System software is software on a computer that is designed to control and work with computer hardware. The two main types of system software are the operating system and the software installed with the operating system, often called utility software. The operating system and utility software typically depend on each other to function properly.
Some system software is used directly by users and other system software
works in the background. System software can allow users to interact
directly with hardware functionality, like the
Device Manager and many of the utilities found in the
Control Panel.
