Questions tagged [operating-systems]

The software layer between your hardware and application programs. It manages program scheduling, memory allocation, interrupt handling, disk input/output, graphic acceleration, hosting device drivers and various other resources.

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File system concepts (df command)

I'm finding it difficult to understand some stuffs about the df command. Suppose I type df and I have the following output Filesystem 1k-blocks Used Avail Capacity Mounted on /...
mkab's user avatar
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62 votes
13 answers
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Is Unix not a PC operating system? [closed]

I am doing my bachelor's degree at a university. In a written assignment, the professor posted the task: "Name three PC operating systems". Well, I went on an included a variety of OSes (Linux, ...
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2 answers
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How to install drivers when changing operating system from Linux to Windows 7 [closed]

I have bought new hp pro book 4530s which came with Linux OS, now if I want to remove that I have learned that by installing windows drivers wont work? Will it be that way and if so how can I install ...
Muhammad Usama's user avatar
1 vote
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Upgraded to OS Lion and now I get Error 51 and my VPN Client wont start up

I need help. I upgraded to OS Lion and now my VPN client wont start up and I get Error 51. I have tried all the fixes I found on the web but nothing worked. Is there a new fix for OS Lion? Thanks!
mmmanammm's user avatar
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1 answer
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applications being installed and mounted to /Volumes not to /Applications Mac OS X 10.7.3

New on Mac. When I install dmg packages, they are being installed/mounted under /Volumes and not being installed to /Applications folder. How to fix this. Detailed instructions please, as I am new ...
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Linux Mint VM in VirtualBox freezes with DISKFULL error

Disk partitioning guide for Linux Mint Debian This guides shows me how to partition my HD for Linux Mint. I'm trying to install Mint as a guest client on Windows 7 hosted VirtualBox. I used to let it ...
Kingston Town's user avatar
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2 answers
692 views

How to increase the partition space for my local active drive... without formatting?

I want to increase my local disk drive i.e C: partiton space.. I dont want to format my drive and do partition... Is there any way to avoid formatting.. and increase the partition space in C: ?
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2 votes
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Installing OS on hard drive, then moving hard drive to another machine

I have an old desktop which doesn't have a working CD/DVD. I want to install Linux on it in the simplest way possible. I'm thinking I could solve this problem by removing the hard drive temporarily ...
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How Will I come to know the previous details of MAC Address, Processors in ubuntu OS

I want to know that how one can get information about the previous details of MAC Address, mother board configurations(Processor details etc) in ubuntu OS once the motherboard is changed? I mean, Is ...
Mahfooz's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
171 views

Is there an easy and cheap way to move my system to a newer machine?

Originally I wanted to move several programs from a very old Windows XP system. Though after doing some research (How do I transfer programs from my old computer to my new Windows 7 computer?) that ...
Scott Dietrich's user avatar
5 votes
5 answers
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Old Technologies About Floppy

I have a floppy disk with an unknown FS-(FileSystem). I want to make a copy from it but I can't because both Windows and Linux seem to be unable to read from it. I tried many of the most popular apps ...
repozitor's user avatar
8 votes
3 answers
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How to prevent mouse settings from resetting after reboot?

Every time I reboot my machine the Enhance pointer precision setting for my mouse gets resets to "unchecked". I used to have similar issues in the past (with Logitech mice) but I don't remember how I ...
Jakub Sisak GeoGraphics's user avatar
2 votes
5 answers
14k views

Can I add as much RAM as I like to my old computer?

I have had my computer for around 5-6 years. It's a Dell Vostro 200 Slim model. My OS is Vista Home Basic 32-bit. It has 1.00 GB RAM and my processor is an Intel(R) Core Duo @ 2.00 GHz. Can I replace ...
Yusaf's user avatar
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5 answers
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TrueCrypt - System partition or drive encryption without pre-boot authentication

I can't seem to find a way to encrypt my entire system partition or the entire drive and be able to skip the pre-boot authenticaion. I need to be able to boot the machine into the normal encrypted ...
SleepyMan's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
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Mac OS X Lion Screensaver on Locked Screen

I have a screensaver set in my system preferences, but when I lock my screen either with Alfred or clicking on the user profile menu and hitting "Login Window...", it runs a different screensaver. Is ...
Joshua Pinter's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
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Replace bash shell with python program's cmdline interface

I have a program which uses python's cmd module for command line interfaces. Now I want it to run on my Linux server whenever any normal user logs in to it, in a way that user never gets the default ...
avasal's user avatar
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Unix: how does cp work for files larger than available RAM?

Does it copy the file in batches, or does it stream the file through memory, reading and writing simultaneously?
Li Haoyi's user avatar
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1 answer
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Cannot boot my system, stuck at Windows 7 updates

I have a HP ProBook 4520s, I have installed Windows 7. I updated it from internet and on system shutdown, it said, Please do no power off or unplug you machine , Installing update 36 of 47. And ...
Hafiz's user avatar
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5 votes
4 answers
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Virtualizing a 32 bit guest on a 64 bit os

So I was wondering if anybody knew if there was any performance issues with virtualizing a 32 bit os, in my case 32 bit windows 7, on a 64 bit os, mac osX lion. I remember reading that running 32 bit ...
bdc's user avatar
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7 votes
2 answers
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What is the difference between RTM, GA and GOLD versions?

I am absolutely puzzled here: What is the difference between RTM, GA(Gerneral Availability) and final GOLD version? For example for Windows 8: RTM - Microsoft sends this version to ASUS, Acer, DELL,...
Einsteins Grandson's user avatar
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1 answer
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Backup MBR , boot loaders etc for trouble free OS installing/uninstalling?

First I installed xp , then xp64 , then windows 8 developer preview , now I wish to install a linux flavor. This is all easy. Some months later I may want to uninstall windows 8 preview and install ...
gyaani_guy's user avatar
1 vote
7 answers
3k views

Which Operating System should my elderly parents use to check their webmail? [closed]

My parents (both of whom are over 65) do one thing on their computer, check their webmail. I currently have XP on their aging (but still solid) Dell PC. The specs are as follows: 3GHz P4 processor ...
JMK's user avatar
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24 votes
3 answers
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Why can't I change the name of a file that's being read on Windows as I can do on Linux/Mac?

One of the things that has puzzled me ever since I started using Linux is the fact that it allows you to change the name of a file or even delete it while it is being read. An example is how I ...
the_midget_17's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
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Multi Encrypted Operating Systems with TrueCrypt

My laptop has a 250GB hard drive, and I currently use it to do a lot. I have Windows 7, Ubuntu 11.10, and BackTrack 5 on it, but I'd like to switch it up and add more security. What I aim to do is ...
Chiggins's user avatar
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1 answer
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how to know execution time of a background task in Linux

I am working with software raid in Linux. When I start the recovery of a raid array after a disk failure this task happens in background. /proc/mdstat should show the estimated time of recovery but it ...
raj gupta's user avatar
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1 answer
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How could I install Linux to the hard drive of a different computer (one that won't boot from cd)

I have a really old Dell laptop that is beyond slow with its current WinXP installation. I want to make it usable again by installing a Linux distro (such as Xubuntu) but there is one big problem: It ...
Jon's user avatar
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2 votes
2 answers
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Do applications get removed from RAM when they are closed?

I've noticed that when you open a program, close it, then open it again, it seems to open a lot quicker the second time around. Is this because the second time it's already in RAM? Put another way, ...
Dean's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
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Install Windows 7 over Lan from pc with Win 7

Is it possible to install Windows in a brand new machine, if it only has the ability to launch OS from disk and lan? I set the machine to Boot from lan and set my computer to Internet Connection ...
Odys's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
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will there be a degradation in performance if i install 2 OS?

I was planning 2 OS systems on my laptop. One is already installed which is Win7 and second one that i need to install is fedora. Is it that if i install fedora there will be a degradation in the ...
Suhail Gupta's user avatar
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How to determine who is beeping on my computer?

I have HP dm3 laptop and windows 7 installed on it. There is some beep for a 0.5 seconds periodically. There is no regularity. I did not found nothing suspicious in evets log. There is nothing ...
Nikita's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
156 views

Possible to "move Windows XP" to data partition using following plan and symbolic links?

Background: I have Windows XP and Windows 7 on the same machine, on different partitions. Thus, I can perform operations on either OS while said OS is not running. Terminology: "XP:", "7:" and "Data:"...
Narf the Mouse's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
144 views

Delayed delete of shift-deleted files

Sometimes when we do a shift-delete we realise only after a certain while that we have deleted the wrong file! (has happened with me). I just have an idea to avert this disaster! If the OS could ...
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1 vote
1 answer
808 views

How to install (to disk) ChromeOS?

I have a HP Mini laptop that I wish to install ChromeOS. I used hexxen's lime build as my laptop's wireless was not supported by vanilla, and I used a USB stick. It works fine, but I can't figure out ...
apscience's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
115 views

configuring virtual machines

I Have windows 7 and I installed one virtual machine in it and in this virtual machine I installed opensuse Linux Virtual A-------------Linux(Virtual C)--------Virtual B I want linux to be in the ...
Nickool's user avatar
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0 votes
1 answer
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Testing an embedded device processor [closed]

I am writing some tests to test the processor on an embedded device (running on Linux). The device shell supports Ash, python and I can even run C code after compilation in scratchbox. Can you give ...
Ankur Agarwal's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
165 views

Why is Windows 7 not responding with a single color screen some minutes after boot?

I am using windows 7 x86 in Toshiba L300 1EF. Last day I formatted my system and reinstalled the OS. About 15 minutes after booting my system is getting stuck. When system is getting stuck laptop's ...
Sarin Jacob Sunny's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
2k views

Windows 8 Developer Preview doesn't like my partitioning skills

I installed Windows 8 Developer Preview on my laptop. That was not the brightest idea I've had. Yesterday morning: It had Windows 7 using ~197 GB, Ubuntu using ~70 GB, Fedora using ~29 GB, a funky ...
JavaAndCSharp's user avatar
5 votes
3 answers
8k views

Why does 32-bit Windows impose a 2 GB process address space limit, but 64-bit Windows impose a 4GB limit?

I get that 2^32 = 4,294,967,296 and 2GB is for the OS and 2GB is for the process, but why does a 64 bit OS only give 4GB of address space? Should it not be 2^64 = 18,446,744,073,709,551,615 which when ...
puk's user avatar
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4 votes
2 answers
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Structure of Chromium OS

I have used Chromium OS built distributed by hexxeh (weird hobby of mine). On Friday I gave a presentation (classroom activity, not some big seminar) in college on "Changing trends in Operating System ...
Abhinav Kulshreshtha's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
623 views

In a multi-boot setup, does defragmenting from one OS affect the whole drive, or only its partition?

In other words, does defragmentation have to be done on each OS separately?
octosquidopus's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
184 views

Recover Data After Formating Ubuntu OS

I was having ubuntu 10.04 on my system, and 2 partitions one with 80 GB and the Other with 70 Gb. I took a backup from 80 GB partition and saved it in 70 GB, I installed Ubuntu 11.04 on my system, ...
ScoRpion's user avatar
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7 votes
3 answers
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Is there a high-performance local area "file sharing" protocol?

It seems to me that most network "file sharing" protocols are one or more of old, slow, and insecure. The most used protocols seem to be SMB, NFS, and WebDAV. I'm sitting here, looking at iTunes ...
Jon Watte's user avatar
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3 votes
4 answers
7k views

is it possible to toggle among different OS in a multi-boot PC without restart?

My notebook installed Windows XP and Ubuntu. Every time to toggle, I need to hibernate one OS (to keep current working things) and restart to the other. Is it possible to keep both OS "live" and ...
athos's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
393 views

Online Virtual Enviornments for Old Operating Systems

I often need to run software on old operating systems (e.g. Windows 95, Windows 98, MS-DOS). Currently I have a bunch of old hardware that runs these machines but I was wondering if there was a better ...
speedplane's user avatar
  • 1,591
0 votes
1 answer
739 views

How do I upgrade Linux Mint 8 to Linux Mint 12?

I have Linux Mint 8 on my home laptop. It dual boots Windows Vista. It's time for an upgrade. Linux Mint 12 is out and I'd like to replace 8 with it. How do I go about doing this?
Tyler Faile's user avatar
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0 votes
2 answers
1k views

Install windows from FLASH USB. Software

Please direct me to software which can create bootable USB with winxp on it. Yesterday I tried to create such on WIN7 and failed, I guess because of win7 admin rights. Moreover I created such usb on ...
Jevgeni Smirnov's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
140 views

ARCH Linux wanting to transfer

Hey I want to leave arch Linux. I created my own little operating system but it is so bare that I really wanna leave it. However, I cannot just boot another OS like ubuntu. I have to manually go ...
Josh's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
142 views

Why does Unix deliver signals this way?

In Unix, when signals are posted, and the receiving process is running more than one thread, at first a thread is chosen to carry out the signal handling routine. I don't understand why that is ...
wnrph's user avatar
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4 votes
1 answer
6k views

How do hardware interrupts work compared to software interrupts?

To give you an impression of the level of detail I'm interested, one example. I know a system call ultimately leads to a trap which lets the processor store registers, switch to supervisor mode and ...
wnrph's user avatar
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74 votes
9 answers
24k views

Why is "Everything is a file" unique to the Unix operating systems?

I often hear people say "Unix's unique philosophy is that it treats everything as a file" or "In Unix, everything is a file". But I've never heard anyone explain why it is unique to Unix. So, why is ...
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