PC & DOS Essentials Outline
An Overview of the PC
- The Operating System
- DOS and Windows
- The CPU (Central Processing Unit)
- The ROM-BIOS and the CMOS-RAM
- PC Interrupts
- DMA (Direct Memory Access)
- Types of bus architecture
- 'Plug and Play'
- Getting HELP within DOS & Windows
Directories and Files
- What are directories?
- Manipulating directories under DOS and using the Windows File
Manager
- The DIR command
- What are Files?
- File naming conventions
- Internal vs. External DOS Files
- Creating text files
- EDIT vs. COPY CON
- Renaming, deleting and undeleting files
- Copying and moving files under DOS
- Copying and moving files using the Windows File Manager
- Viewing and finding files within DOS and by using the Windows
File Manager
- Manipulating file attributes
Disk Fundamentals
- Types - Floppy disks (diskettes) and hard disks
- Setting up a hard disk from scratch
- Disk partitions
- High level (logical) formatting
- Diskette formatting considerations
- Unformatting
- Copying and labeling
- Speeding up disk access with DEFRAG
- Buffers
- SmartDrive
- Disk compression - DBLSPACE and DRVSPACE
- Disk structures
- The DOS Boot sequence
- RAM Disks
Configuring Your PC
- The CONFIG.SYS
- The AUTOEXEC.BAT
- The DOS PATH
- The DOS Environment
- Conditional booting
- The DOS Boot sequence
- 'Loading High'
- Configuring a Windows-based PC
Memory Fundamentals
- Type of memory chips
- RAM and ROM
- The IBM PC, the 8086 CPU and DOS
- Conventional Memory
- Extended Memory
- Expanded Memory
- The Upper Memory Blocks and the High Memory Area
- Using the UMBs and HMA
- Devicehigh and Loadhigh
- Virtual Memory
- Used by Windows!
- Examining Memory
Basic Batch Files, I/O and Redirection
- What are Batch Files?
- REM and ECHO
- GOTO and CALL
- PAUSE
- I/O
- Device Names and Redirection
- Piping
Advanced Batch File Concepts
- What are Variables?
- Command line parameter substitution
- Environment variable substitution
- IF EXIST
- IF ERRORLEVEL
- DOSKEY Macros
Printers
- Types of laser printer PCL vs. Postscript
- Printer considerations
- Printer drivers for DOS and Windows
Security, Backups & Viruses
- What are viruses?
- Virus protection methods DOS and Windows
- Backups
- Fixing errors on a disk
Windows Fundamentals
- The advantages of using Windows
- Select, then manipulate!
- Components of a Window
- Maximizing, Minimizing and Restoring a Window
- Moving and re-sizing a Window
- Menus and Dialog Boxes
- Multitasking within Windows
- Using the Task List
The Program Manager, File Manager and Control Panel
- Program Manager Groups
- Manipulating groups and adding programs
- File Manager terminology
- Directories and drives
- The Control Panel
