0Keep diskettes away from dust and dirt. Small particles of dust or dirt can scratch the magnetic surface, destroy data, and ruin the read/write heads in a diskette drive.

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

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

0Keep diskettes away from magnetic fields, such as electrical appliances, telephones, and loudspeakers. (Remember that diskettes store information magnetically.)

Do not place diskettes on top of your monitor or near an external hard disk drive.

Always hold a 51/4-inch diskette by its protective jacket and never touch the magnetic surface (exposed by the read/write slot). The oils on your fingertips can damage it.

Do not place anything on top of your diskettes, and be sure they do not get bent.

Carefully label your diskettes and indicate the type and density. Attach the label only along the top of a diskette (next to the manufacturer’s label). Do not stick several labels on top of one another; too many labels can make it difficult to insert and remove the diskette in the drive.

Write on a diskette label before you attach it to the diskette. If you need to write on a label that is already on the diskette, use only a soft-tip pen-not a ballpoint pen or a pencil.

0Store diskettes in their protective envelopes and in a proper location, such as a diskette container. Do not store diskettes flat or stack them on top of each other.

3-12 Using Your Computer