Review Questions

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1. The ability of an operating system to control and delegate the processor’s time to different tasks is called?

   1. Preemptive multitasking

   2. Time Slice

   3. Cooperative multitasking

   4. Multiprocess collaboration

   Correct Answer = A.

   With preemptive multitasking, the operating system hands out CPU time slices to applications or programs. The operating system is in control of how much time the application can have. With cooperative multitasking, the application or task is in control of the CPU until it is finished with processing.

2. Which entry is not found in the CONFIG.SYS?

   1. Buffers=

   2. Device=

   3. Files=

   4. C:\path

   Correct Answer = D.

   The C:\path entry is found in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. All other entries listed can be located in the CONFIG.SYS file.

3. The DIR and COPY commands are considered internal DOS commands. Where do internal DOS commands reside?

   1. C:\Windows\Command

   2. C:\Winnt\System32\Drivers\ETC

   3. C:\Windows\System\Command

   4. COMMAND.COM

   Correct Answer = D.

   Internal DOS commands are considered part of COMMAND.COM. External DOS commands are typically located in the C:\DOS directory, although their location can be modified.

4. What file should you change to set up your Windows 9.x operating system to dual boot?

   1. COMMAND.COM

   2. IO.SYS

   3. MSDOS.SYS

   4. BOOT.INI

   Correct Answer = C.

   The file MSDOS.SYS in Windows 9.x can be modified for dual booting purposes. The BOOT.INI file is used for similar purposes in Windows NT. COMMAND.COM is a utility program that contains internal DOS commands, such as the DIR and COPY commands. IO.SYS interacts with the BIOS to determine the hardware environment.

5. Your computer has Windows 9.x installed. You want to boot your computer to a DOS prompt. What are the three files necessary to do this? (Choose Three)

   1. IO.SYS

   2. MSDOS.SYS

   3. CONFIG.SYS

   4. COMMAND.COM

   5. AUTOEXEC.BAT

   Correct Answers = A, B, and D.

   IO.SYS, MSDOS.SYS, and COMMAND.COM are all located on the primary active boot partition, and are stored at the root of C:\. All three of these files are required to successfully boot a system into DOS. The files CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT are not required.

6. You have received a message on boot-up stating that a line in your CONFIG.SYS is incorrect. What DOS command line tool can you use to correct this issue?

   1. AUTOEXEC.BAT

   2. SYSEDIT

   3. EDIT.COM

   4. CONFIG.EDITOR

   Correct Answer = C.

   You can use the DOS utility EDIT.COM to view and make changes to the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files. This can be very useful for troubleshooting if you encounter errors with the settings of either of these files on boot-up. SYSEDIT is a GUI text editor that can be used to edit these files from within an OS. CONFIG.EDITOR is invalid.

7. Which line can be found in the CONFIG.SYS file?

   1. PATH=C:\WINDOWS

   2. PROMPT $P$G

   3. SET TEMP=C:\TEMP

   4. DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.SYS

   Correct Answer = D.

   The DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.SYS is used to load HIMEM.SYS from within the CONFIG.SYS file. All other choices are located in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file.

8. You have accidentally deleted COMMAND.COM while using Windows 95. Where can you get a backup copy of COMMAND.COM that will be compatible with your particular operating system?

   1. C:\DOS

   2. C:\Windows

   3. C:\Winnt\System32

   4. Just go to the COMMAND.COM Web site and download your version.

   Correct Answer = B.

   Windows 9.x stores a backup copy of COMMAND.COM in the C:\WINDOWS directory.

9. What file should you change to set up your Windows 2000 operating system to dual boot?

   1. COMMAND.COM

   2. IO.SYS

   3. MSDOS.SYS

   4. BOOT.INI

   Correct Answer = D.

   The BOOT.INI file is used in Windows NT, Windows 2000, and Windows XP to configure a system for dual booting. MSDOS.SYS is used for dual booting in Windows 9.x and Windows Me.

10. DOS uses COMMAND.COM as its command line interpreter. What does Windows 2000 use as a command line interpreter?

    1. COMMAND.COM

    2. A bilingual expert

    3. CMD.EXE

    4. The Windows 2000 HAL

    Correct Answer = C.

    The command interpreter for Windows 2000/NT/XP is CMD.EXE. The command interpreter for DOS, Windows 9.x and Windows Me is COMMAND.COM.

11. After a typical installation, what do you need to do in order to view an important operating system file, such as MSDOS.SYS?

    1. Modify the BootGUI=0 to BootGUI=1 entry under [Options] in the MSDOS.SYS file.

    2. Show all files or Show hidden files and folders.

    3. Reinstall the operating system.

    4. Reinstall a noncorrupt command interpreter.

    Correct Answer = B.

    MSDOS.SYS is an important hidden system file by default. You should always remember to “Show all files or Show hidden files and folders” under Folder Options before troubleshooting. All other choices are invalid.

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