aerides

Hi there.

I really need help with understanding basic hardware/software data movment. I was given a take-home exam for an introductury computer course and I've been battling with some of the questions for days and days. The main question that's posing a problem is this:

3. Computers often move data from one storage area to another. For example, the operating system often pages data between a hard drive and memory, copying the data into memory so that a program can be executed. We have also seen that the hardware (processor) moves data between memory and cache. Why is software (i.e. the operating system) in control of some of this data movement and the hardware in control of others? Is there a pattern in terms of how much data is moved, where it is moved from or moved to?

Does anyone think they can answer this, or at least give me some direction on where to look for an answer? Any help will be appreciated!!!!!!