Operating System
Journal
by-Darren J. Oates
This journal is based on the Windows 10 shell.
Type of CPU
My PC is a Surface Laptop 4 thus it has an AMD Ryzen 5 and is not an Intel Core i5; they are different processor brands, though Microsoft has offered both Intel Core i5 and AMD Ryzen 5 processors, often in a custom “Surface Edition” form, in their Surface devices. For example, the Surface Laptop 4 was available with either an Intel Core i5 or an AMD Ryzen 5 “Surface Edition” processor, so the specific processor depends on the model and configuration.
Here’s why they are different:
Brand:
AMD and Intel are two different companies that manufacture computer processors.
“Surface Edition”:
When Microsoft uses “Surface Edition” with an AMD processor, it indicates a custom version of an AMD Ryzen processor optimized for their Surface devices.
Device Configuration:
Microsoft provides a choice of processors for some Surface models, such as the Surface Laptop 4, which could be configured with either an Intel Core i5 or a custom AMD Ryzen 5 processor. (YouTube)
With the command “systeminfo,” I was able to view this information.
Description: This tool/command displays operating system configuration information for
a local or remote machine, including service pack levels.
*There isn’t a single “system call” in the Windows shell that directly outputs all the information displayed by systeminfo. Instead, it aggregates data by calling a combination of functions to retrieve specific pieces of system information.
Rubric Required Content
- NAME OF PROCESSOR- AMD Ryzen 5 Microsoft Surface (R) Edition
- INSTALLATION DATE– 20210922105733.000000-240 = 2021/09/22-10:57 am and 33 seconds. “The original install date refers to the specific date and time when the Windows OS was initially installed on the computer (Ballejos & Ballejos, 2025).”
- BOOT TIME– 8/26/2025, 2:53:59 AM
The duration from when you power on a computer to when the operating system is fully loaded and ready for user interaction. This process involves the computer’s hardware initializing, the firmware (like BIOS/UEFI) loading the operating system, and then the OS itself loading its kernel, device drivers, and essential services. ( Lenovo US. n.d.) - NUMBER OF CORES– 6 This value indicates the number of physical cores present in your CPU.(MustafaMustafa., 2014)
- HOW MUCH RAM?- Total Physical Memory- 15,823 MB-access from the “systeminfo” output. “Refers to the actual memory of a computer that can directly process its data. Its size varies depending on the RAM modules installed and can be changed by adding or removing RAM modules (Hrg, March,2008).”
Commands I have Used so Far
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- How to look up my cpu– cpu get name
- How to get installation date– wmic OS get InstallDate
- How to find Boot Time– systeminfo | find /i “Boot Time”
- How to find the number of cores– wmic cpu get NumberOfCores
- How to get Windows API version– wmic os get osarchitectur
- How to graphically display the directory structure of a drive or path– Tree
- How to display the name of or changes the current directory– CD
- How to clear the screen– cls
- How to view and configure the network settings– ipconfig
- How to view the system BIOS– shutdown /r /fw /f /t 0
- How to get a report on your wireless– netsh wlan show wlanreport (see MORE COMMANDS)
- How to see my operating system– winver
- How to see my file system type.- fsutil fsinfo volumeinfo C
- How to displays the disk space statistics.- fsutil volume diskfree C:
- How to find the size, total, and usage of disk space.- wmic logicaldisk get Caption,FreeSpace,Size
- How to view the directories of a drive.- dir
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The Windows System Calls
In investigating the system call in Windows for the command “systeminfo” it does not rely on a single system call but rather utilizes multiple Windows API functions (which are essentially system calls) to gather and display system information. “To start with, the library calls and the actual system calls are highly decoupled. Microsoft has defined a set of procedures called the WinAPI, Win32 API, or Win64 API (Application Programming Interface) that programmers are expected to use to get operating system services( Tanenbaum, 2022).”
To find out what version my system uses, I prompted “wmic os get osarchitecture”. In my Windows shell, it is 64-bit.
Important Information
Linux has a “man”command for manuals to find usage of all the command line prompts in the system. Windows does not but you can use “help” then a command name to find what a command does. “Help” alone provides a full list of Windows common commands from A to W.
To view the shell type “cmd” in the search area left of the taskbar and press enter.
MORE COMMANDS
Command or Utility Chosen:
VMMap is a process virtual and physical memory analysis utility. It shows a breakdown of a process’s committed virtual memory types as well as the amount of physical memory (working set) assigned by the operating system to those types. Besides graphical representations of memory usage, VMMap also shows summary information and a detailed process memory map. Powerful filtering and refresh capabilities allow you to identify the sources of process memory usage and the memory cost of application features.
Besides flexible views for analyzing live processes, VMMap supports the export of data in multiple forms, including a native format that preserves all the information so that you can load back in. It also includes command-line options that enable scripting scenarios.
VMMap is the ideal tool for developers wanting to understand and optimize their application’s memory resource usage. (Markruss, 2023)
Reference
Markruss. (n.d.). VMMAP – Sysinternals. VMMap – Sysinternals | Microsoft Learn. https://learn.microsoft.com/en- us/sysinternals/downloads/vmmap
Execution of Command/Utility:
VMMap v3.4
With this utility you can choose a process to analyze. I choose Notepad.exe that was in the taskbar of my PC.
Launching VMMap
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Open VMMap.exe (from Sysinternals Suite).
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Select the process you want to analyze (or drag/drop the process executable).
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VMMap will generate a snapshot of that process’s memory usage.
- Understanding Virtual vs Physical Memory in VMMap
Virtual Memory (Commit/Reserved Space)
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Definition: Virtual memory is the total address space allocated to the process, whether or not it is physically loaded into RAM.
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Where to find it in VMMap:
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In the Summary Table (top half), look under:
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Committed column → shows the committed (allocated) virtual memory.
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Reserved column → shows reserved address space not yet committed.
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In the Type Breakdown Table (bottom half), “Virtual Size” also reflects the total virtual address space used by each memory type (Heap, Stack, Image, etc.).
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Physical Memory (Working Set)
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Definition: Physical memory represents the portions of the process’s virtual memory that are currently resident in RAM.
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Where to find it in VMMap:
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Look at the WS (Working Set) columns in the Summary Table.
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Private WS – Pages of memory that are unique to this process (not shared).
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Shareable WS – Pages that can be shared with other processes.
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Shared WS – Pages that are actually shared with other processes.
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The total of these columns represents the process’s physical memory footprint.
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Color-Coded View
VMMap uses color-coding to make it easier to distinguish memory types:
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Green → Heap (allocated memory)
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Orange → Stack
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Purple → Image (modules/DLLs)
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Light blue → Mapped files
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Gray → Free/unused virtual address space
This helps you quickly see which categories consume the most virtual and physical memory.
4. Comparing Virtual vs Physical Usage
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Large Commit but Small WS: The process has allocated a lot of memory virtually but much of it is not actively in RAM.
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Large WS: Indicates the process is actively using memory and much of its committed virtual memory is resident in physical RAM.(Microsoft, 2023)
Microsoft. (2023). VMMap v3.31 [Computer software]. Sysinternals, Microsoft. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/vmmap
Chosen Operating System:
Using “winver” in the command line will obtain a pop up image of the operating system on my workstation.
The Windows 10 Home operating system and its user interface are protected by trademark and other pending or existing intellectual property rights in the United States and other countries/regions.
Journal Summary
Well, it is done. It was a journey of learning that was intimidating at first, but I took it one step at a time. I got through my module with careful concentration. One aspect of the course that really helped me was the discussion board. Reading my classmates’ understandings of the subjects and in different ways, allowed me to absorb the content, plus hopefully retain it more effectively. I am a more visual learner, so I sought videos and graphical presentations. Our text would get very glandular and a bit over detailed, and I had to filter what I really needed to take away from what I was reading. One thing also I really loved was that as an online student, I could call the instructor. He was very reachable and cleared up any confusion I had about a topic.
The new information about operating systems I learned during this course;
*The importance of memory management and how to control it in various systems.
*Multiprocessors and multicores, which I had a vague understanding of.
*Hardware, although I wish we had a physical model to examine.
*File system. Their types and how they are assigned to different systems.
*Operating systems and the full configuration of their components.
*Various subject matters such as: System Interfaces, Process and Thread Synchronization, Shared Memory Pages, Interrupts, and The Operating System as an Abstraction.
I now have a body of knowledge to refer to that I will save locally, on this webpage, and not in the cloud.
References
Ballejos, L., & Ballejos, L. (2025, February 13). Guide: How to find windows original install date & time. NinjaOne. https://www.ninjaone.com/blog/find-windows-original-install-date/
Hrg, N. (n.d.). What does total memory mean information like physical memory, …?. Software for professionals and beginners. https://www.softwareok.com/?seite=faq-QuickMemoryTestOK&faq=3
MustafaMustafa., 77511 gold badge88 silver badges1616 bronze badges. (2014, April 7). Find number of cpus and cores per CPU using command prompt. Stack Overflow. https://stackoverflow.com/questions/22919076/find-number-of-cpus-and-cores-per-cpu-using-command-prompt
Tanenbaum, A. S., & Bos, H. (2022). Modern Operating Systems (5th ed.). Pearson Education (US). https://mbsdirect.vitalsource.com/books/9780137618941
What is a boot and how does The boot process work?. What is a Boot And How Does The Boot Process Work? | Lenovo US. (n.d.). https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/glossary/what-is-boot/?orgRef=https%253A%252F%252Fwww.google.com%252F
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