Epson 10020, 100 How, Using Disks and Disk Drives, How Disks Store Data

Using Disks and Disk Drives

The disk drives in your computer allow you to store data on disk, and then retrieve and use it when you like. The Apex 100 has two 360KB diskette drives and the Apex 100\20 has one 360KB diskette drive and one 20MB hard disk.

This section explains how disks work and tells you how to do the following:

Choose diskettes

Care for your diskettes and diskette drives

Insert and remove diskettes

Write-protect diskettes

Make backup copies of your diskettes

Use a single diskette drive

Use a hard disk drive.

How Disks Store Data

The diskette you insert in your computer’s diskette drive is made of flexible plastic coated with magnetic material. It is enclosed in a square jacket that is slightly flexible. Your computer stores data on the diskette by recording on the magnetic surface.

Unlike a diskette, a hard disk is rigid and fixed in place. It is sealed in a protective case to keep it free from dust and dirt. A hard disk stores data the same way that a diskette does, but it works faster and has a much larger storage capacity.

All disks are divided into data storage compartments by sides, tracks, and sectors. Double-sided diskettes--like the ones you use in your computer-store data on both sides. There are concentric rings, called tracks, on the disk in which data is

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