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CIT165 Hardware Comp Ch 2 - Introducing Operating Systems

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Question
Answer
administrator account   An administrator account has more privileges than a standard account and is used by those responsible for maintaining and securing the system.  
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Aero user interface   A new 3D user interface available in some version of Vista.  
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backward-compatible   A term referring to the ability of older components to work with newer technologies.  
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Briefcase   Briefcase creates a Briefcase folder, which is a folder that can be used to sync up files in this folder with its corresponding Briefcase folder on another computer.  
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child directory   Another term for a subdirectory.  
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command prompt window   A window that enables a user to enter multiple commands to perform a variety of tasks.  
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compressed (zipped) Folder   A compressed folder with a .zip extension.  
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CMOS setup   (1) The CMOS configuration chip. (2) The program in system BIOS that can change the values in CMOS RAM.  
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desktop   The initial screen that is displayed when an OS has a GUI interface loaded.  
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device driver   A program stored on the hard drive that tells the computer how to communicate with an input/output device such as a printer or modem.  
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file extension   A three-character portion of the name of a file that is used to identify the file type. In command lines, the file extension follows the filename and is separated from it by a period. For example, Msd.exe, where exe is the file extension.  
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filename   The first part of the name assigned to a file. In Windows, a filename can be up to 255 characters.  
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folder   another term for directory or subdirectory.  
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graphical user interface (GUI)   A core Windows component responsible for building graphics data to display or print. A GDI printer relies on Windows to construct a page to print and then receives the constructed page as bitmap data.  
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HAL (hardware abstraction layer)   The layer of the kernel closest to the hardware.  
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initialization files   Configuration information files for Windows. System.ini is one of the most important Windows 9x/Me initialization files.  
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kernel   The portion of an OS that is responsible for interacting with the hardware.  
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logical drive   A portion or all of a hard drive partition that is treated by the operating system as though it were a physical drive. Each logical drive is assigned a drive letter, such as drive C, and contains a file system. Also called a volume.  
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Multitasking   Doing more than one thing at a time. A true multitasking system requires two or more CPUs, each processing a different thread at the same time. Compare to cooperative multitasking and preemptive multitasking.  
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operating system (OS)   Software that controls a computer. An OS controls how system resources are used and provides a user interface, a way of managing hardware and software, and ways to work with files.  
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original equipment manufacturer (OEM) license   Software licenses purchased by manufacturers of hardware.  
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partition   A division of a hard drive that can be used to hold logical drives.  
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path   (1) A drive and list of directories pointing to a file such as C:\Windows\command. (2) The OS command to provide a list of paths to the system for finding program files to execute.  
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registry   A database that Windows uses to store hardware and software configuration information, user preferences, and setup information.  
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root directory   The main directory created when a hard drive or disk is first formatted. In Linux, it’s indicated by a forward slash. In DOS and Windows, it’s indicated by a backward slash.  
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sector   On a disk surface one segment of a track, which almost always contains 512 bytes of data.  
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service   A program that runs in the background to support or serve Windows or an application.  
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shell   The portion of an OS that relates to the user and to applications.  
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shortcut   An icon on the desktop that points to a program that can be executed or to a file or folder.  
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startup BIOS   Part of system BIOS that is responsible for controlling the PC when it is first turned on. Startup BIOS gives control over to the OS once it is loaded.  
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subdirectory   A directory or folder contained in another directory or folder. Also called a child directory or folder.  
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system BIOS   The bus between the CPU and memory on the motherboard. The bus frequency in documentation is called the system speed, such as 400 MHz. Also called the memory bus, front-side bus, local bus, or host bus.  
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system tray   An area to the right of the taskbar hat holds the icons for running services; these services include the volume control and network connectivity.  
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taskbar   A bar normally located at the bottom of the Windows desktop, displaying information about open programs and providing quick access to others.  
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thread   A single task  
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User Account Control (UAC) dialog box   A new security feature introduced with Windows Vista.  
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user mode   A mode by which a subsystem has only limited access to system information and can access hardware only through other OS services.  
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Virtual machine   software that creates one or more logical computers on a physical computer.  
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volume   Another term for a logical drive.  
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