You need to set the date and time this way only once; the computer’s real-time clock keeps track of the date and time even when the computer is off. The next time you load MS-DOS, you can just press Enter when you see each of these prompts to accept the displayed date and time.

MS-DOS updates months and years correctly-whether the month has 31, 30, 29, or 28 days—and even accounts for leap years. You may need to change the time later, however, to accommodate a change such as daylight savings time.

Note

You can also change the date and time with the Setup program or with the MS-DOS DATE and TIME commands. The Setup program is described in Appendix A. The DATE and TIME commands are described below for the Apex 100\20 and in the MS-DOS manual.

The Command Prompt

The command prompt tells you that MS-DOS is loaded and your computer is ready to receive instructions. It also identifies the current operating drive: A, B, or C. The command prompt appears on the screen whenever you load MS-DOS, complete an MS-DOS command, or exit an application program.

On the Apex 100, the top diskette drive is drive A and the bottom diskette drive is B. On the Apex 100\20, the diskette drive is A and the hard disk is drive C. MS-DOS reserves the label B for a second diskette drive, whether or not it is installed.

If you load MS-DOS from a diskette in drive A, the command prompt looks like this:

A>

1-18 Setting Up Your System