Q1.

What is Bios Ans: A BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) is an electronic set of instructions that a computer uses to successfully start operating. The BIOS is located on a chip inside of the computer and is designed in a way that protects it from disk failure. A main function of the BIOS is to give instructions for the power-on self test (POST). This self test ensures that the computer has all of the necessary parts and functionality needed to successfully start itself, such as use of memory, a keyboard and other parts. If errors are detected during the test, the BIOS instructs the computer to give a code that reveals the problem. Error codes are typically a series of beeps heard shortly after startup. Computer users can often make certain adjustments to the BIOS through a configuration screen on the computer. The setup screen is typically accessed with a special key sequence during the first moments of startup. This setup screen often allows users to change the order in which drives are accessed during startup and control the functionality of a number of critical devices. Features vary among individual BIOS versions. When you turn on your computer and the microprocessor tries to execute its first instruction, it has to get that instruction from somewhere: 1. A power-on self-test (POST) for all of the different hardware components in the system to make sure everything is working properly 2. Activating other BIOS chips on different cards installed in the computer - For example, SCSI and graphics cards often have their own BIOS chips. 3. Providing a set of low-level routines that the operating system uses to interface to different hardware devices - It is these routines that give the BIOS its name. They manage things like the keyboard, the screen, and the serial and parallel ports, especially when the computer is booting. 4. Managing a collection of settings for the hard disks, clock, etc. When you turn on your computer, the BIOS does several things. This is its usual sequence: 1. Check the CMOS Setup for custom settings 2. Load the interrupt handlers and device drivers 3. Initialize registers and power management 4. Perform the power-on self-test (POST) 5. Display system settings 6. Determine which devices are bootable

7. Initiate the bootstrap sequence Q2. What is POST Ans: When power is turned on, POST (Power-On Self-Test) is the diagnostic testing sequence that a computer's basic input/output system ( "starting program") runs to determine if the computer keyboard, random access memory, disk drives, and other hardware are working correctly. If the necessary hardware is detected and found to be operating properly, the computer begins to boot. If the hardware is not detected or is found not to be operating properly, the BIOS issues an error message which may be text on the display screen and/or a series of coded beeps, depending on the nature of the problem. Since POST runs before the computer's video card is activated, it may not be possible to progress to the display screen. The pattern of beeps may be a variable numbers of short beeps or a mixture of long and short beeps, depending on what type of BIOS is installed. The patterns of beeps contain messages about the nature of the problem detected. For example, if the keyboard is not detected, a particular pattern of beeps will inform you of that fact. An error found in the POST is usually fatal (that is, it causes current program to stop running) and will halt the boot process, since the hardware checked is absolutely essential for the computer's functions.

The System Boot Process Explained The typical computer system boots over and over again with no problems, starting the computer's operating system (OS) and identifying its hardware and software components that all work together to provide the user with the complete computing experience. But what happens between the time that the user powers up the computer and when the GUI icons appear on the desktop? In order for a computer to successfully boot, its BIOS, operating system and hardware components must all be working properly; failure of any one of these three elements will likely result in a failed boot sequence. When the computer's power is first turned on, the CPU initializes itself, which is triggered by a series of clock ticks generated by the system clock. Part of the CPU's initialization is to look to the system's ROM BIOS for its first instruction in the startup program. The ROM BIOS stores the first instruction, which is the instruction to run the power-on self test (POST), in a predetermined memory address. POST begins by checking the BIOS chip and then tests CMOS RAM. If the POST does not detect a

battery failure, it then continues to initialize the CPU, checking the inventoried hardware devices (such as the video card), secondary storage devices, such as hard drives and floppy drives, ports and other hardware devices, such as the keyboard and mouse, to ensure they are functioning properly. Once the POST has determined that all components are functioning properly and the CPU has successfully initialized, the BIOS looks for an OS to load. The BIOS typically looks to the CMOS chip to tell it where to find the OS, and in most PCs, the OS loads from the C drive on the hard drive even though the BIOS has the capability to load the OS from a floppy disk, CD or ZIP drive. The order of drives that the CMOS looks to in order to locate the OS is called the boot sequence, which can be changed by altering the CMOS setup. Looking to the appropriate boot drive, the BIOS will first encounter the boot record, which tells it where to find the beginning of the OS and the subsequent program file that will initialize the OS. Once the OS initializes, the BIOS copies its files into memory and the OS basically takes over control of the boot process. Now in control, the OS performs another inventory of the system's memory and memory availability (which the BIOS already checked) and loads the device drivers that it needs to control the peripheral devices, such as a printer, scanner, optical drive, mouse and keyboard. This is the final stage in the boot process, after which the user can access the systems applications to perform tasks.

Q9. What is Blue screen error Ans: Various types of errors may cause a BSOD. For example, a bad device driver, a hardware conflict, or even an error in the Registry may prompt a BSOD. One of the most common causes of a BSOD is that Windows cant boot from the hard drive. Corrupted data on a hard drive can cause a BSOD, as can the installation of incompatible memory modules. The most common type of BSOD is a fatal exception error, an error that forces the current application to shut down. This happens when an unexpected event, or exception, occurs. If no code exists to handle the exception, the program cannot proceed, and windows will display a fatal exception error message. For more information about fatal exception errors, see The Fatal Exception Error: Deciphering Processor Exception Codes. With so many possible causes, it helps to understand the parts of a BSOD and its language so you can diagnose the problem.

blue screen of death

- The blue screen of death (BSOD), is the informal name given by users to the Windows general protection fault (GPF) error. Named in honor of the error's dreaded display image of white text on a blue background, the BSOD is generated by the operating system when it has suddenly terminated with an error. The system locks up and must be rebooted. The blue screen may include some hexadecimal values from a core dump that can potentially be used to determine what caused the crash. The blue screen of death can strike anyone, anywhere. At the Comdex trade show, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates encountered the blue screen during a demonstration of Windows 98. (He had a spare computer standing by.)

Difference Between Fat32 and NTFS Categorized under Technology Fat32 and NTFS were created of keeping track of all the files in a hard disk. Fat(File Allocation System) created by Bill Gates and Marc McDonald, is the older of the two and has gone through a lot of changes since its first appearance in the year 1977. The number denotes the number of bits needed to keep track of the files. Fat16 has been the standard for quite sometime until hard disk with capacities greater than 4GB arrived in the market, at which point Fat32 was created. On the other hand the NTFS file system was born from the HPFS file system used by OS/2, a collaboration of IBM and microsoft. When the deal did not push through, some of the features in HPFS appeared in NTFS when it appeared for the Windows NT platform. It has since been developed and appears in more recent Windows version like XP, Vista, and the soon to be released Windows 7. Microsoft holds the patent to NTFS and thus isnt divulging any details with regards to the file system making NTFS drives only readable to Windows systems for a long time, though there are already some linux implementations that are capable of accessing NTFS drives but without its prominent features. Fat32 is a very simplistic and fluff free system that is also very documented. It doesnt really do much of anything aside from keeping track of where the files are located. Thats

why it has become the file system of choice for most portable storage mediums like flash drives, mp3 players, and memory cards. The NTFS filesystem is quite the opposite, offering multiple enhancements that doesnt only improve its performance but also its security. One of which is transparent file compression which automatically compresses the file when it is being written to the disk. This could potentially free up some disk space but files could take some time to load. Another one is disk quotas where a system administrator can specify how much of the disk a certain user can use. Choosing between NTFS and FAT32 filesystems is a relatively easy task. Simply put, NTFS is the better option when you want to deploy it on a windows computer system. Not only because of the speed improvements but also because of its multiple features. It is not advisable though for portable media since most devices and other operating systems have a difficulty or are outright unable to access NTFS drives.

SATA vs PATA: Serial ATA vs. Parallel ATA Drives SATA hard drives have many benefits over their older cousin, the Parallel ATA drive. Chief among these differences are: SATA hard drives are faster and perform much better than traditional ATA drives and are better for high bandwidth applications such as video editing and multiplayer gaming. SATA drives use a smaller, cheaper cable to connect to the computer's motherboard. These cables can also be up to three feet in length compared to eighteen inches with Parallel ATA cables. SATA hard drives can be hot swappable, meaning that they can be disconnected and reconnected without powering down the computer. There are limits to this of course. You should never disconnect your boot drive while the computer is operating. SATA cables are easier to plug in without damaging the delicate connecting pins on the drive. SATA hard drives are significantly faster than external USB hard drives.

Difference Between ATA and SATA Categorized under Technology AT Attachment is just another name for the older IDE hard drive interface standard which was commonly referred to as ATA or Parallel ATA. The latest design uses an 80 pin cable connector that is easily recognizable due to its wideness. ATA cables have connectors at each end and another one in the middle that allows up to two devices to be connected at the same time. SATA or Serial ATA is the newer interfacing standard that is meant to replace ATA. It can be easily recognized with its much narrower cable that only allows one device to be attached per cable. ATA is a relatively old technology that has gone over a few changes before arriving to its current state. The latest IDE devices and controllers can theoretically achieve up to 133MB/s data transfer, the actual speed can be lower; even more so when two devices attached to a single are used at the same time since only one device can transmit data at a time. Having two hard drives on a single connector could also cause problems when the jumpers that identify the master and the slave are mixed up. This problem doesnt occur in SATA drives since there is only one drive attached to every connector. The SATA interface was meant as an improvement over the older ATA interface. Although SATAs initial speed of 150MB/s isnt much of an improvement, later versions that could achieve up to 300MB/s and 600MB/s makes the speed advantage totally undeniable. SATA drives are also hot-swappable, meaning you can remove and attach drives while the OS is running, which is not possible with the older ATA drives. This capability developed into eSATA which is an external implementation of SATA drives much like in USB drives. A minor advantage, though still worth mentioning, is that the inherent smallness of SATA cables makes it easier to clean up the cables inside the computer. This isnt only good in an aesthetic point of view but it also creates lesser blockages to air circulation that cools the system. Summary: 1. ATA cables are wider than SATA cables. 2. SATA devices are faster than ATA devices with gains ranging from 12% to 350%. 3. 2 devices per ATA cable, only one on SATA. 4. ATA drives are prone to jumper mix-ups. 5. SATA drives can be hot-swapped while ATA devices cannot. 6. SATA has an external implementation called eSATA which ATA doesnt have.

Q6. What is system restore? Ans: Windows XP periodically records a snapshot of your computer. These snapshots are called restore points. Windows XP also creates restore points at the time of significant system events (such as when an

application or driver is installed) or you can create and name your own restore points at any time. If youve installed a program that has made your computer unstable, you can open system restore, choose a restore point, and return your computer to its previous stable state. When you run System Restore, a calendar is displayed to help you find restore points. If you don't use your computer every day, some days might not have any restore points. If you use your computer frequently, you might have restore points almost every day, and some days might have several restore points.

Que.14. Recovery console, what is repairing a window and when it is used? Ans: Recovery Console The Recovery Console is a feature of the Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 operating systems. It provides the means for administrators to perform a limited range of tasks using a command line interface. Its primary function is to enable administrators to recover from situations where Windows does not boot as far as presenting its graphical user interface. How to invoke the recovery console The recovery console may be entered in one of two ways: 1. From the operating system installation CD-ROM 2. Via the boot-time menu presented by NTLDR 1. Invoking the recovery console from the installation CD-ROM The recovery console is always available from the operating system installation CDROM. To invoke it, an administrator simply boots the computer from the CD-ROM. From the operating system setup utility, Win 2000 users have to select two menu options ("To repair a Windows 2000 installation, press R." and then "To repair a Windows 2000 installation by using the recovery console, press C.") whereas Windows XP users have to select just one ("To repair a Windows XP installation using recovery console, press R.") 2. Invoking the recovery console from the NTLDR menu The recovery console can also be configured as an option on the boot-time menu that is presented by

NTLDR. This is not included by default when the operating system is first installed. Instead, administrators have to run the winnt32 utility with the /cmdcons switch, which adds the recovery console to the NTLDR menu, ready for when the machine is next bootstrapped. This requires that the system is not damaged to the extent that the Windows NT Startup Process cannot even reach the point of running NTLDR.
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Tasks that can be performed via the recovery console The recovery console has a simple command line interpreter. Many available on Windows, namely attrib, copy, del and so forth. From the recovery console an administrator can: Create and remove directories, and copy, erase, display, and rename files. Enable and disable services (which modifies registry, to take effect when the system is next bootstrapped). Write a new Master Boot Record to a disc, using the fixmbr command. Write a new Volume Boot Record to a volume, using the fixboot command. Format volumes. Expand files from the compressed format in which they are stored on the installation CD-ROM. Perform a full CHKDSK scan to repair disks/files, especially if computer cannot start properly. File system access on the recovery console is by default severely limited. An administrator using the recovery console has only read-only access to all volumes except for the boot volume, and even on the boot volume only access to the root directory and to the Windows system directory (e.g. \WINNT). This can be changed by changing Security Policies to enable read/write access to the complete file system including copying files from removable media (i.e. floppy drives). Q15. What is Plug n play devices. Ans: Plug-and-play Devices Plug and play is a computer feature that allows the addition of a new device, normally a peripheral, without requiring reconfiguration or manual installation of device drivers. This concept should not be confused with the specific branded ISA add-on technology marketed by Intel and Microsoft. Historically this technology has been referred to, tongue in cheek, as Plug and Pray, on account of early implementations working poorly

or not at all. Modern plug-and-play includes both the traditional boot-time assignment of I/O addresses and interrupts to prevent conflicts and identify drivers, as well as hotplug systems such as USB and Firewire.