Chapter 14: Introduction to Operating Systems

32 Bit VS. 64 Bit Operating System

• The big difference between the two operating systems is the processors that are supported
• 64 Bit can handle multi core processors which require much more power than 32 bit can handle
• 32 bit operating systems can only run programs and drivers that are made specifically for 32 bit. 64 bit can use either 64 or 32 bit drivers and programs with no issue

End of Life Concerns

• IT departments replace their technology in a regular cycle, this is because when a device hits its end of life it means it is no longer supported by the vendor or the end of the usefulness of software.
• Some of the following are effects after end of life:
• The OS becomes much more vulnerable to security threats
• Software may eventually become incompatible with older operating systems
• Performance is almost guaranteed to slow down a ton

Update Concerns

• Updating while being the proper thing to do once the end of life has occurred. It's important to check if the current hardware can handle this update. This could cause the OS to run super slow
• Errors and freezing can happen with insufficient disk space or RAM
• Even data loss can occur when updating
• Drivers can be very difficult to replace as vendors won't update their drivers at times

Filenames and Extensions

• With files being organized by folders, older operating systems often called folders by directories which is still used sometimes today
• A folder within a folder is called either a subfolder or a subdirectory.
• Windows 7 and up have automatic groupings called libraries which by default can contain the libraries of Documents, Pictures, Music and Videos
• Files are given both a filename and a file extension
• File extensions are usually hidden and can be shown with a few changes of the settings within the file explorer

Introduction to Windows Control Panel Utilities

• The control panel is the configuration of every aspect of the windows operating system and can be easily accessed
• The control panel can be organized by either small icons representing all the control panels or sort it into categories which is used as a default

Windows Registry

• Every software is stored in a registry which is another name for a database
• Registries contain file and folder settings, application preferences, port configuration and user profiles
• User Profiles are a set of configurations that can determine if a user can access applications, desktop settings and network configurations
• All of the settings is loaded through the RAM during the boot process
• A registry has five subtrees: Hkey_Local_Machine, Hkey_Users, Hkey_Current_User, Hkey_Current_Config, and Hkey_Classes_Root.