PC101-Personal Computer 101

What is the OS(Operating System) and how does it affect me?

The Operating System (OS) is the software that runs your system.  It provides the platform for programs to run, hardware to operate and the display that you see when you turn you computer on.   All hardware and software layered on your system must adapt to the OS and conform to its requirements to run on the system properly.

Examples of some common OS's are:  Windows, UNIX, DOS, VAX/VMS, Linux, Mac...

That is why when you upgrade your OS version (e.g. from Windows95 to Windows Home XP) some programs and/or hardware on your system may not run or run properly anymore.

If you do not upgrade your OS then over time you will probably not be able to use the latest HW and SW products that are offered, and the OS (Microsoft) and HW/SW vendors may stop supporting you.

Also, your version of the OS will change over time due to improvements and error corrections, so you need to run Windows Update every so often to download and install the latest patches and upgrades.   Besides the individual fixes and upgrades, each OS version is also upgraded by levels, called SP's.  So your OS starts out as SP1 and then may go to SP2...and so on.

Later versions of Windows support multiple OS's on the same computer (dual boot), e.g. you can boot your system into Window98 or you can boot in into Windows Home XP.

If you upgrade your OS and you have a critical program that no longer runs, instead of having to create a dual-boot system, you can run the problem program in what is called Compatibility mode for the version of Windows it was designed for, and that may solve the problem (tell me how).

Got questions you would like answered?  Yes

keoni@isp.com