3.
The First Steps
What
To
Do First
To
start using
your
Commodore
PC computer, you
must
first load
an
operating
system
called MS-DOS into
your
computer. The
following paragraphs explain
what
all this means.
What Is An Operating System?
An
operating system
(OS)
is special software that acts as
the
intermediary
between
you
and
the
computer.
An
OS
provides
the
interface
(that
is,
it allows interaction)
between
the
hardware,
the
user
(you)
and
other
software,
such
as programming languages like
BASIC
and applications programs like
word
processors
and
spreadsheets, The operating system manages and supervises
your
computer
and its resources, including internal memory, external
memory access, and communications
with
peripheral devices
such
as
printers and modems.
What Is MS-DOS?
MS-DOS®
is
an operating system created
by
Microsoft®
Corporation. Because
MS-DOS
manages disk
file
storage devices, it
is referred
to
as a disk operating system,
or
DOS.
MS-DOS
is
highly
compatible
with
PC-DOS
(the
operating system used
by
the
IBM
PC),
so
that
your
Commodore
PC
is able
to
run
virtually any
of
the
software packages available for
the
IBM
Pc.
MS-DOS
is supplied
on
a floppy disk known as
the
System Disk. This
disk is included as
part
of
your
Commodore
PC
package.
MS-DOS
on
the
System Disk includes two kinds
of
information,
in
the
form
of
commands:
• Internal commands - These are commands that are placed into
your
computer's
memory
when
MS-DOS
is
started
or
loaded.
These commands remain in
the
computer's memory until
the
computer
is
turned
off. Internal commands are therefore always
directly available to you
when
you
are using
the
computer.
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