Tandy 1200 HD User Manual page 162

Appendix
D
Storage Media
(continued)
A diskette can store up to 360 kilobytes of information (one kilobyte
is equivalent
to
approximately
one
thousand characters). This infor-
mation is recorded on concentric tracks on the diskette. There are
forty such tracks on each side of the diskette, and each track is divided
into several sectors. When you format a diskette, you are actually
having DOS set up these tracks and sectors on the diskette. During
the format procedure, DOS also sets up a directory on the diskette.
In the directory, DOS keeps a catalog of every file stored on the
diskette. It records the file name of each file and also the tracks and
sectors on which each file can be found.
There is a write protect notch on one edge of most diskettes. If you
cover this notch with a tab, the computer will be unable to record
anything on the diskette. Thus, if you put a write protect tab on an
important diskette, you will make it impossible to accidentally erase
or alter any of the files on that diskette. You can always remove the
tab from a write protected diskette if you later decide to alter its
contents. Applications programs often come on diskettes that have
no write protect notch. Such diskettes are permanently write protected.
D - 2