ICAS3234A -h.schools.nsw.edu.au
ICAS3020A
Install and optimise operating system software
Study Guide
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Identify and describe the functions of different operating systems
The purposes of an operating system 5
What is a computer operating system? 6
Specific tasks that the operating system does 6
Interfaces for operating systems 7
Operating system files 9
Classes of operating systems 9
Some common operating systems 11
Batch systems, real-time systems and multi tasking systems 12
Batch systems 12
Time sharing 13
Real time 13
Multi tasking 13
Basic functions of the operating system 15
The boot process 15
Memory management 16
Virtual memory 17
File management 20
Formatting 22
Summary 24
Check your progress 24
The purposes of an operating system
Do you remember what happened the last time you switched on a computer? (Remember that a computer can include your basic games machine played on your television screen or the personal computer that you are currently using to read these notes). When you pushed the switch to activate the computer, it probably made various noises, displayed information on the computer screen or television that indicated what the computer was doing and eventually stopped at a screen that was familiar to you such as Microsoft Windows®, Linux or your game console screen. It then waited for you to do something on your computer. If you now wanted to play a game on your games console or to read these notes online using the Internet, you use the various devices attached to your computer. These devices include your computer monitor, your keyboard, your joystick, your mouse, your CD drive, your modem, etc.
So what caused your computer to work and run through these routines, maybe make some sounds, display information on the screen and stop at a specific screen? How do these attached devices interact between you, them and the computer? Why is it that it automatically loads and runs the game in your game console? What causes it to print a document when you push the print button in your word processing or spreadsheet software? This is the job of the computer operating system.
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What is a computer operating system?
An operating system is simply a group of computer programs, sometimes called ‘program files’ or simply ‘files’, that are generally stored (saved) on a computer disk. Most computers need an operating system to be able to ‘boot’ (start up), interact with devices such as printers, keyboards and joysticks, and to provide disk management tasks such as saving or retrieving files to/from your computer disks or to analyse problems with your computer.
There are many flavours of operating systems available in the marketplace today. The programs for the operating system are generally written specifically for the type of hardware they are installed on. For example, the Microsoft Windows operating system works primarily on an IBM-compatible personal computer (pc), whereas the Apple Macintosh operating system works on an Apple personal computer, but will not work on an IBM-compatible computer (without special software called an ‘emulator’). Unix is generally designed for larger mini or mainframe computers but there is now a version available for the desktop computer.
Definition
There are many definitions of what an operating system is, (simply search for a definition on the Internet and you will find many variations on the meaning). However, Webopedia at: defines an operating system as the following.
Operating systems perform basic tasks, such as recognizing input from the keyboard, sending output to the display screen, keeping track of files and directories on the disk, and controlling peripheral devices such as disk drives and printers.
Specific tasks that the operating system does
Let’s look at specific tasks of the operating system in more detail.
Performs basic computer tasks
The operating system performs basic computer tasks, such as managing the various peripheral devices like disk drives, a mouse, joysticks and printers, reading the keys pressed (input) via the keyboard, arranging to send the characters or images to be displayed on the computer screen and organising and tracking files and directories (folders) saved or retrieved from a computer disk.
Handles system resources
The operating system also handles the various system resources such as the computer’s memory, and the sharing of the computer CPU (central processing unit) by the various applications such as word processors or spreadsheets, or the various system peripheral devices.
Some advanced operating systems, such as network operating systems (NOS), also handle security matters such as who can log in and use the computer and what they can do once they are logged in. Note also that sometimes these are added features of the software bundled with the operating system.
The operating system needs to be like a traffic controller, managing all the inbound and outbound data and transmissions (sometimes called traffic) on the computer, hopefully without sending the data on the same flight path and having a system ‘crash’.
The operating system needs to be flexible as well. An operating system such as Microsoft Windows could be installed on many types of computers with different configurations, ie different hard disk drive sizes, different monitors, different printers, different CPUs, etc. It has to be flexible enough to work with these different devices and their software programs called ‘drivers’ so that using the computer and these devices appears transparent to the end-user.
Diagnoses problems
The operating system can also diagnose problems with hardware devices or software programs. Although the operating system may not be able to fix the problems, it will certainly flag the problem to the end-user so that a solution can be investigated.
Interacts with the user through the interface
The operating system also offers the end-user the ability to interact with it. It does this through the interface. There are two main types of interface systems: (1) a command line interface, and (2) a graphical user interface (GUI).
In earlier personal computer operating systems such as MS-DOS (Microsoft’s ‘disk operating system’), the user communicated with the operating system via a ‘command prompt’ (see Figure 1). The command prompt was where the user typed various operating system commands to perform a task such as formatting a floppy disk. Now the preferred interface for a personal computer is a graphical user interface (GUI) (see Figure 2) used on IBM compatibles and Apple computers. With a GUI interface, the end user simply ‘points and clicks’ to carry out a required system task such as formatting a floppy disk or printing a document. Note that this is also sometimes referred to as an operating environment.
Interfaces for operating systems
Most operating systems now are GUI. However, there is still a (limited) need for command line operating systems. Operating systems such as Linux, Netware and even Windows 2000, use command lines for certain tasks. Eg if you have a corrupt Windows 2000 server, then the restore mode is a command line interface.
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Figure 1: A command line interface
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Figure 2: A graphical user interface
Exercises to do in different operating systems
Windows XP
1 Click the Start menu button
2 Click the Run option
3 In the box that appears type the command ‘cmd’ (without the quotes).
This will take you to the command line of Windows XP. From here you can type commands to get the system to perform functions.
4 Type in ‘dir’ (without the quotes). This will show you a directory (folder) listing of files in the current directory.
5 To close the window, type ‘exit’.
Linux
• If you are already at a command line prompt, after logging in, simply type the command ‘ls’ (without the quotes). This will give a directory listing of the current folder.
OR
• If you have logged into your Linux system in GUI mode, hold down the keys and press .
This will drop you to a command line login screen for your Linux system.
Login using your supervisor name and password and type in the command ‘ls’ (without the quotes). This will give a directory listing of the current folder.
Operating system files
The files that help run an operating system can be grouped into three distinct categories:
1 Boot files — These are the files that the computer needs to be able to start itself (boot) into operation so that the user can perform basic tasks.
2 File management files — These are the various files that allow the system to manage its resources such as disk storage and retrieval.
3 Utility files — These are sometimes called the ‘add ons’ that allow the user to manage the computer resources or configure the system environment to the way they require it. Eg changing the background image on your GUI computer.
Classes of operating systems
There are also various classes of operating systems, each with its own characteristics.
1 Single user — An operating system described as ‘single user’ means that only one user can use the facilities of the operating system at any one time. If somebody else wants to use the computer they have to wait until the person using it finishes. Older personal computer operating systems such as MS-DOS and up to Windows 3.0 were single user operating systems. Note that older versions of Windows actually used MS-DOS to operate. Windows simply provided the GUI interface.
2 Multi user — Multi user systems allow more than one person to use the operating system resources simultaneously. Obviously, two or more people would not want to physically operate the same computer at the same time, so the ability to do this is provided by network operating systems. A network operating system allows many personal computers to connect to other computers by means of communication media such as cable or wireless links. These operating systems are more complex than single user operating systems because they have to handle many requests for devices, resources etc., by many different users at the same time. For example, if three users on a network all try to print a document on a single network printer at the same time, it is the Network operating system’s responsibility to ensure that the documents are held on the hard disk (spooled/queued) until the printer is ready to receive them. Multi user systems also provide security functions such as who can access the system, what resources they can use when logged in, what environment areas they can change, etc.
3 Single tasking — These are operating systems in which only one task can be performed by the operating system at any one time. That single task must finish before the next task can be started. Eg in MS-DOS, if you wanted to format a floppy disk, the computer would need to finish that task before it gave control back to you to allow you perform the next task. Early single user operating systems were single tasking.
4 Multi tasking-single user —This means that a user can sit in front of their computer (that is not attached to a network) and the computer appears to do many tasks at the same time. Eg while the operating system is printing a 100-page document on your printer, your database program is sorting hundreds of records for you, while you play your favourite card games, all at the same time. (Note that the computer does not run these tasks concurrently as explained later).
5 Multi tasking-multi user — If you read the definition above for a multi user system, you would probably have realised that all multi user systems must be multi tasking.
Some common operating systems
|Name |Computer type |Description |
|MS –DOS |IBM-compatible computers |Developed around 1980. A single user, single tasking OS with no GUI features. |
| | |Not designed for running on a network. Other similar products were DR-DOS and |
| | |PC-DOS. |
|Windows |IBM-compatible computers |First version appeared around 1985. Never really gained acceptability until the|
| | |release of Windows 3.1 in 1992. Network capability was added to a new version |
| | |called Windows for Workgroups later on in the same year. Used a GUI interface |
| | |and supports Multi User/Multi Tasking capabilities. Current standard version |
| | |for the home computer is Windows XP. |
|UNIX |Mainframes and now |Developed around the late 1960’s. Has extensive Networking capabilities and |
| |IBM-compatible computers |handles Multi Tasking/Multi User functions extremely well. Originally a command|
| | |line operating system. |
|LINUX |IBM-compatible computers |A popular freeware operating system that is very similar to UNIX. Has basically|
| | |the same features as UNIX. Very popular for internet applications such as |
| | |firewalls, gateways etc. Has a GUI but currently is not quite as user friendly |
| | |as Windows or Apple Macs. |
|Macintosh OS |Apple Macintosh |Uses a GUI and used it before Microsoft Windows was written. It supports multi |
| | |tasking. It is very popular for use in businesses where graphical designing or |
| | |video work is done. |
Batch systems, real-time systems and multi tasking systems
As you now know, operating systems appear in many forms. However, they all have the same characteristics in that they manage the basic devices attached to the computer. The way that this management occurs and the way that data is handled gives rise to other features of the operating system. We have already discussed multi user in the previous section, but operating systems can also be classified as batch systems, time sharing or real time.
Batch systems
In the very early days of electronic computing (1950s–1960s), the operating systems of the day were mainly used on large mainframe computers. These computers and the associated operating system were expensive. (You may have seen an old mainframe computer in some of the old spy movies — large rooms, many flashing lights and old tape drives spinning around).
However, these early operating systems were not classed as multi tasking (or multi user). Therefore, they were not capable of running multiple tasks at any one time. The ‘jobs’ that the operating system was asked to do were done one at a time. This meant that for a lot of the time, the CPU of the computer sat idle, waiting for the operator to ask it to do something else or waiting for some other task to complete (such as printing). To overcome this, batch systems were introduced. The jobs that the computer was being asked to do were submitted in ‘batches’. This meant that the CPU was now busy for longer periods of time, thereby utilising CPU time and saving money. An example that you may have seen was the very old ‘punch card’ systems. The punch cards were simply stacked on a card reader and each card was fed through, one at a time, to the computer, and the computer processed the data on the cards by means of holes in the cards. Common tasks could simply be to process all the payroll information for the employees that were paid every Thursday, etc. The output was not considered to be timeframe-critical as in real time operating systems (RTOSs).
Another problem with these early operating systems was that multi user functions were not available. If you required a job to be done on the computer, you generally had to ask the operator to do it for you. Batch systems are still used today in some operating systems, although the technology for using them has changed dramatically (no more punch cards) and they are now multi user. Large organisations that still use mainframe computers still use types of batch systems.
Time sharing
The concept of time sharing relates to the operating system that allows multiple access to it. As more than one user accesses the operating system to run their programs, save their files, print their documents etc, the CPU divides its time (generally equally) between all the users, so each user gets a slice of the CPU’s time to process the jobs. These types of systems were common from the 1960s to the early 1980s. Multiple users accessed computers by using ‘dumb terminals’. These terminals consisted simply of a screen and a keyboard and a connection (cable) to the computer. No data processing was done at the terminal (compare that to today’s network operating systems). The processing was all done on the computer where the operating system received the requests from the user to do something, passed it on to the CPU and the CPU divided its time amongst the users to process their tasks.
Real time
A real time operating system (RTOS) is where the operating system guarantees to receive, analyse and produce output in a guaranteed time frame. RTOSs are needed in areas such as navigation systems, where a steady stream of input and output data is needed in real time, so that a vessel can maintain a safe navigational course. A good example of this is in air traffic controller systems where the radar screen needs to show the position of planes in real time. An operating system displaying the position of planes a few seconds or minutes after the event could cause them to be on a collision course or even more disastrous consequences. RTOSs use a scheme called pre-emptive scheduling. This means that the operating system knows that when it receives various requests for tasks to be completed (such as updating a radar screen), some tasks have higher priority than others. Those tasks received and identified as high priority allows the operating system to stop any current running tasks to start a new ‘higher priority’ task.
RTOSs are also sometimes embedded systems. This means that the operating system is very small and is embedded (or hard coded) on some type of device such as a microprocessor. An example would be a digital speedometer on a motor vehicle. It needs to be real time to display your current travelling speed, but the operating system code to achieve this would be embedded on a small chip in the vehicle’s motor and would perform only the one task.
Multi tasking
A multitasking system is capable of executing multiple processes or tasks, from multiple users (seemingly) simultaneously. This makes the user/s believe that the operating system is exclusively processing their activities. The operating system controls this multi access and multi tasking by protecting each user’s activities and keeping them away from each other. This then (hopefully) avoids the possibility of system crashes or hang-ups. So, theoretically, if one user’s process terminates abnormally, crashes or hangs, the system is not affected and neither are the other users. Multi tasking systems use the time slicing approach to carry out their activities, where each of the processes are given a share of the CPU time. Multi tasking is critical in real time operating systems.
Multi tasking can also be categorised as pre-emptive and co-operative.
Pre-emptive is where the operating system decides on which processes have access to the CPU and when, such as in real time operating systems. The operating system will interrupt (or force) a running process to stop if a more critical process is waiting to be executed.
Co-operative is where the operating system doesn’t decide but the process itself voluntarily decides on when it will give up its processor time. So a particular process could ‘hog’ CPU time until it is finished. This is not recommended for real time systems.
The more common method is for pre-emptive multi user systems.
Basic functions of the operating system
We have discussed the purpose and types of an operating system. We now need to discuss in more detail the different functions that an operating system can perform.
The boot process
One of the more critical functions of the operating system is in ‘booting up’ (starting) your computer. Lets look (briefly) at the steps in this process in relation to a personal computer using the older MS-DOS operating system. (In other operating systems the process is basically the same, however some of the file names used are different and may perform extra or other functions.)
When your computer is first turned on, it uses a special piece of hardware/software called the BIOS (Basic Input Output System). The BIOS is generally stored on a ROM (Read Only Memory) microprocessor chip stored on your computers motherboard. This chip has instructions on it to tell the computer to perform a Power On Self Test (POST). The POST tests for the existence of various devices on your computer and ensures that they are working properly. (That is why you see your floppy drive light flash for a few seconds, or the lights on your keyboard light up momentarily when the computer is first turned on.)
Once the POST has finished, and assuming that everything to this point is working correctly, the BIOS looks for a small program called a Bootstrap Loader stored on a floppy disk, a hard disk or even on a ‘bootable’ Compact Disk (CD). The order of where to look for an operating system is stored in the CMOS (Complimentary Metal Oxide Semiconductor). The CMOS is accessed by a user pressing certain keys on their keyboard while the computer is booting (generally or ). To determine what key to press, watch your computer screen during its start up. It will generally display something such as ‘Press DEL to access setup’. Once you have accessed your CMOS you can change certain settings that will affect your computer’s behaviour. A word of warning: Changing some items can cause your computer to stop working, so be careful!
The Bootstrap Loader program has basically one function: to load other parts of the operating system into the computer’s memory so that it can be used. Eventually the Bootstrap Loader gives control of the computer to the rest of the operating system. These other parts of the OS include the File Management schemes, the Memory Management schemes and loading the different software drivers that communicate with the various devices.
The Bootstrap Loader program will then tell the system where to look for the first file in the (DOS) operating system, called IO.SYS. IO.SYS is then loaded into memory and it now takes over the boot process. It then looks for an operating system file called MSDOS.SYS. This is then loaded into memory and the system now looks for a program called , which then takes permanent control of the computer. is always resident in memory.
At this point the computer should basically be ready to accept input/output data from the attached devices and the user.
Memory management
One of the most important tasks that an operating system does is manage the memory requirements of your computer. We discussed earlier how current day operating systems are Multi User. This means that many users will be using the facilities of the computer at the same time, including its memory, to run their own tasks. Imagine if you had ten people sitting and working around your desk, and each of those people put their paperwork all over the desk. The desk would soon become unmanageable, with the paperwork hard to find or even lost. Eventually all ten people would probably not be able to complete their tasks. Somebody needs to take control and organise the chaos — on a computer this is one of the jobs of the operating system.
As an example consider the process of using your word processor on your computer. On your computer, you double-click an icon on your desktop to ‘load’ the program. This double-click sends a signal to the operating system that you want to use this particular program. The operating system then makes a request to the CPU to retrieve a copy of the program from the computer disk. The CPU and operating system then find where on the disk this program resides and starts to copy the program code from the disk into the computer’s memory*. Once the code is stored in memory, the CPU then executes the code and your program runs.
*This computer memory is called Random Access Memory (RAM). The computer uses RAM because it basically has no moving parts. The data stored in RAM can be quickly accessed ‘electronically’ by the operating system. No moving parts means quicker access time.
Once you have your word processor working, you may want to open up an existing document. To do this, the same process basically happens, where the document is loaded from the computer’s hard disk into RAM, so again more storage space is required.
The problem with this scenario is that:
• There must be enough memory available to store the program or data when it is retrieved.
• The programs and data cannot overlap or use memory that is currently being used by other programs.
This is where the operating system needs to be a memory manager.
Memory chips in your computer are like the mailboxes found at your local post office. The operating system, when storing the data or program’s bytes, stores them in these boxes. All of these boxes have an address (like the mailboxes). The CPU needs to know these addresses so it can retrieve and store the data when required. However, the operating system cannot store the data in addresses that are already filled. Part of the operating system’s task is to determine whether the data that is in those boxes is still relevant — does the system or do the programs still require it? If not, then the operating system will discard the data and then use the now empty space. However, if the data is still required, then some other technique must be found (discussed later).
When you close a program or save and close a document, the operating system knows that you have finished using the file and/or program, so it automatically purges the program or file data from memory. This means that RAM is a temporary storage area. At some point in time whatever is in RAM will eventually be lost, especially when you turn the computer off.
Virtual memory
If your computer runs out of space to store data in physical RAM, the operating system must compensate for this somehow. (Remember that a multi tasking system could have many programs and/or files open at once, each needing resource space such as physical memory.) Most operating systems do this by creating a ‘swap file’ and Microsoft Windows uses this to store its ‘virtual memory’.
When the computer’s RAM chips run out of space, the operating system uses one of its programs called a Memory Manager. This Memory Manager sets up a large contiguous (there are no gaps) file on your computer’s hard disk (Note that sometimes, this file can be fragmented and is called a temporary swap file). As the operating system determines that your physical memory is full, it moves some of the data/programs that it believes are not currently needed, but could be needed later, into the swap file on the hard disk. Because it is contiguous, the operating system knows exactly where this data is, if it needs to retrieve it again very quickly. The size of the amount of space used by the swap file can also grow and shrink, depending on system requirements and no other program/file/document will ever be saved in the space being used by the swap file.
A problem with using a swap file is that it can slow down system performance because the data has be read from the disk when it is required and written to the disk when not needed. (There are not many moving parts within a computer, but there are in a hard disk — the disk itself that spins and the read/write heads that move backwards and forwards across the disk reading and writing the data. These moving parts always slow down access). Another problem with swap files occurs when the available space on a user’s hard drive shrinks through normal use, eg saving programs and files. As the amount of free space on the hard disk reduces, the amount of space available for the swap file is also reduced, thereby degrading system performance significantly.
This virtual memory makes your computer think that it has more memory than it actually has. Fortunately, the average computer user doesn’t have to worry about this, as it is handled automatically by the operating system and associated software programs. Windows, Unix and Linux use this technique of having a swap file. Large mainframe computers use a similar technique called paging. The data that is moved in and out in these systems is called ‘pages’. Linux actually creates an exclusive partition on your drive to use for swapping.
Exercise: Changing virtual memory
Changing the virtual memory settings on your computer can cause it to stop working. You should only do this if you really understand the consequences. For this exercise we will simply walk through a process of looking at where it is configured on a Windows operating system. For this exercise we will also use the current standard Windows operating system for the home user, Windows XP. However, note that the process is basically the same for all versions of Windows 95 onwards.
|Open the Control Panel on your computer by going |[pic] |
|to Start / Settings / Control Panel. | |
|In the Control Panel look for your System icon |[pic] |
|and double-click it. | |
|Click the Advanced tab. |[pic] |
|Click the Settings button on the Performance |[pic] |
|option. | |
|Click the Advanced tab within the Performance |[pic] |
|Options box. | |
|At the bottom of the performance box the Virtual |[pic] |
|Memory option is displayed. Click the Change | |
|button. | |
|The resulting screen will display the settings |[pic] |
|for the virtual memory on your computer. Note the| |
|graphic at right. It shows that the person using | |
|this computer has defined a ‘Custom Size’ for | |
|their swap file of between 768 Mb and 1536 Mb. | |
|Note yours will probably be a different size. | |
|Microsoft generally recommends that you allow | |
|Windows to control the size of your swap files. | |
|Do not change anything in these screens. Click the Cancel buttons until you have closed down the Control Panel. |
File management
One of the most used pieces of an operating system, file management refers to the way that the operating system manipulates, stores, retrieves and saves data on mass storage devices. Each time you install a program onto your computer, open and play a game, create and save a new document, delete an old document or simply copy files from your hard drive to a CD or floppy disk, etc, you are using the operating system file management programs. The operating system may also implement security on files and programs such as when a network operating system is used.
When files are stored on a mass storage device, these different devices can vary in their structure, eg a CD-ROM, a hard Disk, a floppy disk, a tape, a USB flash drive. It is important therefore that the operating system knows how data can be stored on these devices as each have their own characteristics of storing data. However, the operating system will nearly always present the data on those devices to a user in a consistent view. That is, as folders and files in a directory structure.
For a device to be able to store and retrieve data it needs to be ‘set up’ by the operating system to allow this. The techniques for setting up these devices vary slightly depending on the device. For this discussion, we will concentrate on a hard disk drive and the Microsoft disk operating system (MS-DOS), but note that the concepts for most mass storage devices with other operating systems are similar to what is discussed here.
Partitioning
When a hard disk drive (HDD) is first installed into a computer, and before it can be used, the operating system needs to create a partition/s on the drive. A HDD can have only one partition or many partitions. A partition is simply the physical hard disk having an area or multiple separate areas to hold data. An analogy would be a large roomy office. The room could simply be used as one large office where everybody works together or we could use room partitions and divide the room into separate working areas. The end result is that we still have one physical room, but it is divided into smaller separate areas where each staff person would have their own private space and could be working on different items.
Partitioning a hard drive is similar to this. In the DOS and Windows operating systems these separate areas of the HDD are identified by letters of the alphabet. If we have one physical HDD and only have one partition, then the drive is identified as the C: drive. If we partitioned the HDD into four separate areas, then each is identified by a letter of the alphabet, ie C:, D:, E:, F: etc, called logical drives. On a Linux and Unix system, (and generally on Windows NT and Windows 200x server systems) the separate areas are known as volumes and are identified by names rather than letters.
When the operating system creates these partitions, it creates a ‘partition table’ on the very first track of the hard drive. During the POST, the operating system checks the partition table and verifies that they exist on the disk. If the operating system finds that the partition information is invalid, then the system normally stops and it will be unusable. If it finds the partition table to be valid, it checks to see which partition has been identified as the ‘active partition’. The active partition is identified and created during the partitioning process. When an operating system is installed on the HDD, the active partition tells the operating system that this partition is the one to boot the computer from, eg if Windows 9x was installed on the active partition then Windows 9x would be the default operating system to load and run. If Linux was installed on the active partition, then Linux would be the operating system loaded. (Note that it is possible to have more than one operating system installed on a HDD in the different partitions. Some operating systems will recognise this and present the user with a menu from which they can select the operating system they want to load.
Example
The screen below shows the results of running the MS-DOS FDISK program, and that the computer simply has one partition, identified as C: drive and it is marked ‘active’. It also displays the size of the partition in megabytes and also the type of file system installed (FAT32).
[pic]
Figure 3: A screen from the Microsoft FDISK program used for partitioning a HDD
Compare the above image to Figure 4 below. This is a screenshot from the Windows XP partition program. Note how it shows that the C: drive (where the mouse pointer is) on this system is the ‘system’ partition and is the equivalent to an active partition in MS-DOS. Also note that the different shades of ‘blue’ define the different types of partitions with the darker blue being the primary partition and the lighter blue being the logical drives.
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Figure 4: Windows XP partitioning schema
Formatting
Once you have partitioned the HDD, the formatting process is now performed. Note that there are two types of formatting: low level and high level. Low level formatting is generally done before the HDD leaves the factory. Low level formatting divides the HDD into sectors (much like the pieces in a pie) and tracks (separate concentric circles on the disk surface). For our purpose, we will concentrate on what the average user can do — high-level formatting.
High-level formatting
High-level formatting of a HDD basically does four tasks:
1 Creates the sectors and tracks that are identified by the low level format. Each sector can hold about 512 bytes (characters) of data per track. Some operating systems allow this value to be increased.
2 Creates a master boot record (MBR). The MBR holds data that tells the operating system about the structure of the disk. How many tracks, how many sectors, etc.
3 Creates an area on the first track, (the outside track) called the file allocation table (FAT). The FAT is like the index of a book. It holds information that tells the operating system where the data (your programs and documents) is physically stored on the disk. The format process actually creates two copies of the FAT, in case one of the copies is corrupted. (Each time you save or delete data from your disk, the operating system updates this table.)
4 Creates the first directory (folder) on the disk called the root directory. The root directory is simply the first directory on the disk. It is called the root directory because directory structures are like trees — every other directory that is created on your disk ‘grows’ from the root.
So how does the process work? Assume you are using your word processor and you open an existing document on your hard disk. When this happens, the application program tells the operating system that it wants to retrieve this document from the hard drive. The operating system then consults the FAT on the disk to determine the address of the file you want. (The address is basically the track and the sector where it is stored). Once the operating system knows where the file (or first part of the file) is located on the disk, it then directs the ‘actuator arm’, (the piece of the hard drive that has the read/write heads) to move to that address on the disk and start retrieving the data. As the data is retrieved it is assembled into the correct order and sent to the CPU, which then displays it on the screen. Note that the file may be stored in many different sectors and tracks all over the disk, depending on its size. This is known as fragmentation. When a file is saved on a disk, the operating system looks for addresses which are not in use. Because you may have saved/deleted many files of different sizes over time, the disk will have empty addresses in different places all over the disk and the operating system simply uses these empty addresses to store the data.
Summary
This reading has introduced you to why a computer needs an operating system. An operating system:
• provides an interface for the end user to use their computer
• manages the various system resources and devices without the end-user needing to manage them
• brings the computer into an operating state so that it can be used by the end user.
Check your progress
Now you should try and do the Practice activities in this topic. If you’ve already tried them, have another go and see if you can improve your responses.
When you feel ready, try the ‘Check your understanding’ activity in the Preview section of this topic. This will help you decide if you’re ready for assessment.
Recommend components
Sources of information 27
Computer magazines 27
Technical specifications 29
System requirements 30
Licensing requirements 31
Organisational requirements 32
Evaluation criteria 33
Documenting your recommendations 34
Summary 37
Check your progress 37
Sources of information
How do you start evaluating the large range of computer products?
To select a product from suppliers, manufacturers publish technical specifications for their products. These specifications will vary depending on the particular component. For example, when looking at hard drives you will compare specifications such as data storage capacity and how fast the hard drive can access data. If you are looking at a graphics card, you will look at specifications such as the amount of memory and what interface is used.
There are many sources of information where you can find out about technical specifications and other features, as well as reviews on products.
Computer magazines
Computer magazines are a good source of current information and most regularly test-drive hardware components and review software releases and make recommendations. Several popular publications are listed below.
Byte available at:
APC available at:
PC World available at:
PC User available at:
ZDnet available at:
Newspapers
Most newspapers have an IT section once a week. For example The Australian newspaper has an IT section every Wednesday.
Manufacturers and vendors
Manufacturers will usually have product information and specification sheets or product data sheets. Some manufacturers have product selection guides to assist in the selection of the most suitable product for a particular task. These can usually be accessed from the manufacturer’s website. Manufacturers may also be able to tell you who supplies their product within your area.
As well, vendors (who are the suppliers or sellers of products) may be contacted and it may be possible to arrange an on-site demonstration of the product.
The Internet
The Internet has many sources of information including manufacturer websites, online computer magazines, product review sites and user forums.
Software evaluation versions
For software purchases many software suppliers provide evaluation versions available for download from their website. This allows staff to conduct their own independent evaluation of the product. The evaluation versions may have fewer features than the full commercial version, or they may operate for a limited period of time, such as 30 days.
Other sources
Trade associations and professional associations can be a valuable reference source for identifying software offered for a specific line of business.
As well, there are:
• the Yellow Pages (Internet and telephone directory)
• IT exhibitions.
Technical specifications
When comparing products, particularly hardware components, you will need to read the technical specification sheets produced by manufacturers. If you are unsure of the meaning of any specification used, the PC Webopedia website (at ) is a good place to start to find a definition of a term.
A benchmark is an objective test or measurement that can be used to compare two or more competing products. Benchmarks are a popular way to compare hardware products, but they are also useful for software packages or computer systems. Benchmarks are objective evaluation criteria, which means that they are measurable and not influenced by personal opinion.
System requirements
For both hardware and software components you will need to ensure that any minimum system requirements are met. You will find this information at manufacturer’s websites.
For software you will need to ensure that your system meets minimum requirements for:
• the type and speed of the processor
• memory
• available disk space
• operating system
• for hardware components you will need to ensure compatibility with the existing system
• processor — ensure motherboard support for new CPU is available
• memory — ensure type and size is compatible with the motherboard
• hard drives and optical drives — ensure that there is an available drive bay, power cable and interface connection.
• expansion cards — ensure that there is a suitable expansion slot for installation of the expansion card.
Licensing requirements
When evaluating software, the cost of the product will be determined by how many licences are required. A license is a legal agreement to use software and the exact terms of the agreement vary.
An important part of managing software licences is to purchase the right types and mix of licences. Software licenses are offered as follows:
• a site licence for a number of computers at a particular office
• a licence assigned to a specific computer
• a licence assigned to one specific user.
If you are evaluating software, the cost of the software is directly related to the number of licences that need to be purchased. It is therefore important that part of your evaluation process is to accurately determine how many licences are required. Typically, the cost per user decreases as you have more users. For example, a popular anti-virus software application has the following pricing:
1-User $74 $74.00 per user
3-User $112 $37.33 per user
5-User $169 $33.80 per user
Another point to consider is that some software applications will have different pricing structures for either an upgrade or a new install. To purchase software at the upgrade price, you must have a licence for an earlier version of the software.
Organisational requirements
Companies may establish computer product standards to limit the number of hardware and software choices. By establishing standards, companies can achieve the following:
• have compatible products
• limit parts inventories
• limit support costs.
In terms of hardware, companies can establish standards for new hardware purchases with respect to minimum configurations and preferred suppliers. For example a company may specify the following minimum configuration:
|Windows PC |Apple Macintosh |
|Processor: |PowerPC G4 processor |
|Desktop – Intel 2.6GHz |700 MHz |
|Laptop – Intel M 1.4GHz |256 MB RAM |
|256MB RAM |40GB hard drive |
|40GB Hard drive |10/100/1000 Ethernet card |
|10/100/1000 Ethernet card |2-year, next day, on-site warranty |
|3-year, next day, on-site warranty | |
Similarly, companies establish standards for software configurations. This lessens both support costs and licensing costs.
When evaluating hardware or software components, these organisational guidelines must be adhered to.
Similarly companies may also have preferred suppliers, that is, vendors that must be used when any components are purchased.
Evaluation criteria
When evaluating the hardware or software component, you will firstly need to decide on the evaluation criteria. The criteria used would be based on several factors including:
• The specific type of hardware or software product being evaluated. Evaluation articles in magazines are an excellent source of ideas for criteria to use when evaluating specific products.
• The needs of end users — does the product have all features required by the end users?
• Support issues such as what warranty comes with the product.
• Cost — last but not least.
The following table gives examples of criteria that could be used for evaluation of a product.
|Category |Criteria |
|Hardware or software |Processing speed of a CPU |
| |Storage capacity of hard drive |
| |Software capabilities |
| |Compatibility with existing systems |
| |Upgradeability |
|End user needs |Ease of use |
| |Ease of learning |
| |Does the product meet all mandatory features? |
| |Does the product have any desirable features? |
|Support issues |What technical support is available for the product? |
| |What assistance is given during installation? |
| |Is any training in the use of the product provided? |
| |What documentation is supplied with the product? |
| |Is the product compatible with existing platforms? |
|Cost |Total cost of ownership (TCO) |
| |The total cost of ownership is a type of calculation that assesses both the direct |
| |and indirect costs related to the purchase of computer software or hardware. For |
| |example, when considering the purchase of a printer, the ongoing costs of |
| |consumable items such as printer cartridges would be need to be considered. |
Documenting your recommendations
You have researched the requirements for your new hardware or software and now you need to document your findings.
Typically, your report will be presented as a matrix that presents the component manufacturer horizontally and evaluation criteria vertically. For examples of evaluations, visit the website of any computer magazine and search for reviews. One useful website for reviews is ZDnet at:
The following is a template that you could use to present your recommendations. To use the template you would need to add details of the products evaluated, manufacturer or supplier details and list vertically all evaluation.
Selection template
|Component required | |
|Brief description | |
| |
| |Manufacturer 1 |Manufacturer 2 |Manufacturer 3 |
|Model Number | | | |
|Price | | | |
|Supplier | | | |
|Contact details | | | |
|Internet details | | | |
|Technical specifications | | | |
|(or software feature) | | | |
|Spec 1 | | | |
|Spec 2 | | | |
|Spec 3 | | | |
|Spec 4 | | | |
|Spec 5 | | | |
|Bundled software | | | |
|Training | | | |
|Technical support | | | |
|Warranty | | | |
|RECOMMENDATION |
Summary
New releases of computer products, including hardware components, software applications and operating systems are constantly changing. In this reading you have looked at sources of information to use when you start researching the available hardware or software.
Manufacturers publish technical specifications for their products. For hardware components this will include performance considerations such as data transfer rate. For software, it will also include a list of features included in the application.
When making your recommendation, you will need to consider the system requirements, licensing requirements and organisational requirements.
The next step is to determine you evaluation criteria and present your recommendations to the appropriate person.
Check your progress
Now you should try and do the Practice activities in this topic. If you’ve already tried them, have another go and see if you can improve your responses.
When you feel ready, try the ‘Check your understanding’ activity in the Preview section of this topic. This will help you decide if you’re ready for assessment.
Install and configure a basic operating system
Planning tasks and making the contingency requirements 41
An installation schedule 43
Back up data and system settings 44
Hardware installation 44
Operating system installation 44
Application installation or re-installation 45
System integration 45
Testing 45
Training 45
Post-installation review and support 46
Back up data and system settings 46
Disk cloning 48
Installing hardware 49
Installing operating systems 50
Example 1: Windows XP 50
Example 2: Installing a Linux operating system 54
Configuring the operating system 58
Main items to be configured 58
Configuring Microsoft Windows operating systems 59
Configuring Linux operating systems 59
Test an operating system 60
Develop a test plan 61
User acceptance testing 61
System testing 62
System integration 63
Parallel conversion 63
Abrupt conversion 63
Phased conversion 64
Pilot conversion 64
Post-installation review and support 65
Summary 66
Check your progress 66
Planning tasks and making the contingency requirements
In the IT industry today there are not many important tasks or processes that are simply completed without thoroughly planning the process. As organisations face the issues of financial constraints, staff shortages, resource shortages, business competition, etc, it is important that they plan their work carefully so that they can successfully meet these constraints and also provide the best possible services to their customers. Installation of computer operating systems is no different. It is no use sending an employee to a client’s premises to install an operating system on a computer if, when they arrive, the client advises that they aren’t ready for them and asks them to ‘come back tomorrow’. Or, if the employee leaves important tools such as the CDs, network cards, or documentation back at the office. These are simple examples of why planning is important.
So, before installation of the operating system can even begin the installation procedure must be carefully planned. You will need to outline:
1 the steps in the plan
2 a list of resources required for the installation.
It is also a good idea to start documenting everything from the beginning. This can become your checklist when you come to the actual installation.
An installation plan must include steps for:
• installing with minimum disruption to your client
• configuring the system to meet your client’s requirements
• testing for security and performance issues
• backup procedures and disaster recovery plan
• system integration with minimum disruption to clients.
Some of the issues that you need to resolve are:
How will you avoid disruption to the clients?
How will the new operating system interface with other operating systems or computers, in particular networked systems?
What backup and disaster recovery procedures do you have in place?
Does the existing client hardware meet the operating system specifications? (New equipment or upgrade needed?)
If required, how will existing data be migrated to the new operating system?
|[pic] |Reflect |
Have you installed or upgraded an operating system before? Were there any problems that you encountered?
Has someone ever performed such a procedure for you? Were you satisfied with their work? Think about what made you satisfied or dissatisfied with the experience.
As a user yourself, what would be your major concerns in allowing someone else to upgrade your operating system?
When installing or upgrading an operating system, care needs to be taken to ensure that the hardware is suitable for the new system. When performing an upgrade of an operating system, problems with the installation can cause the computer to be inoperative and/or application programs may stop working. This can lead to a loss of data!
Did you recall any specific things that caused your reaction? Perhaps you felt a loss of control or were treated rudely. Maybe there was a technical problem that you felt should have been foreseen by the technician.
Many users are most concerned about:
• losing their data
• losing the configuration of systems settings and applications
• time taken to complete the job
• unexpected expenses.
Did you think of some of these? Do you think that they are really important?
An installation schedule
It is important to make a schedule of the steps necessary to complete the installation. This can be used to advise the client when the certain processes are taking place, ensure that you have staff rostered on, allow you to cost the entire project etc. If the installation is very large, then you may have to make use of project management software, such as Microsoft Project. This will assist you with keeping track of all aspects of the installation, eg tasks, resources, deadlines, durations, etc. Remember you (and your team) cannot do everything at once. Large installations (often called ‘roll-outs’) are timed in days, not minutes or hours. Think about a large government organisation that may need to update numerous computers or operating systems. They could have many offices/computers scattered around the state, so groups of computers are considered, not individual systems. It is important that staff and resources are used effectively
If the project is small, then you may find a word processor or spreadsheet application is sufficient to document the project timelines. Even if you intend to use Microsoft Project, you may still want to begin defining your schedule using a word processor or spreadsheet.
Depending on the software to be installed not all the items on your checklist will be relevant each and every time an installation takes place. For example, if a roll out is on local computers rather than computers in the far west/north/south of the state, no travelling time needs to be incorporated into your schedule.
Once you’ve decided what tasks actually need to be carried out, you can then produce an installation schedule outlining the tasks involved with a specific time allocated to each task. This needs to be quite precise as you may not be the person who actually performs the installation.
Installation tasks
When creating your installation schedule, you need to consider:
• the sequence of tasks
• how long each task will take
• how tasks will be grouped
• what resources you will need (hardware, software, staff)
• timelines and deadlines noting checkpoints to be included for disaster recovery plans (back out procedures)
• whether the installation will occur all at once or will it be staged
• client activity down time — how long will the user be unable to work at their normal activities?
• reviews and mechanisms for client evaluation and feedback.
During installation you will have to:
Refer constantly to your installation schedule and plan to ensure that you are on target. If you are not on schedule, this may affect work of other staff or your client may be disadvantaged.
• Liaise with the client and seek their agreement at regular stages.
• Limit disruption to staff by installing/configuring/testing at less busy times.
• Maintain backup and recovery procedures in case a disaster occurs.
• Document any problems that arise during installation.
• Update operating system documentation.
Major phases to be included in the installation schedule
The new system will start to become operational once the following activities are completed:
Back up data and system settings
If necessary, the users’ data and system settings are backed up to available media. If it is an upgrade then the system settings and data are important. If it is a new installation, you may find that only the data can be backed up. You may also find that the organisation already has procedures in place for the backing up of data, etc. Some operating systems such as Windows XP, have the ability to transfer files and settings from one computer to another after installation.
Hardware installation
This is where the new hardware is delivered, installed and tested. Remember that hardware also includes peripheral devices such as printers, modems, scanners, etc.
Operating system installation
This is where the new operating system is delivered and installed. Once completed, you can test the operation of the whole system to ensure that it integrates into any existing system and has no operational problems.
Application installation or re-installation
For new installations, applications will need to be installed before users begin using the computer. You need to be sure what the client’s application requirements are before you start the installation. In a large organisation, all users tend to get a base set of programs such as Microsoft Office. Some users may need additional application for specific tasks. These requirements should have been discussed with your client during the proposal stage.
In an upgrade, some applications either may not work with the new operating system, or be disabled in some way by the installation. If this is the case then they may need to be upgraded or re-installed. If the software is to be upgraded, you may need to make arrangements for the conversion of data between versions. In large organisations, you need to ensure that users know that sharing of data may be limited for a period during the installation.
System integration
This is the process of making sure that each new installed system interacts correctly with the other computers and resources in an organisation. This may involve registering users and systems with a server and may occur at the same time as the operating system and applications are being installed.
Testing
Once everything is complete, you need to test that each identified function actually works. This can involve ensuring that what used to work on the old system, now still works, and what should now work because of the upgrade or new install, does work. ie saving and retrieving files, printing, network and Internet access.
Training
How does the user interact with the new operating system? How does the new operating system differ from the old one? Some user procedures may have to be changed such as logging on and off, printing, using system tools etc. Users may need to be trained to work with the new operating system. This sometimes begins before installation of the new system, and continues afterwards until the users are confident and familiar with the new software.
Post-installation review and support
The purpose of this phase is to provide continuous assistance to the users after the software has been installed. A post-installation review is also conducted to determine if the new software and hardware is performing according to the users’ expectations. Errors and systems enhancements are identified. Performance is monitored to determine if the new system is inadequate at any point and/or if it is causing major or minor problems.
|[pic] |Reflect |
Have you ever tried to plan an event with precise detail? Try a simple plan to wash the car, mow the lawn and wash the clothes in the minimum amount of time. Identify tasks that will take a substantial time without your direct involvement. Also identify tasks that need to be carried out before others.
Would it reduce the total time taken if you had someone to help?
Some tasks can be overlapped which help reduce the overall time taken. When washing clothes the washing machine will work unsupervised often for over 20 minutes so another task can be performed simultaneously. If you wash the car on the grass then this needs to be done after cutting the lawn.
If you have a friend helping, part of the lawn could be mown, whilst the clothes are put on to wash. Then while the remainder of the lawn is mown, the car could be washed. This is an example of planning to make the best use of the different resources that are available to you, to complete the task is the least possible time, whilst causing the leat disruption to yourself and friends.
When installing an operating system, tasks such as formatting hard drives, restoring system settings and copying system files etc, take significant time. Your schedule should make use of this overlap to reduce the time taken overall. Don’t over-commit your time by starting too many processes at once as you will then be bound to complete them. Any small problem may throw a schedule into chaos.
For larger installations a team is helpful, however too much help is wasteful of human resources so a balance needs to be achieved. This is where planning is helpful. That is, it is no use being left idle while waiting for a hard disk to finish formatting.
Back up data and system settings
Once you have completed your installation schedule, you then need a starting time and a location for the installation. These items are negotiated with your client.
For an operating system installation to new computer hardware you may find it better to do the installation off-site (away from the client). You then only need to arrange for delivery and final setup. If you do complete it on-site, then disruption to the client would, at this stage, still be minimal. You only need to arrange for the final setup and integration into an existing system. So, for an on-site installation or an upgrade of the operating system and possibly hardware, you need to organise times when you can be on-site to reduce disruption to the client.
You will also need to be familiar with available backup equipment and programs for upgrading the operating system to ensure client data and system settings can be recovered or duplicated. The whole system may even be backed up using a file system cloning program such as Symantec Ghost.
You also need to be familiar with the suggested installation recommendations and procedures from the operating system and/or software vendors. This information may be found:
• printed on floppy disks or on a CD
• in a separate vendor’s installation manual is included
• in a file on the floppy disk or CD. Perhaps a file called ‘readme.txt’, ‘install.pdf’ or ‘installation.doc’ or something similar.
These instructions should provide details on both minimum hardware and disk space requirements, as well as the installation instructions so you can check that your previous research matches these specifications.
Disk cloning
|[pic] |Research |
As a method of backing up an existing operating system, applications and data, a technique called disk cloning can be used. Disk cloning involves taking an exact image (duplicate) of everything on a disk (or partition), compressing it and saving the image on a CD, DVD or network file server. By using software tools that come with the cloning program, the image can then be copied to other workstations, uncompressed and then used (installed). Once this is done the workstation is generally available for use straight away. This technique has benefits in that only one installation may need to be done that can be used for many workstations, thereby saving considerable time and resources. (Note: you should be aware of any copyright issues when using this technique.) One such program widely used is Symantec Ghost.
Go to Symantec’s website and get details of the operating systems that are suitable for use with Ghost. What are Ghost’s pricing and licence requirements? Also read more in depth about what Ghost does.
Symantec’s web site for the Symantec Ghost program is
Microsoft has similar large rollout capacity procedures built into the Windows 2000 and Windows XP operating systems installation procedures (SysPrep). Other products that can be used may be found at the following websites:
ImageCast from
Migration Toolkit from
Drive2Drive from
DriveCopy and DriveImage from (Note this business is now owned by )
SYSPREP — You can find an article from Microsoft on the usage of the SYSPREP tool for Windows 2000 and Windows XP at:
Installing hardware
If new hardware has been acquired as part of the consultation process, it must be ordered, delivered, installed and tested at this point. Testing can involve different processes. These include ‘burn in’ tools. These are used to ensure the reliability of the computer components. If the purchased computer has an existing operating system then the functionality of the whole system can sometimes be checked using tools that are standard with the operating system.
Minimum system requirements
Operating system software needs minimum hardware specifications, as recommended by the hardware manufacturer, to run successfully. New or existing hardware needs to be able to satisfy the minimum system requirements to run.
For example, the table below shows the minimum requirements for two operating systems.
|Windows XP Professional |RedHat Linux V9 |
|Pentium class PC with 300 megahertz or higher processor |Pentium Class CPU. for text mode: 200 MHz or better. for |
|clock speed or AMD K6/Athlon/Duron family. |graphical mode: 400 MHz Pentium II or better |
|64 megabytes (MB) of RAM or higher. (128 recommended) |Hard Disk Space: minimum of 475MB for basic install, a |
|1.5 gigabytes (GB) of available hard disk space |Server requires a minimum of 850MB, a personal desktop |
|Super VGA (800 x 600) or higher-resolution video adapter |requires 1.7GB, a workstation requires 2.1GB and if you |
|and monitor |install everything then 5.0GB |
|CD-ROM or DVD drive |Memory for text mode is 64MB, minimum for graphical mode |
|Keyboard and Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device|is 128MB, Recommended for graphical mode is 192MB |
|Note that there are other requirements that Microsoft list|Other hardware components may be required to use other |
|if you want to use other features of the operating system.|parts of the operating system. |
|Follow this link to see this information | |
Other independent sources on the Internet may recommend higher specifications for reasonable performance.
Installing operating systems
Example 1: Windows XP
When installing Windows XP, you have three options to choose from.
A clean install
This will install Windows XP and basically deletes any existing data/information on the hard drive. You would do this when installing the operating system to a new computer, replacing a failed hard disk drive or simply want to reinstall the operating system. VIP. Remember that this deletes any information currently on the disk.
An upgrade install
This will install Windows XP over the existing operating system. Windows XP duplicates existing application and system settings to a large extent. You would do this if you had a large existing base of computer systems where the existing computer hardware is suitable for the new operating system. This doesn’t format the hard drive which means that your data should be relatively safe, but remember to back up important data first.
Repair a previous installation
If you have an existing install of Windows XP and are having troubles with the operating system, it is possible to simply reinstall the operating system. This will keep the existing data and replace any relevant system files.
It is also possible to install multiple operating systems on your hard drive and allow Windows XP to install a ‘Boot Manager’. You can then select the Operating System you want to work with, during the boot process.
At the Microsoft website at you can find a document that contains a checklist of items you should have before installing Windows XP.
Starting the installation
There are three ways that you can start a Windows XP installation.
1 Microsoft Windows 98/Windows Millennium start-up disk
2 Windows XP boot disks
3 Windows XP CD-ROM
For this reading we will use the method of booting from the Windows XP CD-ROM. You can find out about the other methods at the Microsoft website.
Installing Microsoft Windows XP Professional
The following procedure is for a new installation of Windows XP to a hard drive that does not yet have an installed operating system. If you are upgrading to XP or the hard drive already has an installed operating system, then there will be minor variations to these procedures. These variations, where relevant, will be mentioned.
First, configure the PC to boot from a CD-ROM
Before inserting the Windows XP CD-ROM, you have to ensure that your computer is configured to boot from the CD drive. Most personal computers have this ability. If the computer does not have the ability to boot from your CD-ROM drive, you will need to create a boot disk with appropriate CD drivers installed.
You may need to refer to your computer’s hardware manual to determine the way that your computer needs to be configured to allow booting from a CD. However, generally there is a key that needs to be pressed during boot up that will allow you to enter the ‘BIOS Setup’. Sometimes this key is or . Watch the bottom of your screen during boot up for something like this. Once you have entered your computer BIOS, look for an entry such as ‘Drive Boot Order’ or ‘Boot Configuration’. Unfortunately, there are many types of BIOS available and also different versions. Therefore, it is impossible to cover all possibilities in these notes. (Also be aware that changing some items in this area can cause your computer to not boot at all. Be careful).
Once you have configured your computer to boot from a CD, insert the Windows XP CD into your CD drive. Reboot your computer.
The following steps will help guide you through the setup screens.
1 Watch the computer screen. The setup process enters the DOS installation mode.
2 Setup will start to copy device drivers and files to the computers memory. (It cannot copy to the hard drive at this point if it is a new installation, because the drive has not yet been partitioned and formatted to receive data.)
3 At this point you will be asked if you want to install XP, repair a previous installation or quit the setup process. For our walkthrough we will select the first option by pressing .
4 You will then be presented with the End User License Agreement (EULA). By pressing the key, you are accepting that you abide by the terms of the licensing agreement.
5 Once you have accepted the End License agreement, the setup process will allow you to partition your hard disk and use that partition for the XP operating system. If no partitions have yet been set up you need to press the (create) key. If your disk already had partitions on it or you want to delete an existing partition, select one of the other options.
6 You can specify the size of your partition. If you want to use the entire disk for XP, simply accept the default value and press the key. If you want to change the size, enter the new size. Note, that if you do change the size, you will have un-partitioned space on your hard drive. If you want to use this space for XP (or another Windows operating system), you will need to complete this and the previous step again of creating more partitions.
7 You will be returned to the screen shown in Step 5, however instead of showing ‘Un-partitioned space’ the screen should show that the partition has been assigned a drive letter of ‘C:’ and it is now partitioned. Simply press to continue.
8 You now have the option of formatting the partition into 1 of 2 types of file systems. A file system is simply the way that your computer stores the files on the hard disk. Each type of file system has different characteristics. XP gives you an option of FAT or NTFS. NTFS gives greater security options and allows larger files to be stored. For greater security, the best option is to choose NTFS.
9 Once you pick the type of file system, the setup process will format the drive (partition).
10 When the formatting process is finished, Setup will start copying operating system files to the newly partitioned drive. Depending on the speed of your computer this can take a while.
11 Once the copying of files is completed, XP Setup sets some configuration files for the initial boot up. The screen will display a notice that the computer is about to reboot. After reboot the setup process enters the Graphical Setup phase.
12 Once your computer has rebooted, you will see the first XP Graphical screen. During this phase some more files are loaded into memory and the hard drive and some devices are initialised.
13 The setup process will then continue to copy more Windows files to your hard drive. Various screens will also remind you of the benefits of using Windows XP and also indicate how long the process will take. This timing is fairly subjective.
14 Device drivers will also be copied to the hard drive. In most cases, there are standard sets of drivers that are a part of XP. You may find however, after the installation process, that you need to update or install different drivers to get them to work properly with XP.
15 You will then be asked to supply your regional and language settings. Click the button and select the required parameters.
16 You will then be asked for a name and organisation for your software. This information will appear in the settings tab of Control Panel once the installation has finished.
17 You will then have to enter your licence key. This is generally printed on the CD cover or on your XP manual or box. The setup process will not continue until this number is entered correctly.
18 You will then be asked for a computer name and a password for the administrator of this computer. The computer name should be something that uniquely identifies this computer on the network. The administrator password should conform to accepted standards such as using a mixture of numbers and letters, using non-standard characters and a mixture of upper and lower case characters.
19 You will then need to set your date and time and also your time zone. The date and time will generally display and be retrieved from your computer BIOS settings. You will need to select the correct time zone from the drop down box. You can also get the system to automatically change itself when daylight saving starts and stops.
20 The next screen allows you to accept the default network settings or to change them if needed. You may find that the default IP address may need to be changed, or you may need to add an extra network protocol. If you select the option, other screens will appear when you click . If you are not sure about any of these settings, the best option is to accept the typical settings option and then change them after the setup process is finished or check with your Network Administrator.
21 The process will continue by copying some files and saving the settings for answers that you have supplied in the previous screens.
22 Once this process is finished, the computer will reboot and you will be asked to add at least one other user to the computer. Remember that the administrator is added as default and you have already supplied a password for this user. You may also find that you are asked for other information such as registration, or if you want to connect to the Internet. Once you have supplied this information, you will be presented with the ‘standard’ Windows screen. From here, you can now continue to configure the computer and install programs.
Example 2: Installing a Linux operating system
Here we will focus on a ‘Redhat 9’ Linux installation. Redhat is a company that specialises in releasing the Linux operating system, however you should be aware that there are other vendors who also specialise in releasing the Linux operating system.
There are various ways that you can install the Linux operating system. It can be done from a CD, via an Internet Web or FTP server, or across a network. For our purposes we will walk through an install from a RedHat CD-ROM. The operating system can generally be purchased from most bookstores (along with the Redhat text book), downloaded from the Internet, or occasionally they come ‘free’ on computer Magazine CDs.
First, configure the PC to boot from a CD-ROM
Firstly you need to ensure that your computer is configured to boot from your CD. If the computer does not have the ability to boot from your CD-ROM, you will need to create a boot disk from the Linux CDs. Refer to the manuals on how to do this.
You may need to refer to your computer’s hardware manual to determine the way that your computer needs to be configured to allow booting from a CD. However, generally there is a key that needs to be pressed during boot up that will allow you to enter the ‘BIOS Setup’. Sometimes the key is or . Watch the bottom of your screen during boot up for something like this. Once you have entered your computer BIOS, look for an entry such as ‘Drive Boot Order’ or ‘Boot Configuration’. Unfortunately, there are many types of BIOS available and also different versions. Therefore it is impossible to cover all possibilities in these notes.
Once you have configured your computer to boot from a CD, insert the Linux CD into your CD Drive. Reboot your computer.
The following steps will help guide you through the installation.
1 Once the computer has rebooted you will be presented with the first screen that will ask if you want to install or upgrade Linux in Graphical or Text Mode. For our purposes, we will select Graphical Mode by pressing the key. You can also specify other parameters at this screen such as if you were using a special piece of hardware that needed configuration before installation.
2 The install process will run through loading various drivers, checking hardware devices, loading configuration items, etc. One of the main tasks that this part of the setup does, is to check to see if your hardware is capable of installation in Graphical Mode. Once the checks are finished you will see a welcome screen that displays some information and simply asks you to select . Note there is also an option here where you can hide the help screen that appears on the left side of the screen.
3 You will then be asked to select the appropriate language for your installation.
4 You will then be asked to select the type of keyboard you are using.
5 You will then be asked to select the type of mouse that your computer is using. If you are unsure of the type of mouse you are using, refer to your computer manual.
6 The setup process will then search the CD for various setup files.
7 When setting up a computer to run Linux, you have four types of install available. A ‘Personal Desktop’ basically uses the graphical environment of Linux called X Windows. A ‘Workstation’ install adds some extra system tools to your computer. A ‘Server’ install includes many extra features to allow the computer to act as various types of servers including a Web server, a network server, and a mail server. A ‘Custom’ install allows you to individually select more features during the install process. For our purpose we will select a Server install.
8 You will then be asked on how to partition your existing disks. This step is extremely important as you will probably delete any existing data. For our purpose we will manually partition our disk system. Disk Druid is the Linux equivalent of the MS-DOS FDISK program.
9 When partitioning your disks under Linux you need to set up at least two partitions. One partition must be used for virtual memory (known as a ‘swap’ file) and the other partition(s) are used to store programs and data.
10 To set up a swap partition, select the disk to create the partition on (if you have more than one disk) and then click the button. Select from the ‘File System Type’ drop down box. Set the size of the swap file to be created. A recommendation is to make the size of the swap file at lest twice the size of RAM in your computer. This process will create a partition on your hard disk that will be used exclusively for Linux Virtual Memory, (swap file). Note how the mount point option is ‘greyed’ out.
11 Continue to create any other partitions on your hard disk. The partition also needs a ‘mount point’. A ‘mount point’ is simply the first place that a file system is accessible from, after the computer has booted. In most cases the first mount point on a Linux system is the root directory represented by the forward slash ( / ).
12 You will then need to configure the ‘boot loader’. A boot loader is a small program that is saved in the first sector of a hard disk. The BIOS looks for this program during the start-up process. Once the boot loader has executed, it passes control to the installed operating system. Linux has two boot loaders. The older LILO (LInux LOader) program and the newer GRUB (GRand Unified Bootloader) loader. The main difference between the two is that GRUB allows for multi-booting of different operating systems.
13 If you have a network card installed in your computer you will now be asked to configure ‘Networking’. You may need to contact your Network Administrator for some of the specific details such as IP addresses, DNS servers, gateways, host name, etc.
14 As this is a server install, you will now be asked for the level of firewall protection to add your server. A firewall is a piece of software that can shield the server and its users from outside threats such as viruses or ‘spyware’. Again, you may need to contact your Network Administrator for specific settings.
15 You will then be asked for any additional language support packages to install. This option will allow you to create or read documents in different languages.
16 You can now select the time zone for your system. Simply click on the map at your closest city.
17 You will then be asked for a password (and confirmation) for the ‘supervisor’ of this system. In a Unix/Linux system the supervisor or administrator is known as the ‘Root’.
18 You now need to tell the install process what packages (programs) you want to install. As Linux is ‘open source’, there are many and varied packages that can be installed. Simply click on each of the options. If you want to install individual packages, select this option from the screen. Once you have selected the different packages, the system will check for dependencies of the programs. If a program that you have selected to install needs another program to be able to run, you will be prompted to install the extra packages. Once this has finished the installation of the different packages will commence. Depending on what you have selected, this could take a while to complete.
19 Once the packages have been installed, the setup process will configure the X Windows System. X Windows is the graphical user interface (GUI) for LINUX. In most cases the system will have identified items such as your video card, monitor, etc. So you will just need to accept the defaults. If you need to change any of the items, select them from the various items on the configuration screens.
20 As Linux is a secure system, you need to login to the computer to be able to use it. Linux provides two options for logging in: a text-based login or a graphical login. If you choose the text-based login, you will be placed at a command line prompt after login in. If you choose the graphical login, you will be placed in the X Windows environment after login.
21 Once you have selected your login option, you will be congratulated and prompted to reboot your computer. Once this is done, providing everything installed properly, you should be able to login to your Linux server either by a command prompt login or a graphical login, depending on your selection during setup.
Configuring the operating system
Once you have installed the operating system, it can then be configured to suit the organisational and/or individual needs of the user/s. Some of the items are configured during the setup process, others are configured after the first reboot or indeed, as needed over time.
Main items to be configured
Some of the main items that should be configured include:
• ‘User’ and ‘group’ accounts — Establish any new or existing user or group accounts, including passwords, level of access, login times, and security issues.
• Network items — Do other protocols need to be added? Does the computer need to logon to a network server?
• What services should be run at start up? If the computer is to be a web server, then the HTTP Web services should be started when the computer boots.
• Backup procedures and schedules. It may be necessary to implement scripts or schedules to do or automate backups.
• Does virtual memory need to be adjusted?
• Do any ‘network shares’ need to be configured on the computer to allow other users access to the computer?
• Do any ‘policies’ need to be established? In some organisations, the ability to perform certain functions are disabled, eg stopping a user from installing software without logging on as an administrator. These are called ‘policies’. You may find that some policies need to be established.
• Do any applications need to run at start up? Some application programs such as a word processor or email client may need to be automatically run when the computer boots, so these may need to be configured to do this.
The main point is that each operating system can be configured to meet a user’s or an organisation’s requirements. You may also find that there are 3rd party utilities to also help finetune the operating system.
Configuring Microsoft Windows operating systems
In Windows, the items that can be configured are contained in the Control Panel of in My Computer. You can configure the Date and Time, Display, Internet Options, Regional Options and the Users and Passwords from the Control Panel. You may also have to configure the My Network Places (previously Network Neighbourhood) and make links to any printers and network storage locations.
Configuring Linux operating systems
In Linux, the items are configured by various command line programs or utilities within the X Windows System. Some of the items that can be configured under Linux are:
1 the Linux Desktop Configuration selection:
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2 which services to start on boot up:
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Testing an operating system
Once the operating system has been installed, it is extremely important that the hardware and software be tested. Three types of tests are performed during this activity:
1 System Test, which checks all application programs available on the system. It also includes the manual procedures, backup and recovery procedures.
2 Integration Test, which checks that all applications work with one another and interact with the network resources such as printers.
3 Acceptance Test, which is performed by the users to ensure that the new system works with actual data and that it satisfies their information needs.
How do you know that the installation was completely successful? By testing the application(s) and checking the following:
• Does it run slowly?
• If the answer is yes, then you have a problem!
• Does the machine come to a grinding halt?
• If the answer is yes, then you have a problem!
• Can the application access the network printer?
• If the answer is no, then guess what? You have a problem!
These are the type of tasks that need to be tested and resolved before you can finally say you’ve installed and configured the application(s) successfully.
Develop a test plan
As part of project management you need to develop a test plan. This involves:
1 Creating a list of functions to test.
2 Within each function, create a list of items to be tested.
3 Developing test cases for each function.
4 Developing a timetable of when the functions will be tested. Allow time for resolving issues.
5 Assigning resources to undertake system testing according to the timetable.
6 Organising client resources to undertake user acceptance testing according to the timetable.
7 Assigning resources to resolve issues arising from testing.
Example of a test plan
|Function |Procedure |Expected results |Actual Results |Comments |
|Print |Access an application and print a |Selected document printed | | |
| |document | | | |
User acceptance testing
Input by the users does not stop at the initial investigative phases. Users need to be involved in all stages of software installation and they can serve as a reliable source of information.
After the vendors have delivered the software and hardware, the users are involved in overall system testing, adaptation and hands-on training on how to use both the hardware and software.
User acceptance testing involves the clients using the operating system and performing their normal work activities for a period of time, to see if any problems occur with it. They also determine whether the performance requirements defined in the initial investigative phases have been met. These performance requirements must be defined as a specific set of tests that will decide whether the software is acceptable. If the software passes all of these tests, it is considered to be acceptable by the users.
System testing
The entire system needs to be tested. Test strategies are used to try and ‘crash the system’. These strategies have to ensure that any and all problems that the software may have are found before the users convert to it. Often this is done on a pilot (secondary) system. On the completion of this activity, a report is produced which will contain the results of the user acceptance testing process.
Review, use, and evaluation of the software documentation is part of user acceptance testing. Users are involved with reviewing user documentation such as user guides and training manuals.
At the end of this activity, the users should be adequately trained with the new software. This means that they must be familiar with the software to a level, which allows them to independently use it in their everyday work in order to fulfil their information needs.
System integration
The stage following testing is system integration. This is where you integrate the new system software and upgraded applications into the organisation. At the beginning of any conversion, existing data must be made ready for the new software. This involves the conversion or creation of the files, forms and databases for the new software versions.
Conversion can take place using one or more of the following methods:
• parallel
• abrupt
• phased
• pilot.
Parallel conversion
This occurs when the old operating system software runs alongside the new software. This is done for a period of time until many of the teething problems in the new software are sorted out. The old software is then terminated either abruptly or phased out.
The advantage of this method is that it allows the organisation to keep functioning as normal, and it also allows much more time for the users to become familiar with the new software. The disadvantage is that it is costly and time consuming for the users to run both operating systems and applications simultaneously so a small group or section may pilot the proposed changes.
Abrupt conversion
This is when the old system is completely disbanded and the new one put in place immediately. The advantage of this method is that it requires no transition costs and it is very fast. The disadvantage is that this method can sometimes be very costly in the sense of data loss if the new system fails. Operations can be seriously disrupted if this happens, or if the users have not been adequately trained. For this reason, the users are under a lot of pressure to learn the system before the change over.
Phased conversion
This method is used with larger applications that can be broken down and installed separately at different times. An example of a phased conversion could be for an accounting application, with the accounts receivable, accounts payable, general ledger and payroll modules all installed separately in phases with the new operating system. If something does not work it may be only the (general ledger) that has problems or, since the (general ledger) has just been installed, it can be quickly identified as the culprit causing other problems.
Pilot conversion
The new software is installed and used by one department in the organisation so it can be tested. Once this pilot site approves the software, other departments convert using one of the above mentioned methods.
It is wise to have a phased installation process. This may include the following steps:
• Backing up important data in case there is a problem during installation
• Selecting a sample area to install the operating system first. Document any problems and considerations that arise from this ‘pilot site’.
• Break up the installation into smaller, more manageable units.
• Plan the installation timetable to cover different sections.
• Alert staff to the planned installation and training.
Put into place a review process, and feedback and monitoring arrangement, so that ongoing issues and problems and be addressed and resolved as soon as possible.
Once successful, broaden the installation to other areas. Complete the operating system documentation to reflect the changes.
Post installation review and support
The final stage of installing new technology or, in our case, an operating system, is reviewing the installation process that has occurred and ensuring ongoing support is provided to users. This means:
1 Set up user support or help desk.
2 Train the users in all aspects of the system, including backup and recovery.
3 Conduct post-installation review, identify errors, add enhancements, monitor software.
4 Document that the installation has been completed, and that the software has been registered.
|[pic] |Reflect |
What aspects of the new operating system might you document and train users in a small group setting? What aspects would you leave for ‘as needed’ training on a one-to-one basis?
Any changes which necessitate an immediate change in policy or work practice need to be documented, and distributed to users as notes or in training. For example, these would include things like having to log on where previously they may not have, new backup procedures and how My Network Places works differently from Network Neighbourhood.
One-to-one training may be left for the user to request how a particular function works and may include things like making a file available to others on the network which may not be everyday requirements.
Summary
In this topic you have worked at the various stages of installing an operating system. Whether or not you are carrying out a new system install or an upgrade, the tasks include:
1 planning and scheduling
2 installing new hardware
3 installation of the operating system
4 testing
5 carrying out system integration.
Check your progress
Now you should try and do the Practice activities in this topic. If you’ve already tried them, have another go and see if you can improve your responses.
When you feel ready, try the ‘Check your understanding’ activity in the Preview section of this topic. This will help you decide if you’re ready for assessment.
Optimise a basic operating system
Managing virtual memory 69
Virtual memory in different types of operating systems 69
Optimise the system to meet organisational requirements 74
Windows XP 74
Disk management (file systems) 78
Changing file systems 78
Managing storage 79
Disk management (disk errors) 80
Disk optimisation (defragmentation) 82
Linux system tools 84
Software updates 86
Third party tools 88
Summary 90
Check your progress 90
Managing virtual memory
An operating system, to run efficiently, will often need more physical memory (RAM) than is inserted on the motherboard, so that it can simultaneously run multiple applications. Remember that operating systems like the newer versions of Windows, Linux, and Macintosh are multi tasking operating systems, capable of running many applications at any one time. So, the less memory your computer has, the worse the performance. This problem can be overcome by using virtual memory. This works in the following way.
When RAM becomes full, the operating system moves data that is not immediately required onto a reserved area of the hard disk. This is called swapping or paging. It gives the appearance of more memory by using some of the space on the hard disk to temporarily store pages of information.
Windows stores this information in a special file called the swap file (Windows 95/98/ME) or the paging file (Windows 2000 and Windows XP) and in a swap partition on Linux. (Note that Linux does allow you to create an extra swap file on a hard drive providing you have enough disk space.) Also note that the Microsoft definition of virtual memory is a combination of both physical RAM and the swap file.
In Microsoft Windows operating systems, this file is a temporary file that is created every time Windows is started and it is deleted when you shutdown. This process becomes more efficient when the hard disk is optimised and there is sufficient free disk space for this process to occur.
Virtual memory in different types of operating systems
Microsoft recommends that the minimum size for this file is 1.75 times the RAM size. This is for computers with memory up to 128 MB. For 256 MB or higher, the file should be the RAM size plus 12 MB. Never set the minimum page size smaller than physical memory as this can cause Windows to stop functioning. The maximum size can be set virtually as high as you like (up to your physical disk size) because Windows expands the file as needed.
Linux recommends that the swap partition should be at least twice the size of physical RAM.
Windows XP
You can specify these settings in Windows XP as follows:
1 Select the Control Panel’s System icon
2 Select the Advanced tab
3 Click Performance & Settings
4 Under Advanced, Virtual Memory section, click Change.
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Figure 1: XP virtual memory settings
The existing (default) settings are usually fine. You might increase the initial and maximum size if you are often using programs with large memory requirements, (such as shared databases). Note however, that increasing physical RAM size will definitely give even better performance increases in such cases. Be aware, however, that motherboards generally have a limit in the amount of physical RAM that can be installed. You should check your motherboard manual for this value.
Linux
Linux uses a complete partition for swapping and it is ‘set up’ during the install process. Therefore, it is difficult to change the size of the swap file in Linux, on one hard drive, without physically reinstalling the operating system and changing the size of the partition. You can, however, create another swap file, along with the existing one, if you were to install a new hard drive.
To create an extra swap file, this is generally done by using the command line, with the dd command. So to create a 128 Mb file, you might have this command, as given below. (Note the source for this information was found (in part) at the Linux tutorial website at:
Command to create an extra swap file
dd if=/dev/zero of=/data/swapfile.1 bs=1024 count=131072 which displays: 131072+0 records in 131072+0 records out.
dd command = converts and copies a file.
if = the Input File, in the case from nothing.
of = Output File, in this case creates on the data volume called swapfile.
1 bs = no of bytes.
Count = 131072. If you divide this number by 1024, it equates to 128 Mb.
Next you have to prepare the file for usage as swap space using the mkswap command. The simplest form would be:
mkswap device size
Where ‘device’ is either the name of a hard disk partition or the name of a file you want to create. The ‘size’ option is only required when you create a swap file.
So if you type the following command:
mkswap/data/swapfile.1
It displays:
‘Setting up swapspace version 1, size = 131072 Kb’
This will format the swap space by adding the appropriate header information.
Once it is created, it needs to be activated. The above command can be used to create a temporary swap file. If you want to have it activated as a permanent swap file on boot up, you need to add information to a boot file called fstab. This file is usually found in the /etc directory. You need to add a new disk drive name. Drive names in Linux are not identified as C: or D: as they are in Windows, but by a device name. So the command line, in the fstab file would be:
/dev/hda3 swap swap
which basically says that the device/dev/hda3 is to be mounted onto the special mount point called swap, and is of type swap.
Practice 1
If you have access to a Linux system, run the commands ‘man dd’ and ‘man mkswap’ at a command prompt. This will run the online help manual pages for the two commands and it shows the options available for the commands.
Practice 2
On your computer system, determine the current settings for virtual memory. Note do not change anything.
Windows 95/98/ME:
Access virtual memory in Windows 95/98/ME via the start menu.
Start->Settings -> Control Panel -> System -> Performance tab -> Virtual memory
Windows XP
Start -> Control Panel -> System -> Advanced -> Performance & Settings
-> Advanced -> Virtual Memory -> Change
Linux
Login to the command prompt and type the command ‘free’ (without the quotes).
Feedback
Here are the virtual memory settings windows in different operating systems.
Windows 98
Note that the recommended setting is to allow Windows to manage the virtual memory. This is usually a good idea.
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Figure 2: Windows 98 virtual memory
Windows XP
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Figure 3: Windows XP virtual memory
Linux swap file information
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Figure 4: Linux swap file
It is not recommended that virtual memory settings be ‘played with’ for your computer system. It may cause your system to stop responding. If you have access to a trial computer system on which you can change settings, then adjust some of the settings and watch the outcome. If you set values too small, you may find on reboot that the system is very sluggish, or may not work at all. Set them too big and the available free space on your hard disk will shrink, but you may not notice a measurable improvement in the system performance.
Optimise the system to meet organisational requirements
Now we will look at specific tools in different operating systems. Remember that similar tools are available in most operating systems, although you may find that the name of the tool is different, or the screen shown is different. In some cases the operating system you are using simply may not have an equivalent tool.
Windows XP
In Windows XP some of the tools for monitoring system optimisation and performance can be found in the Computer Management Console from within the Control Panel.
To be able to use these tools you may find that you have to be logged on as the computer administrator.
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Figure 5: Administrative Tools
If you double-click the Administrative Tools icon, the following options (below) are displayed.
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Figure 6: XP Administration Options
If you double-click the Computer Management icon the following optimising options are available:
• Event Viewer
• Shared Folders
• Performance Logs and Alerts
• Disk Management.
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Figure 7: XP Computer Management
Event Viewer
The Event Viewer displays events happening, or have happened, on your computer. This can help to diagnose problems that may be occurring or about to occur, particularly during start-up. You often get a message box indicating that a service failed to start during start-up and are directed to Event Viewer to get details. Periodic review of the information in the Event Viewer logs is important to discover trends that may affect system performance adversely. Event Viewer has three types of logs:
1 Application Log, which shows information about applications programs
2 Security Logs, which can identify is any security breach has occurred
3 System Logs, which displays information about any specific system events that has happened on the computer.
You should check these logs on a regular basis to try to avoid any potential problems.
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Figure 8: XP Event Viewer
Shared folders
Shared folders allow you to share various resources on your computer with other users of your network. This area of control panel shows the folders, printers, etc that you have shared on your computer. Note that you cannot create or disable a share from here, it will only display the shares on your computer. If you want to create, modify or delete the shares, you do this from Windows Explorer or My Computer.
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Figure 9: XP Shares
Device Manager
The Device Manager in Control Panel displays those hardware devices that the computer is aware of. It can also show if there are any devices that have a problem with configuration. It will also show information on each of the devices. It may be possible, depending on the device, to configure it to work better by changing a setting, etc.
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Figure 10: XP Device Manager
Performance Logs and Alerts
Performance Logs and Alerts supports detailed monitoring of the utilization of operating system resources.
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Figure 11: XP Performance Logs and Alerts
Disk management (file systems)
The file system refers to the method of file storage used on a hard disk, and is determined when formatting a disk. Some operating systems permit the user to select a file system only during installation.
Microsoft file system formats include:
• FAT (File Allocation Table) for DOS or earlier Windows 95 versions. FAT or FAT16 allows a maximum size of a volume to be about 2 gigabytes, which means that you have to create many drive letters on currently available hard disk drives, because of their size.
• FAT32 (File Allocation Table 32bit) for Windows 95/98/ME/XP is a more efficient version of the older FAT that can allow larger volume sizes to accommodate the larger hard disk drives available now.
• NTFS (NT File System) is a more secure and robust file system for Windows NT/2000/XP. It provides strong security for file access between users of the same computer and recovery capabilities.
Changing file systems
Many operating systems require a file system to be reformatted in order to change the file system type. Even if you can change the file system type, your computer will not be available for use until the conversion is complete.
During the installation of Windows XP you are given the option to use (or keep) a FAT file system in order to allow a dual-boot system, perhaps to be used during a pilot installation or trial change over period. To improve security on the computer systems in your organisation you may be required to convert from FAT or FAT32 to NTFS. Microsoft provides a command line tool to perform this conversion within Windows XP. Note that a volume converted in this way may not perform as well as one which has used NTFS from the time of installation. Also, conversion is a one-way process. You cannot convert back from NTFS to FAT32.
At the command line (Start->Run) you would type:
convert volume:/fs:ntfs/v
but replace the word volume with the drive letter you are going to convert to NTFS. The /v is optional and runs convert in ‘verbose’ mode which means that you are given more information about what is happening during the conversion.
In Windows 98/ME there is a utility called Drive Converter to convert the file system from FAT to FAT32. (Start->Programs->Accessories->System Tools->Drive Converter)
Research
Windows in-built Help is a great source of information about your computer. Read more about file systems there.
Managing storage
Windows XP also gives you advanced control over your storage systems. By selecting Disk Management from within Computer Management, you can set up drives, see the ‘health’ of existing drives, change drive letters, format drives and check the properties of the drives.
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Figure 12: XP Disk Management
Practice
Access and view the storage management settings on your own computer. Remember that many of the options in Computer Management require you to be logged on as Administrator.
The context-sensitive help screens in Windows provide you with more information about these tools. From anywhere within the Computer Management Console, press . Read the information provided about disk management. Similarly, access this help information as you proceed through the following sections.
Disk management (disk errors)
A disk or file system may develop errors for a number of reasons including power failures, drive wear and poorly written programs. Operating systems tend to provide utilities or tools to detect such errors and repair them if possible, or mark them as unusable. These programs usually detect physical problems as well as logical structure errors, such as lost clusters, cross-linked files or directory errors. These three problems occur when the system tries to write out files to systems that have problems and sometimes ‘get lost’ on the hard drive (that is, there are no entries in the File Allocation Table for all, or parts of, files).
Windows 95/98/ME
Windows 95/98/ME provides a utility called Scandisk that has both text and GUI versions. The text mode version is run automatically during start-up if the file system was not properly shutdown. The GUI version can be run from the Start menu (Start->Programs->Accessories->System Tools->Scan Disk).
Windows XP
Windows XP does not install Scandisk in the System Tools folder, so to work with a GUI version you must do the following:
1 Open My Computer.
2 Right-click the drive you want to check.
3 Select Properties from the pop up menu.
4 Click Tools.
5 In Error-checking click on Check Now to start the checking procedure.
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Figure 13: XP Error Checking
Windows XP also provides a command line tool called chkdsk (check disk). You use chkdsk to also scan and repair volumes on the hard disk drive. You must be logged on as Administrator prior to running chkdsk as follows:
Choose Start->Run
At the command line, type the following: chkdsk volume:/f
Replace the word volume with the drive letter you are going to check. The /f is optional, but without it chkdsk will only report errors it finds not fix them.
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Figure 14: XP ChkDsk
Practice
Run the check disk program on the computer you are using. Try it first without the /f , then with it.
Run the program on other drives if they are available.
There are many options for check disk. Try chkdsk/? to display them.
Disk optimisation (defragmentation)
The fragmentation of a file system is caused by normal use. As files of different sizes are created, modified, moved and deleted the storage locations on a disk are left with various sized holes, and files are not stored continuously on the disk. This is known as fragmentation. Normal functions of a computer system such as browsing the Internet or working on word processing documents cause this fragmentation. Fragmentation has a detrimental effect on the performance of an operating system and can in fact cause a hard drive to ‘crash’.
While the standard FAT file system, FAT16 from DOS or FAT32 from Windows 95/98 benefit from occasional defragmentation, NTFS benefits from much more frequent use of a defragmentation tool. Microsoft suggests weekly or even daily use depending on certain factors. You may even decide to schedule the defragmentation tool to run automatically to reduce administrative workload and keep the operating system optimised.
In the storage node of the Computer Management Console there is a snap-in (leaf or link) called Disk Defragmenter. This tool is used to report on the level of fragmentation and rearrange the files on the disk to remove this fragmentation.
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Figure 15: XP Defrag
Defragmenting the file system will result in faster file and directory access and so increase the system speed for the users. Disk optimisation in this way overcomes these fragmentation problems by doing two things:
1 It defragments files — this is the process of moving files around so that all of the data from a file is located together.
2 It removes gaps of unused disk space — this is the process of maximising usage of the disk.
Because the files and directories are now located together and also at the beginning of the disk, disk access time is reduced (the Read/Write heads do not have to travel as far to retrieve data) therefore the system will be a lot more responsive.
The image below shows the defrag tool at work. Note the two coloured displays. They are the ‘before’ and ‘after’ snapshots. Basically fragmented files are in red so you want to end up with a file system which is mostly blue for contiguous files and white for free space. System files are indicated by green areas, and they will not be moved.
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Figure 16: XP Defrag at work
Some red areas in the figure above will not be moved, probably due to them being files currently in use, or are stored specifically in a cluster on the hard drive and will not ever be moved, such as the system swap file. For this reason, to achieve best results, defrag should be scheduled for times when the system is not being used. This is also important since the defrag process takes up considerable system resources and may take a long time.
Microsoft also recommends that you maintain about 30 percent of any NTFS-formatted disk as free space to ensure that you have sufficient room for effective defragmentation.
Practice
The Windows computer you are using now will have a defragmentation tool. When you have finished working for the day, shut down all of your programs and start the defragmentation tool. If it has a detailed display, watch and see if you can identify the actions it is taking. It is interesting (for a while, at least) to watch the defrag tool, move files from one area to another, then move other files into the gaps made by the first move.
Linux system tools
Many of the system tools with Linux are accessed from the command line. Shown below are a few of the tools that can be accessed via the X Windows system. You will notice that they strike a resemblance to some of the windows tools mentioned previously.
Control Panel
As with Windows XP, Linux has a control panel (called preferences) that has various options for configuring and optimising the system.
[pic]
Figure 17: Linux Control Panel
Log files
Linux has many log files that can be accessed. As with any computer system the log files should be accessed and checked on a regular basis to try to determine if the system has any problems looming, if there are any security breaches, etc.
[pic]
Figure 18: Linux logs
Linux System Monitor
The System Monitor can show the status of the Linux system. Again, this can help to optimise the system. For instance, if the CPU usage is peaking at a constant 100%, this could indicate a runaway process.
[pic]
Figure 19: Linux Device Manager
Linux Hardware Browser
The Hardware Browser is similar to the Device Manager in Windows. From here you can change some items and configure others for best optimisation.
[pic]
Figure 20: Linux Hardware Browser
Software updates
From time to time, operating system vendors such as Microsoft release updates for system and application software. The updates often fix bugs and security issues so it is important to implement them. Some sources suggest that most Internet attacks will be through known flaws in operating system security that have not been patched by available updates.
Microsoft updates
You can update your system software in Windows XP by using the Windows Update facility available as a shortcut from the Start menu to the Windows Update server on the Internet. If you do not have access to the Internet from the system you want to update then you need to manually download fixes, patches and service packs and install each of them. Other vendors may supply CDs or floppy disks that also have to be installed manually. However, most supply access to updated or improved drivers and patches over the Internet. An increasing trend is to include options for automatic upgrade/installation, such as updating virus definition files. The service pack level for Windows XP, as at December, 2004, is SP2. This is a major service pack release of well over 250 Mbs and (is supposed to) fix many security vulnerabilities within Windows XP.
However, if you have regular access to the Internet, there is a feature within Windows XP, to automatically download all the latest fixes.
To check the Update selection from within Windows XP go to: Control Panel, System icon, Automatic Updates tab.
From here you can enable the system to automatically install the updates, or it will prompt you before installing them.
[pic]
Practice
Locate and select the Windows Update shortcut within the Start menu of whatever Windows version you are using. (If Win98: Start->Settings->Windows Update). Allow the Update Wizard (manager) to connect to the Windows Update server and analyse your system’s update requirements.
Record what updates are available for your system. Are there any listed which sound as if they would correct any problems you are having? What about security updates? You don’t need to download them now but be aware that these are available if you are having the problems described or even to make your system as secure as possible.
Note you can also go to the Microsoft website and have this website automatically scan your system. You can find this service at:
Feedback
The Windows Update Wizard (Manager) requests information from the update server. It then compares the list with the installed updates on your system and provides you with the list of new updates that are available. They are sorted into categories based upon how critical to system performance and security they are. You can then select to update all or some of the areas listed.
Linux updates
Linux allows you to connect to a Redhat server and download the latest patches and fixes. The two screens below show the service and the configuration options. Note that you may have to join a subscription service that charges.
[pic]
Figure 22: Update Manager
Third party tools
There are also various businesses that supply third party tools that can optimise your system. You can use Internet search engines and find tools that will suit your particular system. As an example, a company called Norton’s release a suite of programs called Norton Utilities, that include various tools for optimising your system:
• Norton System Doctor monitors your system in the background and can interrupt specific programs that may cause a system crash before the crash occurs. It can then fix them or isolate them.
• WinDoctor can diagnose and repair common windows problems to maintain a system at peak efficiency.
• Disk Doctor is an alternative to Scandisk and ChkDsk.
• Speed Disk can defrag and optimise file systems for peak performance.
Practice
Use the Internet and search for ‘optimisation tools’ for the operating system you are using. If any seem relevant to a particular problem you are having, then apply them to see the effects. Be aware, however, that any optimisation must meet the users’ and the organisation’s requirements.
Summary
In this reading we have looked at some of the system tools that enable you to perform system optimisation on specific operating systems. As well, we have looked at automatic update facilities to keep the system secure and performing at its optimum level.
Evaluating system performance and updating software should be included in your installation plans and schedules. We have looked at various system tools required for performance monitoring and identified areas where performance increases are possible. Here, we looked at the following tools:
• administrative tools
• system tools
• event viewer
• system information
• services
• run check disk
• optimising (defragmenting) a disk
• changing virtual memory settings
• updating the system software.
Check your progress
Now you should try and do the Practice activities in this topic. If you’ve already tried them, have another go and see if you can improve your responses.
When you feel ready, try the ‘Check your understanding’ activity in the Preview section of this topic. This will help you decide if you’re ready for assessment.
Provide instruction
Instructor roles 94
What makes a good instructor? 95
A common scenario 95
Types of instruction or training 96
Instructor or trainer 96
Training situations 96
One-to-one instruction 98
Circumstances requiring one-to-one instruction 98
Advantages of one-to-one training 99
Planning the training process 100
Determining the type of training needed 100
Determining client’s training needs 101
Strategies to find out about client needs 101
Meeting client’s training needs 103
How can I plan effective instruction? 103
Developing an overall presentation approach 103
Setting learning objectives 104
Developing a training session plan 105
Planning the teaching of each skill 107
Delivering the training 108
Motivate the learners 108
Encourage your learners 109
Monitor a learner’s progress and provide feedback 110
Demonstrate practical skills 110
Select appropriate instruction activities 110
Reviewing a training session 112
Evaluation strategies 113
Follow up 113
Summary 114
Check your progress 114
Instructor roles
Your role as an instructor may vary from organisation to organisation or within the section where you are employed. Some general areas you may be involved in are:
• identifying the individual and organisational needs of the client
• providing advice on the instruction (training) available
• planning the instruction
• researching available training materials and accessing these resources
• developing instructional or training resources
• providing appropriate instruction
• modelling appropriate behaviours, attitudes, skills and ethics
• obtaining client feedback
• providing informative feedback to clients, both individuals and the organisation
• reviewing training outcomes.
Sometimes clients request instruction on a technical matter. On other occasions, client support staff will be able to determine the client’s need for instruction, based on the types of client requests logged. At least some of the instruction you give is likely to be on a one-to-one basis.
What makes a good instructor?
A common scenario
Jay, a clerical officer, has this to say about the help desk at his organisation:
Some people at our ‘help’ desk are not at all helpful. They assume they know what my needs are. They use IT jargon. Or they might just quickly go into a monologue. I feel like saying, ‘Can you just come and show me on my computer?’ Worse, there are some of them who are quite impatient and I feel as if I’m wasting their time. At the end of a negative experience like that, I just feel like giving up.
I have to say, however, that there are some at the help desk who do help. They take time to listen carefully as you state your problem. They also take you through the process step-by-step and they make sure they’ve fully resolved your problem before they leave you to it.
Reflect
Think of some of your experiences that have involved instruction. You may have received instructions from a teacher, an instructor, a co-worker or a supervisor. You may have had to provide instruction to classmates, friends, co-workers and clients. If you are working, think of some instruction or training situations in your own workplace or any other place where knowledge transfer has occurred. It could have been a construction site, a hairdressing salon, a childcare centre or a ferry.
What do you think makes a good instructor?
Feedback
Generally a good instructor is someone who:
• adopts an enthusiastic attitude in every lesson
• has a good grounding of the subject matter
• is able to simplify difficult tasks and concepts for the learners
• is confident in presenting the information
• has a friendly manner that puts the learners at ease.
Types of instruction or training
Instructor or trainer
Sometime during the course of your career, you may be called on to either work with clients or to provide instruction to clients or co-workers. The terms ‘instructor’ and ‘trainer’ can be interchanged in this topic. Note that in this topic, we interchange terms such as instructor and trainer; and client, user, trainee and learner.
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Figure 1: The terms ‘instructor’ and ‘trainer’ can be interchanged
Training situations
Your organisation may be large with its own training department and with systems specific to the organisation, and your role may be that of mentor or trainer. On the other hand, your organisation may be small with someone, perhaps you, mentoring some staff.
You may be asked by your organisation to prepare formal training sessions either to a group or to individuals. Sometimes the training you provide will be less formal. For example, someone may log a call to the help desk and you may go over to their desk to demonstrate on their computer, or someone next to you may ask you for on-the-spot help.
No doubt you would have the technical skills and knowledge. However, as an instructor, you need more than just technical expertise. You need to develop strategies that will help your learners (clients) gain the skills, knowledge and attitudes necessary for achieving a task. You need to be a good teacher.
The instruction you provide will only be meaningful if it relates to the needs of the client. One of the keys to playing the instructor role is the ability to identify what instruction the client actually needs. Training needs analysis is an important part of the process. If you neglect to identify what the client actually needs then the instruction you provide may be useless.
One-to-one instruction
One-to-one instruction is personalised training. It’s when you instruct or train someone individually to develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes to be able to competently undertake a task. You may, as trainer, for example, sit next to the learner (client) at their workstation and go through the features of an updated version of a software package; or you may give step-by-step instructions to someone over the phone.
Think of the time when you first learned to drive. You had an instructor sitting right there beside you. Think of the advantages of having a trainer sitting right next to you. Did you grasp the basics right away? Did the trainer demonstrate one skill at a time, supervise your practice closely and give you immediate feedback? Were your exact needs being met?
You would certainly have had quite a different experience if you had learned to drive in a group. With theoretical subjects, you may probably gain from the questions and comments from others in the group, but not with practical skills like driving! It is also quite common to find yourself sitting through group instruction in areas in which you are already competent or which may not be relevant to your own needs.
Circumstances requiring one-to-one instruction
One-to-one instruction is generally more costly than group training, but under some circumstances, such as the following, it is the preferred option:
• The organisation may believe that the training is so important or so urgent that it is willing to invest in individual training.
• The knowledge and skill levels of individual staff vary. Users often have unique problems and therefore unique training needs. In such cases, training that is customised to the individual would be more effective than group training.
Advantages of one-to-one training
There are advantages to delivering training in a one-to-one situation that the group-training equivalent just does not share. For example, one-to-one training enables the training to be tailored to be more suitable for individual learners, thereby accelerating the learning process as well as enabling the learner to provide immediate feedback about the training. Here are some more advantages:
• With one-to-one instruction the client will be able to ask more questions and work at their own pace. As a learner, if you’re working quickly, the trainer will be able to introduce new material. If you’re learning slowly, the trainer will be able to go over each step of the process until you’re confident you know it. When you’re with a group, you may not be able to do that as easily. You also have the exclusive attention of the trainer.
• One-to-one instruction gives you, the trainer, an opportunity to demonstrate the steps required in learning a new skill or performing a work task and then to observe your client repeating the same steps independently. You can immediately correct any mistakes and explain any misunderstandings you notice.
• One-to-one training is generally, but not always more costly than group training if you consider the effectiveness of the training. If the quality of the one-to-one instruction is really good, the learner (client) learns quickly and won’t need any further training sessions. If the group is too large, then the quality of instruction may not be as good and the learners (clients) may need more training sessions and thus the training will end up being more costly.
• In a one-to-one situation, the trainer can pick up any changes in the client’s learning pace more easily than in a group situation. Subtle shifts in the client’s responses and motivations are more observable when the trainer focuses on only one person.
Planning the training process
Suppose a group of staff in your workplace need a particular set of skills in order to perform a task. You’ve been asked draw up a training program for this. Where do you begin? You’ll need to ask some questions that will help you determine the type of training needed.
Determining the type of training needed
The following questions can help you to determine a training strategy:
• What will be the overall goal of the training — for the organisation and for the individual clients?
• What does the client need? What are the learner’s existing knowledge and skills?
• What is the complexity of the skills to be taught?
• Is there a time frame to teach these skills?
• Are there others in the organisation who need more or less the same type of training?
• Are there resources (eg manuals and textbooks) that I can draw from?
• When is the client available for training?
• Would one-to-one training be more effective than group instruction?
• Should you provide all the training or would it be more effective to enrol the client in an external course or engage a training provider?
• Is there a need for a service level agreement?
• What is the organisation’s budget for this training?
Determining client’s training needs
Now you need to work out the specific training needs of individuals, in order for them to achieve the training goal. This is also known as conducting a needs analysis.
Then you can compare what they already know with what they will be expected to know by the end of the training. The ‘gaps’ indicate the skills and knowledge your training should focus on. These will become the learning objectives.
To determine a client’s training needs, you will need to consider the overall gaol of the training and:
• the specific tasks the client needs to perform
• the skills needed in order to perform those tasks
• the different levels of training needed for different learners — novice, advanced, power-user or technical training.
Strategies to find out about client needs
Determining the client’s training needs is similar to determining any sort of client need. You must be careful not to make assumptions!
Focus on what the learner needs to know in order for them to perform the task, and also find out what they already know. The training needs to be valuable and appropriate to this particular learner or group.
The following are some strategies to find out about client’s training needs. You may develop more strategies as you go along.
Ask
Employees need to acquire new skills and competencies to function effectively when there are changes in their workplace, be it the introduction of new technology or new work procedures. A good understanding of the stakeholders and their current competency levels will give you an idea of their training needs.
Conduct a diagnostic activity
A good solution is to prepare in advance a diagnostic activity. This might be a specific set of questions for the client, or it might be a sort of test to see whether the client can perform a series of tasks.
Practise good communication skills
Good communication skills, such as questioning and active listening techniques, will help you get useful information about client’s training needs.
Observe the client as they attempt to complete the task
This will help you see where the client’s gaps in knowledge and skills are and find out what they don’t know.
Do some research
You may be able to find out what the client’s recurring problems are. For example, you might be able to look through the help desk request log. Frequently requested help with a particular problem may alert you to a particular training need. This strategy is particularly useful in gauging any problems arising from the introduction of new technologies.
Find out about barriers to the learner (client)
Find out whether the learner (client) has any special needs, negative attitudes or phobias about any of the tasks they need to learn to perform. Before you offer training, you may need to help the client think positively about the training. For example, your client may have a disability or cultural barriers with regard to using certain types of technology.
Meeting client’s training needs
Now you’re able to start planning the detail of your training session/s, in order to meet your client needs. You’ll need to:
1 Set the training (learning) objectives, identifying the skills and knowledge the client will gain.
2 Develop an overall presentation approach.
3 Develop a training plan for a training session.
4 Plan the demonstration and information you’ll give for each skill.
How can I plan effective instruction?
Over time, as you get more experienced as a trainer, you will develop your own effective strategies for providing instruction. As a start, you can identify:
1 the client’s preferred ways of learning — such as seeing or observing; listening and note-taking; reading and research; imitating and practising; or a combination of all these.
2 the client’s existing knowledge and skills level — your client is an adult and may have had prior training, studies and work experiences. You’ll be able to build on these skills and knowledge.
Developing an overall presentation approach
Below are a few examples of different presentation approaches. Some of them will be more appropriate for some situations and others less so. Adapt them as you see fit.
• Demonstrate each skill and get the learner (client) to practise them.
• Present a project or a case study at some stage of the training.
• Teach the skills either one at a time or altogether.
• If appropriate to the situation, show the client the end result and then show the steps you took to arrive at that final result.
• Introduce a skill, followed by other related skills. Then go back to each skill time and time again during the session, to build on or elaborate on that skill.
• Cover each skill (or group of skills) and then revise them via a project.
• Give them a task right at the beginning. Throw them in at the deep end, so to speak. The aim is to allow them to discover for themselves and learn from their errors. Note: This approach may not be suitable for tasks that have a high risk with regards to occupational health and safety practices. Some people may also be easily discouraged if they are thrown in at the deep end.
• Follow a chain of cause and effect, at least in some parts of your session. Show them a step, for example, and the wanted or unwanted effect of that.
• Always devise questions that you will ask to check the client’s progress or understanding.
Setting learning objectives
This involves identifying the skills and knowledge the client will gain. Once you’ve got a list of the tasks that the learner needs to be competent in, break each one down into a list of skills involved in each task. At this stage you can also think about how you will know that your client has acquired the new skills. This might involve them producing something for you, or you may be able to observe their performance to gauge their progress.
You may wish to draw up a checklist encompassing all the skills for that task. This checklist can be customised each time you need to instruct a new client.
On the checklist, allow a space next to each skill for you to tick if your client does not need instruction in that skill, or if/when they are competent.
For example, for the task ‘access the Internet’ you might draw up the following skills checklist:
Table 1: Skills a learner needs to perform the task ‘access the Internet’
| |Skills |Complete |
|a |Demonstrate a positive attitude towards the value and purpose of the | |
| |Internet by identifying some reasons why it may be useful. | |
| |Demonstrate basic computer skills by being able to perform simple | |
| |computer tasks such as starting a computer, starting application programs| |
| |and work in a windows-based environment | |
|b |Start up Internet software applications. | |
|c |Identify rules about acceptable practices when using Internet | |
| |technologies. | |
|d |Access files and documents using Internet search engines. | |
|e |Browse the Internet to find related sites via links. | |
|f |Send, download and respond to emails. | |
As you can see, you need to include both the skills and knowledge the learner needs to perform this task. Depending on the situation, you may also note the type of ongoing support or mentoring needed.
You can use the checklist to keep track of the learner’s progress with the tasks. If there is a contract with the learners then that could also be used to monitor the learner’s progress.
Show this checklist of skills to the learner/s at the start of the first training session. At this stage, you may also decide to include additional content that the learner wishes to cover.
Developing a training session plan
This involves developing a meaningful overall structure for a training session.
If the training is formal, it is important to develop a basic structure or program for the training. This allows both trainer and client to see where the training is up to and where it’s going. The client can even do some prior reading before each session.
In the lesson plan below, the left-hand column is a basic outline for a session. A lesson plan may also have time limits associated with each stage.
Table 2: A sample plan for a formal, group training session
|Session activity |Description |
|Introductions (personal) |Trainees and trainer get to know more about each other. This is a good |
| |time to set the tone for the rest of the session. If the trainee has any |
| |doubts about the training, this would be the best time to discuss them. |
|Discussion: learning outcomes of |Discuss the skills to be covered. Explain whether you’re going to teach |
|the session |the skills separately or as a group. |
| |You may wish to allow the client to write down each skill in their own |
| |words and as it relates to their job. |
| |At this stage, you may also wish to go through the skill and discuss what|
| |it means not to be competent. Sometimes, only by looking at what you do |
| |not want to end up with do you clarify in your mind exactly what it is |
| |that you do want. |
|Demonstration: explain and |List each skill (or each group of skills) in the order in which you’ll |
|demonstrate skills a, b and c |teach them. |
| |Include how the instruction will take place, ie what you will be doing |
| |and what the trainees will be doing. For example: demonstration followed |
| |by questions, etc |
|Morning tea |Refreshment break |
|Practice: learner practise skills |Learning is an active experience. You must allow the learner plenty of |
|a, b and c |time to practise and repeat that practise. Just because they have seen |
| |you do it, doesn’t mean they can do it themselves. |
|Lunch | |
|Activities: learners practise |More practice and putting skills together to perform tasks, or to apply |
|applying the new skills to the |them to their own workplace |
|workplace | |
|Assessment |Have the trainees reached the learning outcomes? This could be assessed |
| |by questions, making observations or asking for trainees to hand in |
| |practical work. |
|Feedback and evaluation |You need feedback from your learners on how they felt about the training,|
| |the methods you used and if they are satisfied. This is usually done with|
| |an evaluation sheet given out at the end of the training. |
Planning the teaching of each skill
It is important to develop a plan for the teaching of each skill, particularly if the skill is a complex one or if your learner does not have much existing knowledge and skills in the area. Some skills, of course, can be taught at the same time.
Below is a draft plan for teaching the use of an email system. Remember to always focus on the learner.
Table 3: A draft plan for teaching the use of an email system
|Develop |Details |
|Skill: |Learner should be able to send, download and respond to emails. |
|Content: |Open up email system. |
| |Fill in intended recipient’s address and message title. |
| |Send email message. |
| |Download incoming email message. |
| |Respond to email message. |
|Teaching strategies: |Demonstrate first. |
| |Give learner a number of messages to send. |
| |Provide constant and instant feedback. |
| |Provide learner with a help card. |
|Assessment: |Ask learner to send, download and respond to an email. |
Delivering the training
You have decided on your program and your presentation approach. Now it’s time to deliver. What strategies will you use?
Here are a few strategies you might find useful:
• Motivate the learner.
• Encourage the learner to participate actively in the training session.
• Monitor a learner’s progress and provide feedback.
• Demonstrate practical skills, where possible.
• Select appropriate instruction activities.
• Identify the learner’s existing skills and knowledge and build on them.
• Don’t assume the learner knows something. Find out for yourself.
• Use examples or case studies to help explain abstract or theoretical concepts.
• Use memory aids (for you, the trainer) if you can.
• Get the learner to check their own progress. Use checklists.
• Ask questions of the learner to help them learn.
Using these techniques is the key to effective instruction, so let’s look at a few of these in greater detail.
Motivate the learners
Before anything else, make sure that the learners have a positive attitude towards the subject matter of the training. Develop rapport and gain their confidence. You can do this, for example, by introducing yourself and perhaps talking a bit about yourself. Try to get them to talk about past work experiences and training. That’s one way of developing mutual trust and respect between you and your clients.
Even if the learners already have a positive attitude, explain the importance of the training — how the skills learnt will benefit their work practices and allow them to be more multi-skilled, for example. Ask the learners what they expect to get out of the training. Discuss, from the outset, what the learning outcomes will be. Accommodate any further learning outcomes expected by the learners, within the scope of the overall training goal.
During the course of your instruction, you can motivate the learners further, for example, by setting activities that are not too difficult, providing positive feedback and getting learners to actively participate.
Encourage your learners
Respect the learners
Treat them as adults. Acknowledge their existing knowledge and skills as valuable. Value their input and give them time to ask questions. Listen to the learner. Encourage them to contribute to the discussion.
Build on the learner’s existing skills and knowledge
The learner’s prior knowledge and existing skills, they will be more likely to retain, in their long-term memory, the knowledge and skills you’re teaching. You might want to conduct a diagnostic test, or you might see it as appropriate to just ask the learner. Be aware, however, that sometimes some learners may not like to admit that they do not know.
Reflect
Think of some strategies that might motivate and encourage a learner.
Feedback
There are many strategies that motivate and encourage a learner. Here are just a few examples. You may develop more as you become a more experienced trainer.
• Tell the learner a little about yourself.
• Ask the learner to talk about their work and experiences.
• Discuss everyday funny situations with the learner.
• Discuss the positive aspects of the learning for the client.
• Show respect for the learner.
• Provide encouraging feedback ‘That’s right’, ‘You seem to have the hang of it’ and so on.
Monitor a learner’s progress and provide feedback
To see whether learners are actually making progress, you need to monitor them. Here are some monitoring strategies:
• Ask a learner questions and provide immediate feedback.
• Get them to perform a task (even if it is very simple) and observe them. Setting a variety of such activities will help you determine the level of skills and knowledge achieved.
• Remember to record such observations. There are often organisational guidelines which should be used for this sort of documentation, and these records are used to support recommendations on further training needs.
Demonstrate practical skills
This is the most popular method for conducting sessions where a client has to learn new practical skills.
There are three steps in this method:
1 Talk about the whole skill (or group of skills) in broad terms.
2 Demonstrate the whole skill without instructions and at normal speed.
3 Demonstrate again, slowly, and describe each step.
It works best when the new skill can be broken down into a number of steps.
Select appropriate instruction activities
Activities you run in a training session could include: discussions, demonstrations, practice, reading, role plays, Internet research, questioning, viewing a video, following a tutorial, and so on. When deciding on suitable instruction activities ask yourself the question, does the activity help the client to:
• achieve the outcomes of the training?
• understand and remember the information?
• see how they could transfer the new information into their work situation?
• meet their needs?
• remember the new information?
• use equipment, resources and a location that are easily available?
Case study activity
Chris is a part-time teacher at a metropolitan TAFE campus. A few weeks ago, Chris was asked to plan some workplace training. A large manufacturing plant in the area had called for tenders to organise their training for the process workers, and to organise and deliver various training sessions in the workplace. The TAFE Institute’s business unit was successful in winning the contract to provide this service and called on Chris, who had previously worked in the industry, to deliver some of the training.
The plant manager had decided that the plant was going to embrace technology and use the Internet as a research and development tool throughout the organisation. The employees were to use the Internet to set up international contacts for best practice examples, source raw materials and parts for equipment, organise to attend conferences, etc. Chris was given the job of organising training sessions for the staff on effective use of the Internet. The training was to take place at each employee’s workstation as this would enable Chris to tailor the training to suit individual needs and accelerate the training. Chris carried out a needs analysis by meeting with the intended trainees. Some people were very appreciative that the organisation was providing them with training. However, the following questions were also raised by some employees:
Well, I think what you have told me sounds great. I’d also like you to tell us if management is going to provide us with access from home.
I am a proficient user of the technologies you’ve mentioned and I have a lot of other work to do, so can you please leave me alone?
I don’t want to use the technology and anyway, I don’t see how you could help me in my job. Nobody even asked me my opinion.
(In private:) I’m dyslexic and I don’t think I will be any good at this. I don’t normally have to read a lot, so I haven’t mentioned it before. I’m a bit worried it might affect my job.
Reflect
What responses would you make to the above questions and comments? If you can, discuss this situation with other students and your teacher.
Reviewing a training session
Toby conducts regular one-to-one training on occupational health and safety for various new staff that join his organisation. Training sessions are conducted every three months in each department and have been ongoing for about two years.
Toby has been called into the manager’s office to discuss the training he has been conducting. The manager asks Toby for documentation of the effectiveness of the training. Toby has been very thorough in preparing and conducting the training and shows the manager his training plans and methods. He does not have any written information on the effectiveness of the program but he is confident that it is going well. Participants appear happy with the training and there have been no major complaints.
However, as Toby was away the previous week, he is unaware that there was quite a serious accident and it looks as though the company may be investigated by the local authorities.
Reflect
1 Why is it important to evaluate instruction?
2 Does Toby have any evidence that his training was effective?
3 What could Toby have done to regularly review the one-to-one training sessions he has been conducting?
Feedback
Whether the training is conducted one-to-one or in groups, it is important to review instruction so that a record of the effect of the training is kept. Unfortunately, Toby has no evidence that his training has been effective. Some things he could have done are:
• observe and record work practices of learners after the training session
• ask learners to complete a written test on the key content of the training session
• ask learners to complete a written survey on the clarity and effectiveness of the training.
Evaluation strategies
The final stage of training is evaluation. The major aim of training evaluation is to verify whether the client’s requirements have been met. Evaluation is usually based on the feedback obtained from the client.
If a training session is appropriately documented then the evaluation process requires only analysis of the training documentation and the implementation of its findings.
What can you do to review instruction to ensure that client’s needs have been met? Here are some suggestions:
• Ask the client probing questions.
• Conduct group discussions.
• Observe the client and obtain feedback.
• Accept anonymous feedback from the client, eg using a questionnaire.
• Evaluate the client’s feedback.
• Evaluate yourself.
• Set up plan to implement findings.
These are methods used to determine if training went according to plan, whether the tools and resources used were appropriate and whether training could be improved in the future.
Follow up
Is further instruction or training needed?
Sometimes the most appropriate way to meet the client’s needs is to refer them on to other training sessions. For example, they may want or need to attend a course on using their spreadsheet software rather than just being instructed in a particular feature of a spreadsheet.
This training may need to be identified when you first determine their training needs, or it may only be realised after you have conducted one or more instruction sessions.
Summary
We have discussed the process for providing instruction to clients in group or one-to-one training sessions. We started with an introduction to the roles of the instructor, what makes a good instructor, types of instruction or training and the advantages of one-to-one instruction. Then we moved on to exploring how to plan the training process, determine and meet client’s training needs, and finished with discussions on how to deliver and review instruction.
You must keep in mind that while effective training will contribute to users viewing training as a fundamental process, ineffective training may affect users’ confidence in themselves and/or the environment in which they work.
Check your progress
Now you should try and do the Practice activities in this topic. If you’ve already tried them, have another go and see if you can improve your responses.
When you feel ready, try the ‘Check your understanding’ activity in the Preview section of this topic. This will help you decide if you’re ready for assessment.
Collect feedback and evaluate the new or modified technology
The need for evaluation 117
The process of evaluation 118
Planning evaluation 118
Key indicators of usability and performance 119
Environmental considerations for new equipment and software 120
Using feedback 121
The value of feedback 121
Gathering feedback 121
Analysing and processing feedback 123
Scoring of usability and performance 124
Produce a final report 126
Summary 127
Check your progress 127
The need for evaluation
Evaluation needs to be conducted after the migration into the new technology to assess the project’s success or failure. In this process, you must use the project success indicators to compare against the actual benefits and returns. During evaluation, data is collected, recorded and analysed to identify the benefits of the new technology.
Evaluation is conducted after implementation of new technology to:
1 Identify any issues relating to the relevance, effectiveness and efficiency of the hardware and software systems installed.
2 Identify changes that are necessary to address any pressing issues.
3 Ensure that the organisational process used for migrating to new technology are acceptable to stakeholders and identify any changes that are necessary.
4 Verify whether the system the system has delivered what was expected so as to benefit future projects.
5 Monitor long-term use of the system.
The process of evaluation
There are three steps in the evaluation process:
1 Collect, record and analyse feedback to track progress against the targets. Explain success and failures with respect to the performance indicators. Identify unintended positive or negative effects.
2 Decide on necessary adjustments to the system to increase its usability and performance.
3 Establish any lessons that could be learnt from this project so future information technology projects would be much more efficient.
Planning evaluation
The evaluation plan should be flexible enough to accommodate new questions and information sources. Here are some strategies in planning evaluation:
• Obtain a list of all stakeholders of the new technology.
• Identify stakeholders that must be consulted to evaluate the performance and usability of the system. Ensure that the sample chosen includes users, power users, support personnel, managers as well as customers (if applicable).
• Identify any other data sources to collect information such as documents, reports, performance logs, etc.
• Identify key performance indicators with regard to performance and usability of the software applications and hardware.
• Determine the resources that are needed to carry out the evaluation.
• Identify the methodologies that will be used to conduct the evaluation. The possible methodologies are: observations, questionnaires, walkthroughs, interviews, focus groups, etc.
• Analyse the information collected and compare it against the targets of performance and usability.
• Recommend potential enhancements to the system and identify any shortcomings of the implementation for the benefit of future projects.
Key indicators of usability and performance
The overall objective of conducting usability and performance evaluation is to recommend changes that will contribute to increase user acceptance, increase productivity, decrease training and learning times, and increase business performance.
Key indicators of usability
Usability of the system measures hardware and software user interface with respect to attributes such as ease of learning, ease of use and satisfaction in meeting user needs. A usable system ensures that the user can access the required feature instantly through its well-planned user interface. It also ensures that all control features are consistently presented so would need minimum training to identify various processes within the system.
• Ease of use — users find it easy to apply to their intended tasks.
• User satisfaction with the functional capabilities.
• Sufficient and easily accessible user support. Users are satisfied with the support procedures such as help screen with context sensitive help, knowledge bases, help desk, etc.
• Satisfactory initial experience. Users have successful initial experience with the software and/or hardware.
• Integration with existing processes. The new system integrates well with existing processes.
• Overall system capability. Users are satisfied with the overall capability and usefulness of the system.
Key indicators of performance
Performance of the system measures the reliability of the hardware and software. It includes:
• availability of the system
• error rate
• mean time taken to complete tasks.
Environmental considerations for new equipment and software
It is important to use a formal process to ensure that potential environment problems are foreseen and addressed at early stages of the implementation of new hardware or software. However, a careful environmental impact assessment prior to implementation does not exempt you from re-visiting this topic during the evaluation stage.
Assessment of the environmental impact of using the technology must be done against:
• resources
• labour
• infrastructure
• supporting technologies required.
Factors that could bring favourable environmental outcomes are:
• reduction in wastage
• replacement of old equipment that is not environmentally friendly
• reduction in paper usage
• reduction in energy consumption.
Factors that could pose a challenge are:
• environmental issues relating to disposal of obsolete computer supplies, hardware and other equipment
• environmental issues relating to communication devices, wireless communication devices in particular
• the apparent need of many organisations to purchase large numbers of new computers. (It is estimated that 1.8 tons of raw materials are required to produce the average desktop personal computer and monitor. Imagine the negative impact of the production on the environment!)
Another major consideration when purchasing new equipment is whether it is designed with environmental attributes. The environmental responsibility does not stop there. The users of technology must do so responsibly by using software and hardware that can reduce wastage as well as minimise printed material and energy consumption, etc.
Using feedback
The value of feedback
Feedback is extremely valuable in the evaluation of hardware and software as it provides an effective balance for your own observations and walkthroughs on the system. This is an ongoing process of keeping IT professionals informed of the performance and usability of the system and should not be treated as merely an event.
While positive feedback reinforces the implementation of the system, negative feedback provides very valuable information about how to improve the usability and the performance of the system. The performance improvements made due to the feedback will ultimately benefit the organisation.
Gathering feedback
The goal of collecting feedback from users and gathering information from other sources is to enable the technology committee to assess how well the software and hardware implementation is satisfying the key usability and performance indicators.
Sources of information
You can gather data from people, documents, performance data, observation of events or any other empirical method such as experiments and benchmarking.
Basic feedback gathering methods
The ideal form of feedback gathering is to use a combination of the following methods depending on time and organisational factors.
Observations, walkthroughs and site visits
These are conducted to get first hand information on performance and usability features of the system. The internal or external evaluators will observe all stakeholders using the technology and observe usability and performance indicators of the system.
Walkthroughs are conducted where an evaluator walks through a certain feature to assess how the system performs that feature with respect to usability and performance indicators.
Interviews
Here are some tips for conducting interviews:
• Choose stakeholders who would have greater or unique involvement with the new system.
• Communicate the purpose of the interview to the interviewee.
• Ask brief questions relevant to performance and usability of the system.
• Don’t interrupt.
• Be a good listener.
• Take notes.
Focus groups
These are group interview situations where discussions can take place about the usability and the performance of the hardware and software. Here are some tips for conducting focus groups:
• Reward the attendees by providing refreshments as this could be a good motivator.
• Start and finish on time.
• Be prepared to hear positive and negative comments.
• Be prepared with prompting questions to start the discussions about usability and performance of the system.
• Let the participants communicate and listen carefully.
• Avoid being defensive.
• Listen to all comments.
• Engage a note-taker.
Surveys and questionnaires
These are used to gather quantifiable data about the system from a large number of people. You should make allowances for the low response rate and the slow response time. Here are some tips for conducting surveys:
• State the objective of the survey as evaluating the performance and usability of the new technology.
• Keep the survey to a manageable length.
• Use both open-ended and closed questions.
Analysing and processing feedback
All data regardless of how and from where it was collected must be summarised against the performance and usability indicators so they are more manageable. In almost all case, both quantitative and qualitative data will be collected and used.
• The performance measurements such as error rates will be quantitative and will be easy to interpret.
• Performance measurements such as reliability could be a combination of qualitative and quantitative data.
• Usability indicators could be qualitative or quantitative.
Scoring of usability and performance
It is common practice to use a scoring system to identify how the system is performing with regards to usability and performance. An example of a scoring system is given below.
Table 1: Directions for scoring key indicators
|Indicators |Poor |Satisfactory |Good |Excellent |
|Support |
|Help desk services |Support mechanisms are|Support mechanisms |Support mechanisms |Excellent support |
| |non-existent or not |exist. But fees |exist. Fees for help |mechanisms. |
| |adequate. |associated with help |desk calls are |Reasonable fees and |
| | |desk calls are high |reasonable but |acceptable response |
| | |and response times are|response times are |times. Relevant cheat|
| | |slow. |slow. Cheat sheets and|sheets and how-to |
| | | |how-to guides are |guides are accessible |
| | | |available for some |through the web-based |
| | | |features. |support system. |
|Technical needs assessment |
|Needs assessment |Needs assessment was |Some groups of |Needs for all |An elaborate and |
|conducted for |not conducted. |stakeholders were |stakeholders |comprehensive needs |
|implementation | |surveyed to identify |identified however not|assessment was |
| | |computer hardware |all needs are |conducted and it all |
| | |requirements. |accounted for in the |stakeholders were well|
| | | |final implementation. |informed about the |
| | | | |improvements that |
| | | | |would be introduced. |
|Indicators |Poor |Satisfactory |Good |Excellent |
|Training |
|Training prior to and|Training was not |Training was provided |More customise |A comprehensive |
|during implementation|provided. |in large groups. |training for small |training plan was |
| | | |groups. |derived and all users |
| | | | |were trained in groups|
| | | | |for common skills and |
| | | | |on a one-to-one basis |
| | | | |for user specific |
| | | | |tasks. |
|Customisation |
|User customisation |All features are set |Desktop attributes |Power users can |Power users can |
| |and customisation is |such as fonts and |customise certain |customise most |
| |not an option |colours could be |features. Ordinary |features where as |
| | |customised to suit the|uses cannot change any|ordinary users can |
| | |user’s needs |features |change a limited |
| | | | |number of features. |
|Integration |
|Compatibility |The new software is |New software is |New software is |New software is |
| |not compatible with |partially compatible |backward compatible |totally backward |
| |any old packages that |with old technologies |with the old software |compatible with the |
| |performed similar |however the |but does need some |old software. |
| |tasks. |administrator has |intervention with data| |
| | |stopped making any |conversions. | |
| | |reference to data in | | |
| | |the previous system. | | |
|Indicators |Poor |Satisfactory |Good |Excellent |
|Performance |
|Value for Money |The technology has not|The new technology has|The technology has |The technology is |
| |produced any cost |not enforced any |minimized costs |proving to be |
| |advantages that was |additional expenses | |producing a profit. |
| |anticipated. In fact, |(running costs) | | |
| |the new technology |compared to the old | | |
| |costs more money to |technologies used | | |
| |the organisation. |previously. | | |
|Speed (Throughput) |Output of new |New Technology is |New Technology is lot |New Technology is |
| |technology is slower |comparable with old |more efficient than |producing more than |
| |compared to the |other technologies. |all previous |three times faster |
| |previous technologies.| |technologies. |than the previous |
| | | | |system. |
|Quality |The quality of output |The quality of output |Produces good quality |The quality of output |
| |is not acceptable. |is comparable to older|output. Less than 2% |is rated as very high.|
| |Error rate is more |technologies and is |defects. |Less than 0.5% |
| |than 5%. |acceptable. Less than | |defects. |
| | |5% defects. | | |
Produce a final report
Once you score each evaluation indicator using the directions given in Table 1, you can conclude the finding in a final report and present your recommendations to the technology committee or any other body responsible for technology implementation.
Summary
We began with a discussion of the need for and process of evaluation when implementing new technology. Then we moved on to planning an evaluation, key indicators of usability and performance, and environmental considerations when purchasing new equipment. Then we explored using feedback, its value and how to gather, analyse and process it. We finished with an example of a scoring system to identify how the new system is performing with regards to usability and performance.
Check your progress
Now you should try and do the Practice activities in this topic. If you’ve already tried them, have another go and see if you can improve your responses.
When you feel ready, try the ‘Check your understanding’ activity in the Preview section of this topic. This will help you decide if you’re ready for assessment.
-----------------------
□ memory management
□ minimum and recommended system requirements
□ multi-tasking system
□ one-to-one instruction
□ operating system software
□ operating system vendors
□ operating systems
□ process scheduling
□ purpose of the operating system
□ questioning techniques
□ real time system
□ sources of information
□ system functionality
□ system security
□ technical specifications
□ virtual memory
□ workplace documentation.
ICAS3234A - Care for computer hardware
active listening
adjustment recommendations
application software
batch system
client evaluation/feedback
client/user
customise desktop and viewing options
default settings
diagnostic tools
evaluation and selection of operating systems
features and functions of operating systems
feedback mechanism
file system
hardware
implementation plan
install and configure application software
install, configure and optimise operating system
installation options
licences
managing new technology
* manufacturer requirements
* media
* move/relocate hardware
* occupational health and safety (OHS) principles and responsibilities
Key Terms and Concepts
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