Formatting
a diskette allows you to use it by providing
predetermined locations for certain files used by MS-DOS.
Once formatted, the disk directory space is created, as well as
additional areas reserved for use by MS-DOS. One of these
areas is the File Allocation Table, or FAT. This part of the
diskette contains a list of all of the files on the disk, and where
they are physically stored on the diskette.
The other area is the system area. On your MS-DOS main
system diskette, this area is occupied by the parts of MS-DOS
that
are copied into your computer’s memory during the start-
up routine. During the start-up procedure, the BIOS program,
stored on the system motherboard, looks at this part of the
diskette to retrieve the active parts of the disk operating
system.
If these MS-DOS routines are not present in the system area of
a diskette, the BIOS cannot start up the computer. This is what
causes the error message:
5-8
Using Floppy Disks
Summary of Contents for CW3S20A Canadian Product
Page 1: ...SX386E OPERATIONS GUIDE...
Page 17: ...Appendix C Connector Pinouts I OPorts C l Expansion Slot Connectors C 5 Contents xvii...
Page 145: ...Figure 7 6 Mounting the Internal Hard Disk Drive 7 16 Expanding Your System...
Page 148: ...l Memory Bank Configurations l BIOS ROM 64K byte 150ns 2ea Specifications A 3...
