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Write Protecting Diskettes
It is possible to accidentally format a diskette or unintentionally write data to it.
Important information can be written over or lost. For this reason, it is a good idea
to write protect important diskettes. You can read data from a write-protected
diskette, but you cannot erase or change the data.
Most 3.5-inch diskettes have a write-protect switch that can be used to prevent data
from being written to or erased from the diskette. If a 3.5-inch diskette does not
have a write-protect switch, it is permanently write protected.
The write-protect switch is located on the back of 3.5-inch diskettes.
Write-Protect
Switch
To allow writing to the diskette, slide the switch so the write-protect window is
covered.
To prevent writing to the diskette, slide the switch so the write-protect window
is open.
Formatting Diskettes
You can buy diskettes either formatted or unformatted. Formatted diskettes are
ready to use; unformatted diskettes must be formatted by your operating system
before you can use them. The format operation checks a diskette for defects and
prepares it for storing data. If data is already stored on the diskette, the format
operation writes over it, and the data is lost.
Chapter 3. Operating Your Personal Computer 43