Chapter 12: Operating System Basics

1. B, C. To open a command prompt, you can use CMD or COMMAND (though the latter does not work in Windows 7).

2. D. A driver is extremely specific software written for the purpose of instructing a particular OS on how to access a piece of hardware.

3. C. You can increase the Taskbar’s size by moving the mouse pointer to the top of it, pausing until the pointer turns into a double-headed arrow, and then clicking and dragging. Keep in mind that in Windows XP, you have to unlock the Taskbar first by right-clicking on it and deselecting Lock The Taskbar.

4. A. FAT32 does not have as many options as NTFS, such as Encryption and Compression. These attributes are available only on NTFS partitions.

5. B, C. The Windows Explorer program can be used to copy and move files and to change file attributes.

6. D. Standard permissions, unlike special permissions, have been grouped together to make it easier for administrators to assign permissions.

7. B. The shell is a program that runs on top of the OS and allows the user to issue commands through a set of menus or some other graphical interface.

8. C. To run any program, select Start > Run and type the name of the program in the Open field. If you don’t know the exact name of the program, you can find the file by clicking the Browse button. Once you have typed in the executable name, click OK to run the program.

9. D. Multithreading offers the ability for a single application to have multiple requests in to the processor at one time.

10. B. All deleted files are placed in the Recycle Bin. Deleted files are held there until the Recycle Bin is emptied. Users can easily recover accidentally deleted files from the Recycle Bin.

11. D. To turn off a Windows 7 machine, select Start > Shut Down, choose Shut Down, and turn off the computer.

12. A. The minimum amount of memory recommended for XP Professional is 128MB.

13. B. The minimum amount of free hard drive space recommended for the installation of Windows Vista Home Basic is 15GB.

14. B. The minimum recommended memory for a 32-bit installation of Windows 7 is 1GB.

15. C. In Windows, a quick way to access Help is to press the F1 key.

16. B. The Sidebar existed only in Windows Vista and provided a quick interface that allowed you to access common utilities such as the headlines.

17. C. The System Tray is located on the right side of the Taskbar.

18. A. In addition to right-clicking on the Desktop, you can access the Display Properties settings by using the Display icon under Control Panel as long as you are not using Category view.

19. B. The interface included with Windows Vista is called Aero.

20. C. The minimum recommended memory for a 64-bit installation of Windows 7 is 2GB.