Diskette Problems

If you see an error message or have trouble accessing data on a diskette, try the following steps:

1.You may have inserted the diskette upside-down or it may not be inserted all the way. Remove the diskette from the drive and reinsert it. If the diskette drive has a latch, be sure to turn it down to secure the diskette in the drive. See Chapter 1 for detailed instructions on inserting and removing diskettes.

2.If reinserting the diskette does not solve the problem and you have access to another diskette drive of the same type, place the diskette in the other drive and repeat the operation. If you can read the diskette, the trouble may be in your diskette drive. See “Diskette Drive Problems” below.

3.Check to see if you have inserted the right type of diskette. For example, are you trying to read a 1.44MB diskette in a 720KB diskette drive? See “Types of Diskette Drives” in Chapter 1 for more information.

4.If your diskette is the right type for your drive, see if it is write-protected. On a 3.5-inch diskette, the write-protect switch may be set to the write-protect position or there may be no switch. On a 5.25-inch diskette, there may be a write-protect tab over the notch on its side or there may be no notch. You cannot alter data on a write-protected diskette. (Some application programs do not function properly if the diskette is write-protected. Check the program manual.) See Chapter 1 for more information.

5.Is the diskette formatted? A new diskette must be formatted before you can store data on it. See your operating system documentation for instructions on formatting diskettes.

Troubleshooting 6-15