How disks work
The floppy disks (diskettes) you insert in your system’s floppy disk drives are round pieces of flexible plastic coated with magnetic material and enclosed in protective jackets. Like a record, a diskette has circular tracks on both sides. The computer stores the data you enter as magnetic patterns on these circular tracks.
A small read/write head in the disk drive interprets the magnetic pat- terns. When a diskette is in a drive, the read/write head is right over the large oval hole in the diskette jacket. This hole allows the read/write head to access the diskette when you store, retrieve, and delete data.
Unlike a floppy disk, a hard disk is rigid and fixed in place. It is sealed in a protective environment free of dust and dirt, so you cannot see it. A hard disk stores data the same way as a floppy disk, only it works faster and has a much larger storage capacity.
Because data is stored magnetically, you can retrieve it, record over it, and erase it - just as you play, record, and erase music on cassette tapes.
Choosing diskettes for the Equity I+
The standard floppy disk drive on the Equity I+ uses
For best results, use only
If you have an optional floppy disk drive that has a capacity of 720KB, use 31/2”,
Caring for your disks and disk drives
To avoid damaging diskettes and hard disks, you need to care for them properly. Follow these basic precautions to avoid losing data:
•Keep disks away from dust and dirt. Small particles of dust or dirt scratch the magnetic surface (destroying data). Dust can also ruin the read/write head in the disk drive.