ci The surface of a 5 ‘/r-inch diskette is exposed by the read/write slot. Always hold the diskette by its protective jacket and never touch the magnetic surface. The oils on your fingertips can damage it.

ci Do not place anything on top of your diskettes, and be sure they do not get bent. A diskette does not rotate properly in the drive if it has been damaged.

cl Carefully label your diskettes and be sure to indicate the diskette type and density. Attach labels firmly but gently, and 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.

cl It is best to 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.

cl Store 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.

Write-protecting Diskettes

You can write-protect a diskette to prevent its data from being altered. When a diskette is write-protected, you can read it and copy data from it, but you cannot store new data on the diskette or delete any files it contains. If you try to change data stored on a write-protected diskette, MS-DOS displays an error message.

3-16 Using Your Computer