Hard drives are much faster to retrieve data from than floppy disk drives, especially since floppy disk only store 1.44 megabytes. Programs - Programs, also known as software or applications, are merely sets of instructions written for the CPU to carry out specific tasks. Programs are growing extremely complex in there capabilities which allow the PC user to do their work much more efficiently. The OS instructs the PC on how to function and in what order of events. Without the OS, the PC would not recognize or be able to interpret any software.
Operating systems are usually unique to the function the computer is intended for.
For instance a workstation today would have Win95 installed to carry out the software to be run on that workstation, while a network server intended to perform specific tasks such as data transfer between workstations would use Novell Netware a high-powered OS capable of more efficient communication. Each piece of hardware performs a specific task. The system board is an internal transportation system which links all hardware components together. A single character typed is data, just as a 50-page report is data. All data is represented to the CPU as a 1 or 0.