THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW BEFORE INSTALLING

AN OPERATING SYSTEM
Jerome S. Jabel
Presenter
 Technical Terms
Disk formatting
is the process of preparing a data storage device such as a hard disk
drive, solid-state drive, floppy disk or USB flash drive for initial use.
Disk formatting process
1. Low-level formatting- marks the surfaces of the disks with markers indicating
the start of a recording block and other information like block to be used
later, in normal operations, by the disk controller to read or write data. This is
intended to be the permanent foundation of the disk, and is often completed
at the factory.
 Technical Terms
Partitioning - is the process of writing information into blocks of a storage device
or medium that allows access by an operating system. Partitioning divides a disk
into one or more regions, writing data structures to the disk to indicate the
beginning and end of the regions. This level of formatting often includes checking
for defective tracks or defective sectors.
 Technical Terms
1. High-level formatting- creates the file system format within a disk partition
or a logical volume. This formatting includes the data structures used by the
OS to identify the logical drive or partition's contents.
 Technical Terms
Reformatting
is a high-level formatting performed on a functioning disk drive to
free the contents of its medium. Reformatting is unique to each operating
system because what actually is done to existing data varies by OS. The most
important aspect of the process is that it frees disk space for use by other
data. To actually "erase" everything requires overwriting each block of data on
the medium; something that is not done by many high-level formatting
utilities.
 Technical Terms
Filesystems
is the methods and data structures that an operating system uses to
keep track of files on a disk or partition; that is, the way the files are organized
on the disk. The word is also used to refer to a partition or disk that is used to
store the files or the type of the filesystem.
Common Types of Filesystem
File Allocation Table (FAT) is a computer file system architecture
and a family of industry-standard file systems utilizing it. The FAT
file system is a legacy file system which is simple and robust.
Common Types of Filesystem
NTFS (New Technology File System) is a proprietary file system
developed by Microsoft. Starting with Windows NT 3.1, it is the
default file system of Windows NT family.
Common Types of Filesystem
exFAT (Extended File Allocation Table) is a Microsoft file system
optimized for flash drives
 Technical Terms
master boot record (MBR)
is a special type of boot sector at the very beginning of partitioned computer
mass storage devices like fixed disks or removable drives intended for use with
IBM PC-compatible systems and beyond.
It holds the information on how the logical partitions, containing file systems,
are organized on that medium. Besides that, the MBR also contains executable
code to function as a loader for the installed operating system. This MBR code
is usually referred to as a boot loader.
 Technical Terms
NTLDR
is the boot loader for all releases of Windows NT operating
system up to and including Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016.
NTLDR is typically run from the primary hard disk drive, but it can also
run from portable storage devices such as a CD-ROM, USB flash drive,
or floppy disk. NTLDR can also load a non NT-based operating system
given the appropriate boot sector in a file.
 Technical Terms
Blue Screen of Death
is an error screen displayed on a Microsoft Windows
computer system after a fatal system error, also known as a system
crash: when the operating system reaches a condition where it can no
longer operate safely.
 Technical Terms
Black Screen of Death
is an error screen displayed by some operating systems after
encountering a critical system error which can cause the system to
shut down.
 Technical Terms
Basic Input/Output System
is a type of firmware used during the booting process (power-on startup)
on IBM PC compatible computers. The BIOS firmware is built into
personal computers (PCs), and it is the first software they run when
powered on.
 Technical Terms
Unified Extensible Firmware Interface UEFI-
is a specification that defines a software interface between an operating
system and platform firmware. UEFI replaces the Basic Input/Output
System (BIOS) firmware interface originally present in all IBM PC-
compatible personal computers, with most UEFI firmware
implementations providing legacy support for BIOS services. UEFI can
support remote diagnostics and repair of computers, even with no
operating system installed.
 Operating System
Operating System-
is system software that manages computer hardware and software
resources and provides common services for computer programs. The
operating system is an essential component of the system software in a
computer system. Application programs usually require an operating system to
function.
Examples of operating systems
Unix operating systems- create a virtual file system, which makes all
the files on all the devices appear to exist in a single hierarchy.
Examples of operating systems
Linux- supports many different file systems, but common choices for
the system disk on a block device include the ext* family.

Ubuntu

Andriod
Examples of operating systems
Solaris operating system in earlier releases defaulted to (non-
journaled or non-logging) UFS for bootable and supplementary file
systems.
Examples of operating systems
OS X-
uses a file system inherited from classic Mac OS called HFS
Plus. Apple also uses the term "Mac OS Extended".
Examples of operating systems
Microsoft Windows
is a family of proprietary operating systems designed by
Microsoft Corporation and primarily targeted to Intel architecture
based computers, with an estimated 88.9 percent total usage share on
Web connected computers. The newest version is Windows 10.
Windows 7 recently overtook Windows XP as most used OS.
 Installation Types

Clean installation: one where there is no existing operating system on the

computer or you do not want to preserve the existing installation. The
biggest advantage of a clean installation is knowing that nothing remains
from a previous installation, leading to improved performance and
stability.
 Installation Types

Upgrade installation: one in which Windows XP is installed over a previous

version of Windows. The biggest advantage of an upgrade is that you can
retain application installations and user settings. However, this can also be
a disadvantage if you would be better off without these applications and
settings.
 Installation Types

Multiple boot installation: one in which several operating systems are

installed on the same computer and the user can choose which operating
system to boot during system startup. If Windows XP is installed as an
additional operating system, you will need to reinstall any applications you
want to run under XP. A multiple boot lets you keep the previous operating
system and installed applications, which can be useful if you want to test
Windows XP or if you have critical applications that will not run on
Windows XP.
 Installation Methods

Standard (attended) installation: this is the method generally used

by home and small business users, so you may already be familiar
with it. During installation the user remains at the computer to
provide any information requested by Windows.
Network installation: with this method the Windows XP
installation files are located on a network share, so no installation
CD is required. This method is often used in smaller businesses.
Automated installation: this method does not require the user to
provide information during setup, as the required information is
stored in a file. This reduces or even eliminates user intervention
during the setup process. Automated installation is normally used
by larger businesses, since it provides significant time savings when
installing multiple copies.
 Partition Types

Primary: up to four primary partitions can be configured on a computer

running Windows, although this drops to three if you also have an
extended partition on the disk. Any primary partition can be configured as
the active (or bootable) drive, but only one primary partition is active at
any time. If you want to configure a multiboot system, you should create a
primary partition for each operating system.
 Partition Types

Extended: extended partitions are a way of getting round the limit of four
primary partitions. They are not formatted with a file system, but act as a
shell in which you can create logical partitions.
 Partition Types

Logical: any number of logical partitions can be created inside an extended

partition, but a logical partition cannot be set as an active partition, so
they cannot generally be used to hold operating systems and are better
suited to organizing files. Logical partitions are always visible, irrespective
of the operating system running, so they are a good way of making files
available to any operating system installed on a multiboot computer.
 Software
- A set of instructions, stored digitally within the computer's memory,
which tells the computer system what to do.
 Types of software
System software - is the software used to manage and control the
hardware components and which allow interaction between the
hardware and the other types of software. The most obvious type
of system software is the computer's operating system but device
drivers are also included within this category.
 Types of software
Utility software - is software such as anti-virus software, firewalls,
disk defragmenters and so on which helps to maintain and protect
the computer system but does not directly interface with the
hardware.
 Types of software
Applications software - are designed to allow the user of the
system complete a specific task or set of tasks. They include
programs such as web browsers, office software, games and so on.
Reasons Why You Should Format Your Computer

1. Your computer will not start

In case the system doesnt start due to registry errors or has a black screen,
instead of trying to repair, it is sometimes easier to format.
Your computer might not start due to virus attacks or some other changes in
configuration, chances are that the system wont start up or boot because the
operating system cannot be loaded.
2. Your hard drive is full
after several months or even few years of working on the same computer, a
user might find that the hard disk has become cluttered and there is no space
to add any more files.
3. Too many errors
If there are a lot of errors and virus problems in the system, this problem is
taken to be the main reason as to why any computer user thinks about
formatting. Viruses mostly come from files that are corrupted and they can be
transferred by going to attack prone sites.
These viruses corrupt the data and make it difficult for the user to open the
files or use the system properly. They also reduce the system efficiency
because they take a lot of work from the CPU which could make the other
applications a lot tougher to work.
Reasons Why You Should Format Your Computer

4. To upgrade your system

Upgrading the operating system is a great reason to format your computer.
You might want to buy an upgrade version for your Windows operating
system, or maybe buy a full new and improved operating system such as the
latest Windows 8.1 or Windows 10.
5. Your computer is running slow
If the system is running slow, there might not be any obvious errors
showing, but you just feel like your computer is sluggish.
Thank You