How OS is stored on computer


Submitted By: 
vj
Operating System is a piece of software that controls all your computer resources while the computer is in use. Often people have questions like where the operating system is stored on the computer or how it is being used by CPU? Someone says it is stored in RAM while other says it is on the hard disk. This article covers how exactly the Operating system is stored in the computer.
 
RAM (Random Access Memory) is the volatile memory space that stores the data which is directly accessed by CPU (Central Processing Unit). The data/software access from the RAM is much faster than the access from the hard disk, so computer’s speed directly depends on the RAM as if there is higher memory space in the RAM, it will reduce the time to read data from hard disk. But since it is volatile, as soon as computer is turned off, the data stored in the RAM lose.
 
So in computers, Operating System is installed and stored on the hard disk. As hard disk is a non volatile memory, OS does not lose on the turn off. But as the data access from the hard disk is very, slow just after the computer is started OS is copied into RAM from the hard disk. BIOS, which is the first program that run on the start up of the computer loads the entire OS into the RAM. So instead of accessing OS from the hard disk, CPU directly access it from the RAM.
 How OS is stored on computer
When you turn off the computer, since the RAM is volatile memory the copy of the OS in it is lost. But the main operating system is stored in to the hard disk, it will be safe and next time when the computer will be turn on, it will be ready to load in the RAM again.


Comments (10)

So how does the BIOS work, in

Submitted by Nyasha Chamu on Thu, 08/03/2012 - 01:32.

So how does the BIOS work, in detail? I only know that it is stored in ROM.

Thank you!

good explanation 

Submitted by padmajakandepu on Sat, 17/03/2012 - 15:07.

good explanation

 

Very Nice Explanation..Thank

Submitted by abhi_6441 on Tue, 20/03/2012 - 00:36.

Very Nice Explanation..Thank You

good one 

Submitted by AKSHAT SHAH on Sun, 05/08/2012 - 21:06.

good one

 

Nice Explanation 

Submitted by ramanjaneyareddy on Mon, 24/09/2012 - 14:32.

Nice Explanation

 

I have a doubt,suppose our

Submitted by hari9940 on Mon, 29/10/2012 - 14:08.

I have a doubt,suppose our RAM size is 2GB and OS is having size more than 2GB how it will loads into the RAM.

It is not the whole operating

Submitted by ummer nayeem on Sat, 15/12/2012 - 14:11.

It is not the whole operating system which gets loaded into RAM  as its size is too large.....Rather it is kernal part of the operating system (which contains vital programs) which is loaded..

 

what about the non vital part

Submitted by rakesh chandra mi... on Thu, 20/12/2012 - 11:18.

what about the non vital part of the operating system

whether the entire os will be

Submitted by thirudanie on Sat, 22/12/2012 - 12:36.

whether the entire os will be loaded into the RAM or any part of the Os loaded into  the RAM, since OS istself is a biggest software.  instead of loading the OS everytime  from the Harddisk to RAM, an permanent read only memory can be put to keep the OS in the separate one.

 

Thirumurugan

 

nice articles 

Submitted by sekar on Sat, 11/05/2013 - 16:06.

nice articles

 

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