16 MB of RAM, use of proportional font and highly successful

3.1

1991

Introduce OLE. Support for True Type Fonts.

3.11

1992

Minor Update to 3.1

3.11 WFW

1992

Windows for workgroups; a version with integrated network capability

OS/ 2 1.0

1991

Intended as multi-tasking replacement for MS-DOS. Ran on Intel 286 processors.

OS/2 2.0

1992

Supported MS-DOS and windows 3.1 application programs.

OS/2 2.1

1993

Better performance and support for windows 3.1 application. 32 bit graphics engine.

NT 3.1

1992

First version, labeled 3.1 for continuity with the basic windows series. First MS-DOS independent operating system from Microsoft designed from scratch. Extensive 32-bit working.

NT 3.5

1994

Also known as Daytona. Various improvements to performance 32-bit working and networking.

OS/2 Warp

1994

Special version of OS/2 which is installed on top of existing windows 3.1 installations. Designed to run satisfactorily in 4 MB of RAM and provides pre-emptive scheduling, threads and memory protection.

1995

Also known as Chicago. Upgrade from, and compatible with 3.1 but with support for 32 bit applications and MS-DOS free. Usable on smaller machine than NT. Support for OLE2. new design of user interface with more object-oriented features

NT 4.0

1996

Introduction of new-look windows 95 style user interface. Incorporates support for internet and DCOM.

Among the new features available in Windows XP, there are new security tools that you can use to help keep your computer more secure, and new technologies that run in the background, making your computer run more efficiently and reliably.

Windows XP has improved upon security, including the new Security Center, which allows you to check the status of the important security elements on your computer—Windows Firewall, Automatic Updates, and virus protection software—making it easier for you to understand how to keep your computer better protected against viruses and other security threats. Performance is at an all-time high. You can now use more programs at the same time and they will run faster than ever. Windows XP is dependable and stable, so you can always rely on the performance and effectiveness of your computer.

Improvements have also been made on many features that make using your computer more effective and useful. For example, you can use Remote Desktop to access your work computer and its resources from home, and to view files and documents on your computer's desktop from a co-worker's computer. With NetMeeting you can have virtual meetings with anyone, anywhere, and you can participate in discussions using audio, video, or chat. Getting help has never been easier. With Remote Assistance, you just send an invitation (either in e-mail or Instant Messenger) to your favorite computer expert or support professional, and they can help you fix a problem from their location. Windows XP provides extensive online Help for all operating system features, as well as a digital tour to help you discover the possibilities awaiting you.

Basic commands in Unix

(i) pwd: this command displays you the current directory where you are. pwd stands for print working directory

Usages:

$pwd(enter)

/user/nagendra

(ii) ls: this command is useful to display files, directories in various formats.

$ ls –x

explanation: gives output in multiple columns

$ ls –Fx

Explanation: gives output in multiple columns displaying / in last of directory name and * in last of executable file.

$ ls –a

Explanation: gives listing of hidden as well as non-hidden files.

$ ls –lr

Explanation: gives listing of files and directories in reverse order

$ ls –lR

explanation: gives long listing of files and directories and subdirectories recursively.

(iii) cat : this command is useful to display content of a file.

Usages:

$cat nagendra

Explanation: this command will display content of file nagendra

You can create new text file

$cat > dewangan (enter)

Type the text you want to include

At the last to end the typing of text press (control+d)

To check whether the file has been created use

$cat dewangan (enter)

Explanation: this command will display content of file dewangan created earlier.

(iv) pg: this command takes output of other command and displays content page by page.

You can use ‘more’ or ‘less’ instead of ‘pg’.

Suppose we use ls command to display list of files and directories and the list scrolls off then we can use following command to display list of files and directories page wise

$ ls | pg (enter)

Suppose we use cat command to display content of file and file content is long and scrolls off then we can use following command to display content of file page wise where nagendra is name of existing file.

$ cat nagendra | pg

(v) who: this command gives user name, terminal types used to login, date and time of login.

$ who –Hu (enter)

Explanation: gives user name, terminal types used to login, date and time of login of other users.

$ whoami (enter)

Explanation: gives user name of the user who issued this command

$ who am i(enter)

Explanation: gives user name, terminal types used to login, date and time of login of current user of system who issued this command

(vi) ps: this command gives information about processes running in computer

Usages:

$ ps –ef

Explanation: gives information about user id, process id, parent process id, start time, terminal type, time and command

(vii) cal : this command gives calendar

Usages:

$ cal (enter)

$cal 1998 (enter)

(viii) mail: when you receive a mail there are several things you can do with it:

view it on your terminal
save it in a mailbox
save it in a file
delete it
reply it
forward to others

Sending Messages

Suppose nisha is a user who wants to send message to nagendra

$ mail nagendra (enter)

subject: new system

what about purchasing new audio CD from mall?

< press control+d or . to end message>

if the user nagendra is running a program , mail waits for program execution to finish before flashing the following message:

You have new mail

Then Nagendra has to enter command

$mail (enter)

If nagendra is not logged in and logs in later, he will also be greeted by the above message if he has not seen the message already. The system produces a listing of all mail received since he last saw them and gives ‘&’ prompt.

Displaying a particular message with specified no.

& 3 (enter)

to see third message

Saving a specified message to a file

& w 3 nt (enter)

to store message 3 to file nt

Deleting a specified message to a file

& d 3 nt (enter)

to delete message 3

Replying to a message with specified message no.

& r 3

To: Nisha

Subject: Re: New Audio Cd

I have already purchased.

Forward message to a particular user

& m username

Quit mail program

& q

(ix) tail: this command display some lines from bottom of file.

$ tail -3 nagendra

Explanation: displays content of last 3 lines

$ tail nagendra

Explanation: displays content of last 10 line which are default.

(x) head: this command display some lines from top of file.

$ head -3 nagendra

Explanation: displays content of first 3 lines

$ tail nagendra

Explanation: displays content of first 10 line which are default.

(xi) cp: copies one file to other file

suppose there is a file nagendra it is required to copy it with name dewangan

$ cp nagendra dewangan (enter)

getting overwriting prompt before overwriting a file

$ cp –i nagendra dewangan (enter)

(xii)rm: to delete file

$ rm nagendra (enter)

deletes a file with name nagendra

getting confirmation before deleting a file

$rm –i dewangan(enter)

(xiii) mv: use this command to moves a file from one directory to other and to renames a file or directory

suppose there is a file nagendra and it is required to rename it as dewangan

$ mv nagendra dewangan(enter)

suppose there is a file nagendra and it is required to move it under directory priyanka. Directory priyanka already exists in current directory.

$ mv nagendra priyanka (enter)

(xiv) cd: changes directory.

$ cd

changes directory to home directory

$ cd directoryname

changes directory to directory name

\$ cd ..

changes directory to parent directory of current directory

$ cd /

changes directory to root directory

(xv) mkdir: makes directory

$ mkdir directoryname

creates directory directoryname

(xvi) rmdir: removes a directory which is empty and is in current directory

$ rmdir directoryname

removes directory directoryname which is empty

(xvii)chmod: this is an important default security feature provided by unix.

User (u) or owner, group (g), other (o) are three categories of users.

There are three permission possible on file and directory such as read, write and execute.

To set permission read, write and execute for other we can use

$chmod o+rwx nagendra (enter)

Show or hide icons in the taskbar

You can show or hide icons on the Quick Launch toolbar and the notification area (also called the system tray) of the taskbar.

To show and hide icons on the Quick Launch toolbar

Point to the Quick Launch toolbar sizing handle.

When the pointer turns into a double-headed arrow, click it, and then drag the toolbar sizing handle to show or hide more or less of the toolbar.

If you can't change the toolbar, it's either as small as it gets, or there's not enough room on the taskbar to show more of it.

To show and hide icons in the notification area

Click the arrow next to the notification area to show or hide notification area icons.

Add or remove the Quick Launch toolbar

The Quick Launch toolbar is a section of the taskbar that contains shortcuts to frequently used programs.

Quick Launch toolbar

Right-click an empty area on the taskbar, point to Toolbars, and then click Quick Launch.

A check mark will appear, indicating that the Quick Launch toolbar is visible on the taskbar.

Tip

To add a program to the Quick Launch toolbar, locate the program icon for the program

you want to add, and click it, and then drag it to the Quick Launch toolbar.

Windows Flip 3D

Windows Flip 3D arranges your windows in a three-dimensional stack that you can quickly flip through. To use Flip 3D:

Hold down the Windows logo key and press TAB to open Flip 3D.
While holding down the Windows logo key, press TAB repeatedly or rotate the mouse wheel to cycle through open windows. You can also press RIGHT ARROW or DOWN ARROW to cycle forward one window, or press LEFT ARROW or UP ARROW to cycle backward one window.
Release the Windows logo key to display the frontmost window in the stack. Or, click any part of any window in the stack to display that window.

Upgrading windows vista

If you want more features in Windows Vista, you can upgrade to another edition. You can either buy an upgrade disc at a retail store or use Windows Anytime Upgrade to buy the upgrade online, and then use your Windows Anytime Upgrade disc or the Windows installation disc to complete the process.

You can upgrade from Windows Vista Home Basic to either Windows Vista Home Premium or Windows Vista Ultimate. If you have Windows Vista Business, you can upgrade to Windows Vista Ultimate.

If you're not sure which edition of Windows is installed on your computer, here's how to check:

Click to open Welcome Center.

The edition of Windows that you are running is displayed with your computer details near the top of the window.

To upgrade to another edition of Windows Vista

Click to open Windows Anytime Upgrade.

Follow the instructions on each page.

When the upgrade is complete, you will have a new edition of Windows Vista running on your computer.

Navigation

The Address bar appears at the top of every folder and displays your current location as a series of links separated by arrows. Using the Address bar, you can see your current location on the computer or on a network.

You can change your location by either typing or clicking a new location within the Address bar.

To click a new location

To go directly to a location that's already visible in the Address bar, click the location in the Address bar.
– or –
To go to the subfolder of a location that's visible in the Address bar, click the arrow to the right of the location in the Address bar, and then click the new location in the list.

Using Windows Security Center

Windows Security Center can help enhance your computer's security by checking the status of several security essentials on your computer, including firewall settings, automatic updates, anti-malware software settings, Internet security settings, and User Account Control settings. If Windows detects a problem with any of these security essentials (for example, if your antivirus program is out of date), Security Center displays a notification and places a Security Center icon in the notification area. Click the notification or double-click the Security Center icon to open Security Center and get information about how to fix the problem.

Firewall

A firewall can help prevent hackers or malicious software (such as worms) from gaining access to your computer through a network or the Internet. A firewall can also help stop your computer from sending malicious software to other computers.Windows checks if your computer is protected by a software firewall. If the firewall is off, Security Center will display a notification and put a Security Center icon in the notification area.

To turn on Windows Firewall

Click to open Security Center.
Click Firewall, and then click Turn on now. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

Automatic updating

Windows can routinely check for updates for your computer and install them automatically. You can use Security Center to make sure Automatic updating is turned on.

To turn on automatic updating

Click to open Security Center.
Click Automatic updating, and then click Turn on now. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

Malicious software protection

Malicious software (malware) protection can help protect your computer against viruses, spyware, and other security threats. Security Center checks if your computer is using up-to-date antispyware and antivirus software. If your antivirus or antispyware software is turned off or out of date, Security Center will display a notification and put a Security Center icon in the notification area.

To install or update your anti-malware software

Click to open Security Center.
Click Malware protection, click the button under Virus protection or Spyware and other malware protection, and then choose the option that you want.

Other security settings

Windows checks your Internet security settings and User Account Control settings to make sure they are set at the recommended levels. If your Internet or User Account Control settings are changed to a security level that is not recommended, Security Center will display a notification and put a Security Center icon in the notification area.

To restore Internet settings to recommended levels

Click to open Security Center.
Click Other security settings.
Under Internet security settings, click Restore settings.
Do one of the following:

To restore User Account Control settings to recommended levels

Click to open Security Center.
Click Other security settings.
Under User Account Control, click Turn on now. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

Internet Explorer 7.0

Internet Explorer makes browsing the web easier, safer, and more enjoyable.

New security and privacy features allow you to browse the web more safely.

Phishing Filter can help protect you from phishing attacks, online fraud, and spoofed websites.

Protected mode can help protect your computer from websites that try to install malicious software or to save files on your computer without your consent Higher security levels can help protect you from hackers and web attacks.

The Security Status bar displays the identity of secure websites to help you make informed decisions when using online banking or merchants.

Internet Explorer's lets you start Internet Explorer without toolbars, ActiveX controls, or other add-ons that might slow your computer or prevent you from getting online.

Tabbed browsing is a new feature in Internet Explorer that allows you to open multiple websites in a single browser window. If you have a lot of tabs open, use Quick Tabs to easily switch between open tabs.

The new Instant Search box lets you search the web from the Address bar. You can also search using different search providers to get better results..

Internet Explorer now lets you delete your temporary files, cookies, webpage history, saved passwords, and form information from one place. Delete selected categories, or everything at once.

The Zoom feature lets you enlarge or reduce text, images, and some controls.

Diagnostic Tools

When using safe mode to troubleshoot problems with your computer, you might find the following tools and features helpful.

System Restore:Restore the state of your computer's system to a previous point in time..
Control Panel.:Access various tools for changing settings in Windows.
Device Manager.: Update device drivers and configure hardware installed on your computer. You must be logged on as an administrator to use this program. If you are not logged on as an administrator, you can only change settings that apply to your user account.
Event Viewer. View detailed entries about system and program events on your computer.
System Information.:View details about your computer's hardware configuration, components, and drivers.
Registry Editor. Advanced users, make changes to Windows registry files. You must be logged on as an administrator to use this program. Back up your files

To make sure you don't lose the files that you create, modify, and store on your computer, you should back them up regularly. You can manually back up your files any time or set up automatic backups.

Back Up and Restore Center.

Click Back up files, and then follow the steps in the wizard. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

Always store media used for backups (external hard disks, DVDs, or CDs) in a secure place to prevent unauthorized people from having access to your files; a fireproof location separate from your computer is recommended. You might also consider encrypting the data on your backup.

Restore files from a backup

You can restore backed-up versions of files that are lost, damaged, or changed accidentally. You can restore individual files, groups of files, or all files that you have backed up.

Back Up and Restore Center.
Click Restore files, and then follow the steps.

To restore a backup made on another computer

Back Up and Restore Center.
Click Advanced restore.
Click Advanced restore. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
Click Files from a backup made on a different computer, and then follow the steps.

Data migration and ODBC Data Source Administrator

Here are answers to some common questions about using the ODBC Data Source Administrator.

User DSN tab

Use this tab to add, delete, or set up data sources with user data source names (DSNs). These data sources are local to a computer and accessible only by the current user.

System DSN tab

Use this tab to add, delete, or set up data sources with system data source names (DSNs). These data sources are local to a computer but not user-dedicated. Any user with the correct permissions can access a system DSN.

The table below describes the controls on the System DSN tab.

File DSN tab

Use this tab to add, delete, or set up file-based data sources that can be shared among all users who have the same drivers installed. These data sources don't need to be user-dedicated or local to a computer.

The table below describes the controls on the File DSN tab.

Connection Pooling tab

Connection pooling enables an ODBC application to reuse a connection from a pool of connections. Use this tab to alter the connection retry wait time and time-out period for a selected driver when using connection pooling. You can also enable and disable performance monitoring, which records a number of connection statistics.

Microsoft Support Diagnostic Tool

You can use the Microsoft Support Diagnostic Tool to collect information about problems you might be experiencing with your computer. You can then use the tool to send the information to Microsoft Support over the Internet. If you contact Microsoft Support as part of a support request, your support professional might ask you to use the tool to help determine the cause of the problem. The tool can help Microsoft Support solve problems more efficiently than by diagnosing over the phone or by using e-mail.

To use the tool, follow the instructions from Microsoft Support, and then answer the questions that appear on your screen. Your support professional might provide you with a passkey and an incident number to enter into the tool to identify your information. The tool might prompt you to download additional diagnostic tools and answer some questions. Then the tool will run tests and save the results.

If the computer with the problem is connected to the Internet, you can send the results directly to Microsoft. If the computer with the problem cannot connect to the Internet, you can use a different computer to save the diagnostic tool to removable storage (such as a USB flash drive), transfer the removable storage to the computer with the problem, and then run the tests on that computer. When the tests are finished, save the results to the removable storage, and then return it to the first computer to send the results. The information you send to Microsoft is encrypted and secure.

System Configuration

System Configuration is an advanced tool that can help identify problems that might prevent Windows from starting correctly. You can start Windows with common services and startup programs turned off and then turn them back on, one at a time. If a problem does not occur when a service is turned off, but does occur when turned on, then the service could be the cause of the problem.

System Configuration is intended to find and isolate problems, but it is not meant as a startup management program.

HELLO STUDENT

Saturday, 2 September 2017

Shorts Extra Notes On IT

Show or hide icons in the taskbar

To show and hide icons on the Quick Launch toolbar

To show and hide icons in the notification area

Add or remove the Quick Launch toolbar

Tip

Windows Flip 3D

To upgrade to another edition of Windows Vista

Navigation

To click a new location

Using Windows Security Center

Firewall

To turn on Windows Firewall

Automatic updating

To turn on automatic updating

Malicious software protection

To install or update your anti-malware software

Other security settings

To restore Internet settings to recommended levels

To restore User Account Control settings to recommended levels

Diagnostic Tools

Restore files from a backup

To restore a backup made on another computer

Data migration and ODBC Data Source Administrator

User DSN tab

System DSN tab

File DSN tab

Connection Pooling tab

Microsoft Support Diagnostic Tool

System Configuration

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