Write-protecting diskettes
As shown in Figure 3-1, the right edge of a diskette has a small, rec-
tangular notch. If this notch is visible, you can copy new data to the
diskette. If you cover the notch with an adhesive write-protect tab, you
can retrieve and copy data from the diskette, but you cannot store new
data on it or delete any files it contains. If you try to change data stored
on a write-protected diskette, an error message tells you the diskette is
write-protected. Write-protect tabs usually come with new diskettes
when you buy them.
Write-protect
notch
Figure 3-1. Write-protect notch
Using a Single Floppy Disk Drive
Usually, operating systems expect the computer to have at least two
physical disk drives and display prompts and messages accordingly
If your Equity II has only one floppy disk drive, turn on (up) DIP
switches
l-7
and 1-8 under the cover beneath the disk drives. When these
switches are on, the operating system treats your single drive like two
logical drives. This helps you perform operations that normally require
two floppy disk drives.
For example, if you give a command to copy from one drive to
another, MS-DOS copies from the first diskette you place in the drive to
the computer’s memory. Then MS-DOS prompts you to insert another
diskette and copies from memory to the diskette you place in the drive.
When copying is complete, you see a prompt to insert the original disk-
ette.
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