Question

What happens during a context switch?

• A. CPU switches from one process to another after saving the current process states
• B. The system terminates the currently running process
• C. A process is moved from Ready to Running state
• D. The process enters an infinite loop

Hint:

The key is that the outgoing process's state is stored so it can resume later. Which option mentions saving before switching?

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

Idea: Identify the essential action that defines a context switch.

The defining feature is preservation. To later resume a paused process correctly, the CPU state must be stored first:

\[\text{save } (PC, \text{registers}, \dots) \rightarrow \text{load next process state}\]

Termination discards a process, so it is not a switch. Moving Ready to Running alone omits the crucial saving of the outgoing process. An infinite loop is a fault, not a scheduling action. Only the option that saves the current state before switching describes the mechanism.

\[\boxed{\text{Save current state, then switch to another process}}\]