Prelims Reviewer 2 Operating Systems

When a computer first powers on, which component is responsible for initializing hardware like the keyboard, RAM, and disk before the OS kernel is loaded?

• Bootloader

• BIOS/UEFI

• Scheduler

• Device driver

During the boot process, which step checks if the hardware components are working properly, often producing beep codes if errors are detected?

• Bootloader

• POST

• Kernel initialization

• Virtual memory setup

At which stage of the boot process are device drivers and system settings loaded to configure the environment for the user?

• BIOS load

• POST

• System configuration

• User authentication

Which of the following best describes multiprogramming, where multiple processes are kept in memory and the CPU switches between them to maximize usage?

• Running only one program at a time

• Keeping the CPU always busy

• Slowing down process execution

• Eliminating virtual memory usage

Multitasking is an extension of multiprogramming. Which feature makes it appear that all tasks are running simultaneously for the user?

• Only background processing

• Illusion created by rapid switching

• Disabling hardware drivers

• Direct hardware access

Which OS function is responsible for deciding which process should run next, ensuring fairness and system performance?

• File management

• CPU scheduling

• Spooling

• Protection

Which memory management feature allows a computer to run applications larger than the physical RAM, by mapping memory to both RAM and disk?

• BIOS memory

• Virtual memory

• ROM storage

• File caching

In dual-mode operation, which execution mode gives programs full access to hardware resources?

• User mode

• Kernel mode

• Virtual mode

• Protected mode

A single-threaded process has:

• Multiple execution paths running in parallel

• One program counter and one execution path

• Multiple cores assigned automatically

• No memory allocation required

A web browser like Chrome using one thread for rendering, another for downloads, and another for user input is an example of:

• Single-threaded process

• Multithreaded process

• Batch-only system

• Sequential execution