Making Backup Copies

It is important to make copies of all your data and system diskettes. Make backup (or working) copies of all diskettes that contain programs, such as the original Reference, MS-DOS, and Utility diskettes that came with your computer, and use only the copies. Store the original diskettes in a safe place away from your working diskettes. Also, copy your data diskettes regularly, whenever you revise them, to keep them up-to-date, and store them away from your originals.

If you have a hard disk, you’ll probably store the programs and data files you use regularly on the hard disk. Keep backup copies of all your program files on diskettes, however, and regularly copy important data files to diskettes as well.

You can copy your data (text and program files) in several ways:

CI You can use the COPY or XCOPY command to copy individual files or groups of files.

Cl You can use the DISKCOPY command to make an exact duplicate of a diskette.

Cl You can use the BACKUP command to back up hard disk files to diskettes. Because BACKUP can split large files across two or more diskettes, it makes more efficient use of diskette space than COPY or XCOPY. It also allows you to back up files that are larger than the capacity of your diskettes.

See your MS-DOS Reference Manual for specific instructions on using these commands.

3-22 Using Your Computer