Your computer uses the read/write heads in a disk drive to store
and retrieve data on a disk. To write to a disk, the computer
spins it in the drive to position the area on the disk where the
data is to be written under the read/write head. A diskette has
an exposed area where the read/write head can access it.
Because data is stored magnetically, you can retrieve it, record
over it, and erase it-just as you play, record, and erase music
on a cassette tape.
Types of Diskette Drives
The Equity 386SX comes with one 1.44MB diskette. With this
drive, use 3½-inch, double-sided, high-density, 135 TPI,
1.44MB diskettes. These diskettes contain 80 tracks per side, 18
sectors per track, and hold up to 1.44MB of information, which
is approximately 600 pages of text. MB stands for megabyte;
each megabyte equals 1,048,576 bytes or 1024KB.
You may also have a second diskette drive, and it may be the
same type or it may be different. The following list describes the
other types of diskette drives you can use in the Equity 386SX
and which diskettes to use with them:
Cl
720KB drive-With this drive, use 3½-inch, double-sided,
double-density, 135 TPI, 720KB diskettes. These diskettes
contain 80 tracks per side, 9 sectors per track, and hold up
to 720KB of information, which is approximately 300 pages
of text. KB stands for kilobyte; each kilobyte equals 1024
bytes. Each byte represents a single character, such as A, $,
or 3.
Cl
1.2MB drive-With this drive, use 5¼-inch, double-sided,
high-density, 96 TPI, 1.2MB diskettes. These diskettes
contain 80 tracks per side, 15 sectors per track, and hold up
to 1.2MB of information, which is approximately 500 pages
of text.
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Using the Equity 386SX