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Note
You must format new diskettes before you can use them with an
operating system, Formatting erases all the data an a
prepares it to receive- new data; so be sure to format only new
blank diskettes or diskettes that contain data you
'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 tables below summarize the possibilities and
limitations.
5¼-inch drive/diskette compatibility
Drive type
Diskette types it can read from and write to
360KB
160KB, 180KB, 320KB, or 360KB
160KB, 180KB, 320KB, 360KB, or 1.2MB
1.2MB
WARNING
write
If you
to a 360KB (or 160KB, 180KB, or 320KB) diskette
a 1.2MB
while it is in
to it in a 360KB drive later.
3½-inch drive/diskette compatibility
Drive type
Diskette types it can read from and write to
720KB
720KB
720KB, 1.44MB
1.44MB
Because of these incompatibilities, you should indicate the density
and diskette type when you label your diskettes. (Usually this
information appears on the manufacturer's label.)
drive, you may not be able to read it or write
diskette
want to erase,
Using the
Equity 386
and
4-11
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