Note

You must format new diskettes before you can use them with an operating system. Formatting erases all the data on a diskette and prepares it to receive new data, so be sure to format only new blank diskettes or diskettes that contain data you want to erase. See Chapter 5 for instructions on formatting diskettes.

Drive and diskette incompatibilities

Because of the size difference, you cannot use 3½-inch diskettes in a 5¼-inch drive or vice versa. There are also certain limitations on using diskettes that are the same size as the drive but have different capacities. The following tables summarize the possiblities and limitations.

5¼-inch drive/diskette compatibility

Drive type

Diskette types it can read from and write to

 

 

360KB

180KB, or 360KB

1.2MB

180KB, 360KB. or 1.2MB

3½-inch drive/diskette compatibility

Drive type

Diskette types it can read from and write to

 

 

720KB

720KB

1.44MB

720KB, or 1.44MB

Warning

If you write to a 360KB (or 180KB) diskette while it is in a 1.2MB drive, you may not be able to read it or write to it in a 360KB drive later.

Using Your Computer 3-9