Chapter 3

Preparing the Hard Disk for Use

Before using your hard disk for the first time, you need to follow the steps described in this chapter to partition and format the disk. These steps prepare the disk to store MS-DOS and your data and program files.

WARNING

The steps described in this chapter erase any data currently stored on the hard disk. Therefore, do nut perform these steps if your hard disk has already been prepared for use or has data stored on it. These instructions apply only to a new hard disk.

The hard disk in your computer has a much larger capacity than your diskette drive. A 20MB hard disk, for example, can store more than 20 million characters. This is equivalent to approximately 15 1.44MB diskettes. Using a hard disk reduces the number of diskettes you need and eliminates much of the diskette-swapping you do when you use diskettes. The computer is also able to read and write data on the hard disk much more quickly than it can on a diskette.

You generally do most of your work on the hard disk and use the diskette drive for tasks such as installing new software, exchanging data with other computers, and making backup copies of your programs and data files.

Backing up the hard disk is particularly important. Although the hard disk is very reliable, it is essential to back up all your hard disk files onto diskettes periodically, in case you accidentally lose some data. You can use BACKUP or MENU to back up your hard disk files. These commands are described in Chapter 5 and in the MS-DOS Reference Manual.

Preparing the Hard Disk for Use

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