If you have an optional 720KB drive, use 3 l/2-inch, double- sided, double-density, 135 TPI, 720KB diskettes with this drive. These diskettes contain 80 tracks per side, 9 sectors per track, and hold up to 720KB of information-approximately 300 pages of text.

Note

You cannot use 3 1/2-inch diskettes that have been

formed for 1.44MB in a 720KB diskette drive.

You need to format new diskettes before you can use them with MS-DOS. The process of formatting erases all data on a diskette and prepares it to receive new data; so be sure to format only new, blank diskettes or diskettes that contain data you want to erase. See Chapter 3 for instructions on formatting diskettes.

Caring for Diskettes and Diskette Drives

Follow these basic precautions to protect your diskettes and avoid losing data:

Do not remove a diskette from the diskette drive or turn off the computer while the drive light is on. This light indicates that the computer is copying data to or from a diskette. If you interrupt this process, you can destroy data.

Remove all diskettes before you turn off the computer.

Keep diskettes away from dust and dirt. Small particles can scratch the magnetic surface and destroy data. Dust can also ruin the read/write heads in a diskette drive.

Never wipe, brush, or try to clean diskettes in any way.

Keep diskettes in a moderate environment. They work best at normal room temperature and in normal humidity. Don’t leave your diskettes sitting in the sun, or in extreme cold or heat.

Using Your Computer

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