Operating system. kernel mode/user mode

[wonder_laptop]

i want somebody to please give me the differences between the kernel mode and the user mode.

are these block in memory ?

i did some research on the internet and all i understood was that kernel mode is protected from the user and it is where the operating system is and the user mode is not protected.

but can anybody give some examples to clarify this. and can you please explain what does it mean to say that to update linux you can simply download the kernel ! ( is the kernel a software :S )

thank you so much in advance

[tashi]

Hello,

User-mode Linux (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User-mode_Linux) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.


These links help to explain the kernel, which is the essential center of a computer operating system.

Kernel (computer science) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kernel_%28computer_science%29) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Linux kernel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_kernel)- Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Mark Russinovich at Technet:

Inside the Windows Vista Kernel: Part 1 (http://www.microsoft.com/technet/technetmag/issues/2007/02/VistaKernel/)

Inside the Windows Vista Kernel: Part 2 (http://www.microsoft.com/technet/technetmag/issues/2007/03/VistaKernel/)

Hope that helps. :)