The computer then boots (starts up) the MS-DOS operating system. The screen displays a date prompt similar to this:

Current date is Sat 06-04-88

Enter new date (mm-dd-yy)

Type the current date in the format displayed and press Enter. For example, to set the date for July 12, 1988, you would type 07-12-88. This sets the real-time clock inside your computer.

From now on, whenever the date prompt appears, you can simply press Enter to accept the date shown. You will only need to reset the clock for a leap year.

The screen displays the time prompt next:

Current time is 16:21:15

Enter new time

Type the current time in the format displayed (you don’t need to type seconds) and press Enter. MS-DOS uses the 24.hour format, so to set the clock for 7:05 p.m., for example, you would type 19 : 05.

From now on, whenever the time prompt appears, you can simply press Enter to accept the time shown. You will only need to reset the clock for daylight savings time.

The screen next displays the MS-DOS version number and copyright information, and then the MS-DOS command prompt appears:

A >

This means the operating system is ready for you to enter a command. The command prompt identifies the current operating drive: A, B, or C. The prompt appears on the screen whenever you load MS-DOS, complete an MS-DOS command, or exit an application program.

Setting Up Your System

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