Basically every computer, smartphone and game console you can buy on the market has one thing in common: they all require an operating system (OS) to run applications and do basic tasks. When it comes to computers, the most popular options are Microsoft's Windows and Apple's MacOS. Google's Chrome OS has also entered the market for cheaper school laptops. (There's a free tool to update old Windows and Mac computers with a new ChromeOs Flex, thereby extending their computer lives.) On the more niche end, we also have Linux, which is open source and features a huge degree of user customization options. All of these operating systems are integral to making their devices run, but what does a computer look like when no OS is installed at all?

Before we get into that, let's clarify exactly what the OS does. An operating system is basically the general contractor of the computer. While the programs are busy doing their one specialized thing — plumbing, electrical, carpentry — the operating system is overseeing them all, communicating what they need to the processor and providing a common language that they can all work with to stay on the same page.

There are a few other things your operating system does that you probably don't think about. For instance, it's the operating system (not just the hard drive) that's going to decide how to manage memory. The operating system needs to delegate how much memory each process uses and make sure no memory overlaps. Also keep in mind that your home computer is most likely a single-user, multitasking operating system. That means you only have one processor, but it can run many programs at once.

But here's the kicker: It can't actually do that.

Let's go back to our general contractor analogy. If we're building a house, we'll want it to have certain features like plumbing, electrical work and windows. In a computer, we also want features like a program that creates documents, one that accesses the internet and one that stores our photos. Without an operating system, it's not just that your "carpenter" doesn't know where to hammer in nails to a beam to get the room you want; it's also that you have to forge the hammers and you have to create the nails.

An operating system provides a uniform set of screws, lumber and any other material you need. It can go back and forth between rooms so fast you didn't even know it left the one you were in.

And that's really important, because here's another thing: Remember how we were talking about the operating system only being able to concentrate on one thing at a time? Well, without one, your computer could run one program. Period. You could create a document. You could save it. You could print it. But you couldn't look at that document and keep a clock running on your desktop. If you don't have an operating system, you're stuck doing one — and only one — process at a time.