Stopping a Command or Program

You may sometimes need to stop a command or program while it is running. Many application programs provide a command you can use to cancel or even undo an operation. If you have entered an MS-DOS command that you want to stop, try one of the following commands:

0 Hold down the Ctrl key and press C

Q Hold down the Ctrl key and press Break.

These methods may also work in your application program. If you cannot stop a particular operation, however, you may need to reset the computer, as described in the following section.

Caution

It is best not to turn off the computer to stop a program or command. If you created new data and you have not yet stored it, the data will be erased if you turn off the computer. The computer stores your data in its memory until you save it; but the memory area is erased each time you turn off or reset the computer.

Resetting the Computer

Occasionally, you may want to clear the computer’s current settings or its memory without turning it off. This is called resetting the computer.

If an error occurs and the computer does not respond to your keyboard entries, you can reset the computer to reload MS-DOS and try again. However, resetting erases any data in the computer’s memory that you have not stored; so reset your computer only if necessary.

3-8 Using the Equity 386SX