S e c t i o n T h r e e
34
Ejecting a Floppy Disk
To eject a disk, check that the Floppy Disk
Drive Access indicator is Off,
(see pages 22
and 25)
and press the Eject button.
(Figure 3-9.)
C A U T I O N
Formatting a previously used floppy
disk is an effective method of clearing a
disk as long as you realize that ALL the
information on the disk will be erased.
C A U T I O N
If you eject the disk while the Floppy
Disk Drive Access indicator is On, there is
a risk of damaging the disk drive or the
data on the disk.
Preparing a Floppy Disk for Use
Before you can use a new floppy disk, you need
to prepare it so your notebook knows where to
store information. This preparation is called
formatting or initializing a disk. You need to
format new 3.5" floppy disks, unless you pur-
chase preformatted disks. Use your notebook’s
operating system software to format a floppy
disk. Please refer to the operating
system manual for step-by-step instructions.
To prevent accidental erasure of data stored on
a floppy disk, slide the "write protect" tab on
the floppy disk to open up the small hole. This
makes the disk "write protected." When you
want to write data to that disk, slide the
write protect tab the other way to close the
small hole.
(See Figure 3-10.)
Figure 3-9 Ejecting a Floppy Disk
Figure 3-10 Floppy Disk Write Protect
Write Enabled
Write Protected
Care of Floppy Disk Drive and Disks
■
Avoid storing the floppy disk drive and
disks in extremely hot and cold locations,
or in locations subject to severe
temperature changes.
■
Keep the floppy disk drive and disks
out of direct sunlight and away from
heating equipment.