CompTIA IT Fundamentals+ Study Guide

(Exam FC0-U61)
Module 1 / Unit 3 / Using an OS

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 Objectives
• Distinguish between different types
of operating systems designed for
workstations, servers, mobiles,
embedded systems, and
virtualization
• Identify commonly used
commercial and open source
operating systems, such as
Windows, macOS, iOS, Linux,
Chrome, and Android
• Use a browser to view websites
Image by racorn © 123rf.com

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 Functions of an Operating System
• Interface between user and computer
o Shell
o Graphical User Interface (GUI)
o Command line
• Interface between applications and hardware
o Kernel and devices drivers
o Utilities
o 32-bit versus 64-bit
o Application compatibility
• System health and functionality
• Data management
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 Workstation, Server, and Mobile Device OS
• Workstation OS
o Microsoft Windows, Apple OS X/macOS, Linux, and Chrome OS
o Enterprise client
o Network OS (NOS)
o Home client
• Mobile device OS
o Apple iOS and Android
o Tied to hardware
• Server OS
o Windows Server, Linux, or UNIX
o Same code base as workstation equivalent
o Network server applications and client licensing
o Command line operation

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 Open Source versus Commercial
•Commercial OS
o User must purchase license
o Proprietary code kept secret by vendor
o Microsoft Windows, Apple macOS, Apple iOS

•Open source OS
o Programming code freely published and can be reused (with
some conditions)
o Might still be used as the basis of commercial products
o UNIX, Linux, Android

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 Embedded OS
•Embedded systems perform quite specific tasks
(compared to general purpose
PC/laptop/smartphones)
•Static environment
•Time-sensitive operation
•Very high reliability requirement
•Real Time Operating Systems (RTOS)
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 Firmware
•Type of software that is very closely tied to the
function of hardware
•Not designed to be changed often
•PC/laptop firmware
o Basic Input/Output System (BIOS)
o Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI)

•Many other components have embedded firmware

o Graphics adapters, disk drives, network adapters, printers,...
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 Virtualization
•Running multiple OS on a
single computer
•Host computer
•Hypervisor
o Type I/”bare metal”
o Type II

•Guest OS/Virtual
Machines (VM)
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 Microsoft Windows
•Estimated to run on 90% of desktops and laptops
•Client and server editions
•Released in many different versions over the years

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 Windows 10
• First released in 2015
o Windows 10 Anniversary
Update (1607)
o Fall Creators Update (1709)
o Spring Creators Update (1803)

• Designed to run on both

PC/laptops and
smartphone/tablet/hybrids
• Estimated market share of
about 33% in 2017/2018
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 Older Windows Versions
• Windows 8 (2012)
o First version with Start Screen/touch-enabled interface
o Windows 8.0 (no Start button!)
o Windows 8.1 (Start button back)
o Not widely adopted (about 7% market share)
• Windows 7 (2009)
o Last version with the Start Menu interface
o Still very widely used (43% market share)
• Windows Vista (2007)
o Preceded Windows 7 but never widely adopted
• Windows XP (2001)
o Once very widely adopted but security problems have
seen it drop to 5%

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 Windows Editions
• Each Windows version made available in different editions
o Windows 10 Home—consumer and Small Office Home Office (SOHO)
business use
o Windows 10 Pro—small and medium-sized businesses
o Windows 10 Enterprise/Windows 10 Enterprise (Long Term Servicing
Channel)—similar to the Pro edition but designed for licensing by medium
and large enterprises
o Windows 10 Education/Pro Education—variants of the Enterprise and Pro
editions designed for licensing by schools and colleges
• 32-bit versus 64-bit
• Windows 10 Mobile
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 Apple macOS
• Apple Macintosh computer
hardware
• Mac OS – can only be
installed on Apple Mac
hardware
• Versions
o OS X
o macOS
o “dot” updates

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 Apple iOS
•Runs on iPhone and
iPad hardware only
•Currently version 11/12
•Version updates can
drop support for older
hardware models
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 UNIX, Linux, and Chrome OS
• UNIX
o Developed in parallel by various institutions
o Contains proprietary/copyright/patented code
• Linux
o Derived from UNIX but fully open source
o Multiple distributions (distros)
− SUSE, Red Hat, Fedora, Debian, Ubuntu, Mint
o More widely deployed as a server than desktop
OS (about 2% market share)
• Chrome OS
o Derived from Linux to run Chromebook and
Chromebox hardware
o Designed to work with web applications rather
than locally-installed software
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 Android
•Smartphone/tablet OS
derived from Linux
•Often customized by
vendors
o Acer,Asus, HTC, Huawei, LG,
Motorola, OnePlus, Oppo,
Samsung, Sony, Xiamoi
•Major and minor version
updates
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 File Explorer/Windows Explorer
•File management
interface
•This PC / Computer
•Network

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 Windows Settings

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 Control Panel
•Configuration options
(applets) for earlier
Windows versions (and
some aspects of
Windows 10 and
Windows 8)
•Category and list views
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 Ease of Access Options

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 Advanced Management Utilities
•“Power” menu
o START+X

o Right-click Start button

•Consoles and tools for
more advanced
configuration

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 Using a Web Browser
•Choosing a browser
o Edge/Internet Explorer (IE)
o Mozilla Firefox
o Google Chrome
o Apple Safari

•Web browser features

o Address bar
o Tabbed browsing
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 URLs, Websites, and Hyperlinks
•Uniform Resource Locator
(URL)
o Web address
o Tells browser how to locate a
page or resource
•Websites and web pages
•Site navigation and
hyperlinks
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 Using Browser Controls
•Back
•Forward
•Stop
•Refresh
•Address bar
•Setting the home page
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 Review
Image by Wavebreak Media © 123rf.com
• Distinguish between different
types of operating systems
designed for workstations,
servers, mobiles, embedded
systems, and virtualization
• Identify commonly used
commercial and open source
operating systems, such as
Windows, macOS, iOS, Linux,
Chrome, and Android
• Use a browser to view websites

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