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Chapter 3
Preparing the Hard Disk for Use
Before using your hard disk for the first time, you need to follow the
steps described in this chapter to partition and format the disk.
These steps prepare the disk to store MS-DOS and your data and
program files.
WARNING
The steps described in this chapter erase any data currently
stored on the hard disk. Therefore, do nut perform these steps if
your hard disk has already been prepared for use or has data
stored on it. These instructions apply only to a new hard disk.
The hard disk in your computer has a much larger capacity than
your diskette drive. A 20MB hard disk, for example, can store more
than 20 million characters. This is equivalent to approximately 15
1.44MB diskettes. Using a hard disk reduces the number of
diskettes you need and eliminates much of the diskette-swapping
you do when you use diskettes. The computer is also able to read
and write data on the hard disk much more quickly than it can on a
diskette.
You generally do most of your work on the hard disk and use the
diskette drive for tasks such as installing new software, exchanging
data with other computers, and making backup copies of your
programs and data files.
Backing up the hard disk is particularly important. Although the
hard disk is very reliable, it is essential to back up all your hard disk
files onto diskettes periodically, in case you accidentally lose some
data. You can use BACKUP or MENU to back up your hard disk
files. These commands are described in Chapter 5 and in the
MS-DOS Reference Manual.
Preparing the Hard Disk for Use
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