Your computer uses the read/write heads in a disk drive to store and retrieve data on a disk. To write to a disk, the computer spins it in the drive to position the disk so that the area where the data is to be written is under the read/write head. A diskette has an exposed area where the read/write head can access it.

Because data is stored magnetically, you can retrieve it, record over it, and erase it-just as you play, record, and erase music on a cassette tape.

Types of Diskette Drives

The following list describes the four types of diskette drives you can use in your computer and which diskettes to use with them:

❏1.2MB drive–Use 5¼-inch, double-sided, high-density,

96 TPI (tracks per inch), 1.2MB diskettes. These diskettes contain 80 tracks per side, 15 sectors per track, and hold up to 1.2MB of information, which is approximately 500 pages of text.

Note

MB stands for megabyte, which equals 1024KB (or 1,048,576 bytes). KB stands for kilobyte, which equals 1024 bytes. Each byte represents a single character, such asA,$,or3.

❏1.44MB drive–Use 3½-inch, double-sided, high-density, 135 TPI, 1.44MB diskettes. These diskettes contain 80 tracks per side, 18 sectors per track, and hold up to 1.44MB of information, which is approximately 600 pages of text.

3-12 Using Your Computer