Operating Systems MCQs

Computer

Operating Systems MCQs

Practice Operating System MCQs covering Windows, Linux, Android, booting, multitasking and multiprocessing concepts with answers and explanations.

510
Total Questions

Practice Questions

Page 5 of 26
Question #81
Which memory location holds the addresses of various Interrupt Service Routines (ISRs) to handle specific hardware triggers?
A. Virtual Swap Block
B. Process Control Block (PCB)
C. Windows Registry Base
D. Interrupt Vector Table (IVT)
Discuss
Get Complete Subject PDF for Computer

Correct Answer: Option D

Explanation:
The Interrupt Vector Table maps specific interrupt signal identifier numbers directly to the memory locations of their respective Interrupt Service Routines.
This question belongs to: Computer Operating Systems
Question #82
Which tool in Microsoft Windows is explicitly built to inspect historical system logs, error dumps, and software warnings?
A. Task Scheduler
B. System Configuration (msconfig)
C. Performance Monitor
D. Event Viewer
Discuss
Get Complete Subject PDF for Computer

Correct Answer: Option D

Explanation:
Windows Event Viewer is an administrative utility that logs application events, security events, and system error logs for debugging purposes.
This question belongs to: Computer Operating Systems
Question #83
What happens when a computer enters 'Sleep Mode' in Windows?
A. The system logs out all users and runs a deep virus scan.
B. The computer places its active operational state into RAM and switches to a low-power state, keeping RAM powered.
C. The computer saves state to the hard drive and shuts down power 100%.
D. The OS reformats the system volume completely.
Discuss
Get Complete Subject PDF for Computer

Correct Answer: Option B

Explanation:
Sleep mode places the computer into a minimal power state, preserving all running applications and documents directly inside active RAM memory for near-instant resume times.
This question belongs to: Computer Operating Systems
Question #84
Which Linux terminal command displays information about the user account that is currently logged into the terminal session?
A. pwd
B. id -g
C. uname
D. whoami
Discuss
Get Complete Subject PDF for Computer

Correct Answer: Option D

Explanation:
The 'whoami' command outputs the exact username of the current user account operating the terminal shell session.
This question belongs to: Computer Operating Systems
Question #85
What is the purpose of a 'Swap Partition' or 'Swap File' in operating systems like Linux and Windows?
A. To speed up network data packet transfers.
B. To act as dedicated overflow storage on a hard disk when physical RAM memory capacity becomes completely full.
C. To hold graphical system themes.
D. To back up personal files in case of accidental file deletion.
Discuss
Get Complete Subject PDF for Computer

Correct Answer: Option B

Explanation:
Swap space provides extended virtual memory capacity on secondary storage to prevent system crashes when physical RAM is exhausted.
This question belongs to: Computer Operating Systems
Question #86
Which of the following structural concepts represents the ultimate highest level directory in a Unix/Linux file system hierarchy?
A. /root
B. /home
C. /bin
D. /
Discuss
Get Complete Subject PDF for Computer

Correct Answer: Option D

Explanation:
In Unix and Linux systems, the forward slash symbol '/' denotes the absolute 'root' directory from which all other directory paths branch out.
This question belongs to: Computer Operating Systems
Question #87
What is the primary role of the 'Zygote' process initialization step in Android?
A. To optimize disk defragmentation patterns.
B. To encrypt user lock screen passwords securely.
C. To act as a warm prototype process that forks clean virtual machine instances for every newly opened application.
D. To download application updates from the internet.
Discuss
Get Complete Subject PDF for Computer

Correct Answer: Option C

Explanation:
The Zygote process optimizes resource utilization by pre-loading core libraries and forking copies of itself to quickly launch individual apps.
This question belongs to: Computer Operating Systems
Question #88
Which Windows command-line utility provides detailed configuration information about the system, including OS version, processor type, and physical RAM stats?
A. ping
B. systeminfo
C. tasklist
D. ipconfig
Discuss
Get Complete Subject PDF for Computer

Correct Answer: Option B

Explanation:
The 'systeminfo' command line tool queries the local machine configuration and displays comprehensive diagnostic and configuration metadata.
This question belongs to: Computer Operating Systems
Question #89
Which of the following conditions is NOT a necessary requirement for a deadlock to occur within an operating system environment?
A. Circular Wait
B. Mutual Exclusion
C. Preemption
D. Hold and Wait
Discuss
Get Complete Subject PDF for Computer

Correct Answer: Option C

Explanation:
According to Coffman's conditions, deadlocks require *No Preemption*. If resources can be preempted, a deadlock situation can be broken or prevented.
This question belongs to: Computer Operating Systems
Question #90
What type of processing occurs when an operating system coordinates multiple distinct application execution sequences across multiple physical motherboards over a network?
A. Asymmetric Multiprocessing
B. Symmetric Multiprocessing
C. Distributed Processing
D. Single Threaded Paging
Discuss
Get Complete Subject PDF for Computer

Correct Answer: Option C

Explanation:
Distributed processing involves executing computational workloads across physically separated computer systems communicating over a network layer.
This question belongs to: Computer Operating Systems
Question #91
Which Linux terminal tool is traditionally used to modify or edit configuration text files directly within the terminal screen without a GUI?
A. Bash
B. LibreOffice
C. nano (or vi/vim)
D. GIMP
Discuss
Get Complete Subject PDF for Computer

Correct Answer: Option C

Explanation:
'nano', 'vi', and 'vim' are classic text editor utilities that operate natively within terminal interfaces to configure text files.
This question belongs to: Computer Operating Systems
Question #92
Which Windows utility allows a user to selectively enable or disable startup programs, manage system services, and alter boot parameters via a graphical panel?
A. Disk Cleanup
B. Registry Editor
C. System Configuration (msconfig)
D. Device Manager
Discuss
Get Complete Subject PDF for Computer

Correct Answer: Option C

Explanation:
The MSConfig (System Configuration) utility allows users to troubleshoot startup anomalies, manage boot choices, and isolate services.
This question belongs to: Computer Operating Systems
Question #93
What structural component converts high-level programming instructions directly into a series of system calls handled by the operating system kernel?
A. Master Boot Sector
B. BIOS Chipset
C. API Framework or Standard Runtime Libraries
D. Hardware Abstraction Layer
Discuss
Get Complete Subject PDF for Computer

Correct Answer: Option C

Explanation:
Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) and runtime libraries bridge user applications to the underlying system calls of the operating system kernel.
This question belongs to: Computer Operating Systems
Question #94
Which structural concept describes a situation where a lower-priority process holds a resource needed by a higher-priority process, stalling execution?
A. Priority Inversion
B. Aging Process
C. Thrashing Cycle
D. Context Switching Delay
Discuss
Get Complete Subject PDF for Computer

Correct Answer: Option A

Explanation:
Priority Inversion occurs when a low-priority task holds a resource required by a high-priority task, causing the high-priority task to wait indirectly.
This question belongs to: Computer Operating Systems
Question #95
In Windows, what does a dynamic-link library (.dll) file represent?
A. A backup copy of the master boot sector.
B. A compilation of executable games.
C. An isolated registry value path.
D. A shared library file containing code and data that multiple applications can utilize simultaneously.
Discuss
Get Complete Subject PDF for Computer

Correct Answer: Option D

Explanation:
DLL files are dynamic link libraries containing shared subroutines that multiple programs can call simultaneously to save memory and structure code efficiently.
This question belongs to: Computer Operating Systems
Question #96
Which component is responsible for loading the initial parts of the operating system kernel into memory during a cold boot?
A. Bootloader
B. Compiler
C. Text Editor
D. Defragmenter
Discuss
Get Complete Subject PDF for Computer

Correct Answer: Option A

Explanation:
The bootloader is a small program stored in non-volatile memory or boot sectors that locates, initializes, and loads the OS kernel into RAM.
This question belongs to: Computer Operating Systems
Question #97
Which of the following commands in Linux can be used to view the list of files and folders inside the current directory?
A. cd
B. show
C. dir/w
D. ls
Discuss
Get Complete Subject PDF for Computer

Correct Answer: Option D

Explanation:
The 'ls' command is the standard utility used to list files, folders, and attributes in Unix-like terminal configurations.
This question belongs to: Computer Operating Systems
Question #98
What technique is used by operating systems to handle input/output operations for slow devices like printers by temporarily storing data in an isolated disk queue?
A. Paging
B. Caching
C. Threading
D. Spooling
Discuss
Get Complete Subject PDF for Computer

Correct Answer: Option D

Explanation:
Spooling manages high-volume document outputs by queuing files on secondary storage until the slower output device (like a printer) is ready to process them.
This question belongs to: Computer Operating Systems
Question #99
What is the purpose of the 'Aging' technique in process scheduling algorithms?
A. To periodically clear out system logs.
B. To decrease CPU power consumption over time.
C. To automatically back up older files.
D. To gradually increase the priority of processes that wait in the system for a long time, preventing starvation.
Discuss
Get Complete Subject PDF for Computer

Correct Answer: Option D

Explanation:
Aging is a technique used to avoid resource starvation by gradually increasing the priority of tasks that have spent extended periods waiting in the ready queue.
This question belongs to: Computer Operating Systems
Question #100
Which Windows 11 feature utilizes hardware virtualization capabilities to create a secure, isolated enclave for sensitive core OS credentials?
A. Virtualization-Based Security (VBS)
B. Storage Spaces
C. Windows Defender Firewall
D. BitLocker Drive Encryption
Discuss
Get Complete Subject PDF for Computer

Correct Answer: Option A

Explanation:
Virtualization-Based Security (VBS) uses hardware-level virtualization to isolate a secure memory region from the standard operating system layer.
This question belongs to: Computer Operating Systems

More Computer Topics

Computer Abbreviations MCQs
Computer Fundamentals MCQs
Computer Hardware MCQs
Computer Networking MCQs
Computer Software MCQs
CPU (Central Processing Unit) MCQs
Cyber Security MCQs
Database Management System (DBMS) MCQs
Internet and Web Technologies MCQs
Memory and Storage Devices MCQs
Microsoft Office MCQs
Programming Languages MCQs
Today's Top Topics
Microsoft Office 1199 Memory and Storage Devices 438 Internet and Web Technologies 461 Database Management System (DBMS) 278 Computer Networking 325
Explore Subjects
Current Affairs 575 Maths 5575 Static General Knowledge 6362 Economy GK 2220 Geography GK 6121
Practice Mix
She ___ a great singer.
Which national park in Madhya Pradesh has the 'Mandla Plant Fossils'?
Who was the first woman to command a space mission?
In a school, 60% are boys and 40% are girls. 20% of boys and 25% of girls get scholarship. What percent of students do not get scholarship?
Which of the following is a characteristic of 'Reference-Dependent Preferences'?