LOADING DOS SX/DX
There are basically two ways to load DOS – the first is to load it from a floppy diskette, the second is to
load it from a hard disk. Loading DOS from a hard disk is automatic whenever you power on the
computer. To load DOS from a diskette you simply place the DOS system diskette in your floppy disk
drive and turn on your computer. Note that
we say the DOS system diskette. Earlier versions of DOS came on a single diskette, but the latest
versions such as 5 and 6 consist of several diskettes. The reason for this is that more commands and
features have been added, making it impossible to store everything on a single diskette.
When you load DOS from a floppy, the system files will be read from the diskette and the following will
appear on your Screen:
Current date is Mon. 5-28-90
Enter new date (mm-dd-yy)
Details of how to set the date are given in the DOS user’s manual, and for the moment we will skip this
procedure.
To skip this step press < Enter> and the following will appear:
Current time is 18:12:51.26
Enter new time:
[SX/DX 5-2]
Press < Enter> again and the DOS prompt will appear on your screen, as below:
A>
The DOS prompt tells you that DOS has been loaded and that your computer is now ready to accept
your commands. The DOS prompt also tells you what disk drive is currently being addressed. Above we
have shown the DOS prompt as A>, but it could also be B> or C>. Each letter refers to the disk drives
installed in your system. The letter A always refers to the first floppy disk drive. The letter B refers to the
second floppy disk drive. If you only have one floppy disk drive installed both A & B refers to this disk
drive. Letters C and above refer to the hard disk drives installed. To change from the A drive to the C
drive, you must type the following:
A>C:<Enter>
C>
Note that the letter of the DOS prompt will change according to which disk drive you have selected,
though when you boot from the hard disk the C> prompt will always appear. The DOS prompt may be
changed with the DOS command PROMPT. Full
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LOADING DOS SX/DX
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