What is a disk and where do I stick it. 

This information was compiled from an article by Don Holtzinger  ( Downloaded from QLink ) that appeared in Sixty Four ' Um Feb . 1990 . Thanks to the author for all the good info,  shortened here due to limited space . 

Disks,  Diskettes,  Floppies

 * Names for 5 1 / 4 inch square thingy you insert in the disk drive . 
 * Each disk consists of the disk itself and a protective outer jacket . 
 * The disk is made of mylar plastic and both sides are coated with a material that can be altered by magnetic energy . 
 * The holes in the jacket are there so that the disk drive mechanism can get access to the disk . 
 * When we refer to the  " disk " we actually mean the disk / jacket assembly . 

Disk Drives

This information pertains to the 1541,  although it also holds for the 1571 .  The 1571 can also be used in additional ways . 

 * The disk drive is two devices in one cabinet - a mechanical device that physically manipulates the disk and a computer device that controls how the disk is manipulated . 
 * The disk is rotated by a motor whenever information is being placed on the disk or obtained from it . 
 * When you place a disk in a drive and close the door,  the read / write head is in contact with the disk surface,  through the oblong hole cut in the disk jacket . 
 * Each disk has a front side,  where the label is attached and a back side,   where the jacket seam is . The rad / write head is actually in contact with the back side of the disk . 
 * Considering the point above,  be careful where you lay your disk since the back side gets  " read " and can pick up dirt from surfaces . 
 * Keep your disks in the sleeve when not in use . 
 * Disks are rated either single - sided or double - sided . The only difference is that the double - sided ones have been tested on both sides . 

DOS - the  " D " word

A disk stores data and as disk drive puts data on the disk and can recall it.  

How ? 

 * DOS controls putting data on a disk  ( writing ), retrieving data  ( reading ) and removing data  ( scratching ). 
 * The computer chip in the drive is a  " smart " chip . It holds the Operating System  ( OS ) and the Disk Operating System  ( DOS ). 
 * The OS takes care of things such as controlling the speed of the drive motor . 
 * The DOS controls the flow of data to and from the disk .   
 * Formatting a disk divides it into tracks and sectors . The DOS keeps a
record of all these so that it knows where data is stored and where it can be written to . The DOS stores this information write on the disk . 
 * Formatting creates 664 sectors for the storage of data,  also referred to as blocks . 
 * Use must format a disk before data can be written to it,  but it also erases any data already there . 
 * To prevent accidentally formatting a disk,  put a  " write - protect " tab  (one of those little black labels you get with a box of disks,  over and under the notch in the side of the disk . 

Using DOS

 * You communicate with your computer through the keyboard . 
 * Through the computer,  you communicate with the DOS inside the disk drive, using DOS commands . 
 * Your user manual shows you the  "long" way to use these commands . Many programs have them built - in,  so that you only need to type a few characters, or select an item from a menu to issue a command .