Operating System Tasks

Handling and managing all of the system resources

Memory Management

• Controlling the allocation of memory and dealing with the transfer of programs in and out of memory when the process no longer needs it when the process has been ended.

Processor Management

• Carrying out a process called scheduling  where it manages the CPU.
• Organising processing time between programs and users.
• Keeping track of processors and the status of any process running.

I/O Management

• Manages all the input and output devices, including controlling the backing store and all peripherals. This is done with device drivers.
• Translates instructions sent by application software into a format that I/O devices can understand.
• Decides which process gets the device, when and for how much time.

File Management

• Allows the user to perform tasks including the creation of files and directories.
• Allows the user to save files to a backing store.
• Allows the user to rename, copy, move and delete files.
• Keeps track of where files are located on the hard drive.

Security

• Controls access to programs, processes and users to the computer resources.
• Ensures that all access to system resources is controlled.
• Ensures that external I/O devises are protected from invalid access attempts.
• Provides an authentication feature for each user by means of a password.

Error Handling

• Monitors the system for any errors that occur.
• Takes appropriate actions to ensure correct operations.
• Closes the program if errors are terminal.

Application Management

• Loads a program into memory.
• Allows the application software to communicate with the hardware.
• Provides a mechanism for processing all internal communication.

Utility Software

• Helps manage, maintain and control computer resources.
• Virus scanner
  • protects against viruses and Trojans
• Disk defragmenter
  • speeds up the hard disk
• System monitor
  • watches the current system resources