Lab 1

A. Introduction

This lab 1 for the Operating Systems class aims to introduce the practical aspects of the theory
learnt in class. It will cover the concepts in operating systems applied to Windows operating
systems

B. Instructions

Before you do the following, make sure you start the Windows computer, then run Google
Chrome and Microsoft Word (if you use them. Otherwise run the browser and the word
processor that you normally use). Once all those are done do the following.

1. Using a Task Manager

a. What is the purpose of a Task Manager?
b. Describe how to open a Task manager.
c. Name the Apps listed in the Task Manager
d. How many Windows processes are there?
e. How many background processes are there?
f. Select Windows Logon Application
i. What is the name of the program file that were loaded to create this
process?
ii. What is the size of the file?
iii. What is the current file version?
g. Select Windows Explorer Application
i. What is the name of the program file that were loaded to create this
process?
ii. What is the size of the file?
iii. What is the current file version?
h. How many processes are there in the system?
i. How many threads are there in the system?
j. How many handles are there in the system?
k. Explain the meaning of handles
l. What is the computer up time?.
m. Explain the meaning of computer up time.

2. Using Resource Monitor

a. What is the purpose of a Resource monitor?
b. Describe how to open a Resource monitor
c. How many CPU cores does your computer have?
d. Select the process of perfmon.exe
i. What is the PID of the process?
ii. What is the description given about the process?
iii. How many threads created by that perfmon process?
iv. With right mouse click on the process, choose Analyze Wait Chain. What
other process is this process waiting for?
 3. Using System Information
a. What is the purpose of System Information ?
b. Describe how to open System Information
c. Choose Components
i. Select Display
1. What is the resolution of your display?
2. What is the memory address allocated to the display memory?
3. How big is the Adapter RAM size?
d. Choose Software Environment
i. Select System Drivers
1. Name 2 kernel drivers that are running
2. Name 2 kernel drivers that has been stopped
ii. Select Running Tasks
1. Is this list the same as the one given by task manager?

4. Using Computer management

a. What is the purpose of Computer management ?
b. Describe how to open Computer management
c. Choose Storage
i. Select Disk Management
1. How many disk volumes are there ?
2. List the volumes available (with the File System types, Capacity
and the free space available)

C. Submission
1. Prepare a report that answers the above questions
2. Submit in turnitin.com

Ans:

1. Using a Task Manager

a. The purpose of a Task Manager is to provide information about the processes, performance,
and applications running on a computer. It allows users to monitor and manage the programs and
services running in the background, as well as troubleshoot issues that might be causing the
system to slow down or crash.

b. To open the Task Manager on Windows, you can right-click on the taskbar and select "Task
Manager" from the menu that appears, or you can use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+Esc.

c. The apps listed in the Task Manager will vary depending on what programs and services are
currently running on the computer. Typically, it will display the names of the applications, the
amount of CPU and memory they are currently using, and whether they are running as
foreground or background processes.
d. The number of Windows processes will vary depending on the system configuration and what
programs and services are currently running. In general, there are several dozen core Windows
processes that are always running, but this can vary depending on the version of Windows being
used.

e. The number of background processes will also vary depending on the system configuration
and what programs and services are running. Typically, there will be several dozen background
processes running at any given time, but this can vary widely.

f. To select the Windows Logon Application in the Task Manager, you would look for a process
with the name "winlogon.exe".

i. The name of the program file that was loaded to create this process is "winlogon.exe".

ii. The size of the file will vary depending on the version of Windows being used and any
updates that have been installed.

iii. The current file version will also vary depending on the version of Windows being used.

g. To select the Windows Explorer Application in the Task Manager, you would look for a
process with the name "explorer.exe".

i. The name of the program file that was loaded to create this process is "explorer.exe".

ii. The size of the file will vary depending on the version of Windows being used and any
updates that have been installed.

iii. The current file version will also vary depending on the version of Windows being used.

h. The number of processes in the system will vary depending on what programs and services are
currently running.

i. The number of threads in the system will also vary depending on what programs and services
are running.

j. The number of handles in the system will vary depending on what programs and services are
currently running. Handles are used by programs to reference specific system resources such as
files, network connections, and windows.

k. Handles are essentially numeric identifiers that are used by programs to reference specific
system resources. They can be thought of as pointers or references to these resources, and are
used by programs to perform operations on them.

l. The computer up time is the amount of time that has elapsed since the computer was last
started or rebooted.

m. Computer up time is an important metric for understanding the overall stability and reliability
of a computer system. The longer the computer has been running without being rebooted, the
more likely it is that issues or errors may begin to occur. It is generally recommended to
periodically reboot your computer to ensure that it is running at optimal performance.
 2. Using Resource Monitor

a. The purpose of a Resource Monitor is to provide real-time information about the use of
hardware resources (CPU, memory, disk, and network) by processes and services running on a
Windows computer.

b. To open a Resource Monitor in Windows, follow these steps:

Press the Windows key + R to open the Run dialog box.

Type "resmon.exe" and press Enter or click OK.

The Resource Monitor window will open.

c. To determine the number of CPU cores in a Windows computer, follow these steps:

Open the Task Manager by pressing the Ctrl + Shift + Esc keys.

Click on the Performance tab.

Under CPU, the number of Cores and Logical processors will be displayed.

d.

i. The PID of the process is displayed under the PID column. It may vary depending on the
system.

ii. The description of the process is displayed under the Description column. In this case, it is
"Performance Monitor".

iii. The number of threads created by the process is displayed under the Threads column. It may
vary depending on the system.

iv. When we right-click on the process and choose "Analyze Wait Chain", it shows if the process
is waiting for any other process to complete its task. It may or may not show any waiting process
depending on the system and running processes. Note: The specific details may vary depending
on the version of Windows and the system configuration.

3. Using System Information

a. The purpose of System Information is to provide detailed information about the hardware,
software, and configuration of a computer system.
b. To open System Information on a Windows computer, follow these steps:
1. Press the Windows key + R to open the Run dialog box.
2. Type "msinfo32" in the box and press Enter.
3. The System Information window will open.
c. To find information about your Display, follow these steps:
1. In the System Information window, select "Components" in the left-hand pane.
2. Expand the "Display" category.
3. Select the display device you want to view information about.
4. The right-hand pane will display information about your display device, including the
resolution, memory address allocated to the display memory, and adapter RAM size.
i. To answer the specific questions you asked:
 1. To find the resolution of your display, look for the entry named "Current Resolution"
under the "Adapter Information" section.
2. To find the memory address allocated to the display memory, look for the entry named
"Memory Address" under the "Adapter Information" section.
3. To find the Adapter RAM size, look for the entry named "Adapter RAM" under the
"Adapter Information" section.
d. To find information about your system drivers and running tasks, follow these steps:
1. In the System Information window, select "Software Environment" in the left-hand pane.
2. Expand the "System Drivers" category to see a list of kernel drivers that are currently
running and stopped.
3. Expand the "Running Tasks" category to see a list of tasks that are currently running.
i. To answer the specific question you asked:
1. To find two kernel drivers that are currently running, look for any drivers listed under the
"Status" column as "Running" in the "System Drivers" category.
2. To find two kernel drivers that have been stopped, look for any drivers listed under the
"Status" column as "Stopped" in the "System Drivers" category.
3. To see if the list of running tasks is the same as the one given by Task Manager, you can
compare the two lists.
4. Open the Task Manager by right-clicking on the taskbar and selecting "Task Manager" or
by pressing Ctrl+Shift+Esc.
5. The "Processes" tab in the Task Manager displays a list of currently running tasks.
6. Compare this list with the one in System Information under "Software Environment" ->
"Running Tasks." Note that there may be some differences, as some tasks may not appear
in both lists. However, the majority of running tasks should appear in both places.

4. Using Computer management

a. The purpose of Computer Management is to provide a centralized tool for managing various
aspects of a Windows computer system, including hardware, software, storage, and system
configuration.

b. To open Computer Management on a Windows computer, follow these steps:

1. Right-click on the "Start" button.

2. Select "Computer Management" from the context menu.

3. The Computer Management window will open.

c. To find information about your disk volumes, follow these steps:

1. In the Computer Management window, select "Storage" in the left-hand pane.

2. Expand the "Disk Management" category.

3. The right-hand pane will display a list of all the disk volumes on your computer,
including their file system types, capacity, and free space available.

i. To answer the specific questions you asked:

1. To find the number of disk volumes, count the number of entries listed in the "Volume"
column of the Disk Management window.
2. To list the volumes available with their file system types, capacity, and free space
available, review the entries in the "Volume" column of the Disk Management window.
The file system type, capacity, and free space available for each volume will be displayed
in the columns to the right of the "Volume" column.