External Commands
FORMAT – The Disk(ette) Formatting Command
As we noted in Chapter 3. about the Diskettes and Disk Drives, all diskettes and hard disk drives must be
formatted before you can use them. We shall only introduce the formatting of diskettes here, and if you
require information on the formatting of hard disk drives then you should refer to your DOS user’s
manual since this is a complicated process.
When you purchase diskettes, they are normally unformatted. Before you can store data on a diskette,
DOS needs to divide the diskette up into sections and prepare it for receiving data. The technical details
are not important. What is important is that no matter what kind of disk drive or diskette you are using,
the diskette must be formatted before anything can be done with it.
To use FORMAT, type the following command:
C>FORMAT A:<Enter>
Insert new diskette for drive A:
And strike ENTER when ready
Make sure that the blank diskette is correctly inserted in drive A: and press < Enter>. The FORMAT
command will count through the heads and cylinders on your screen and when the procedure is finished,
the following will be displayed:
Format Complete
1457664 bytes total disk space
1457664 bytes available on disk
Format another (Y/N)?
If you wish to format another diskette remove the diskette just formatted, replace it with a new diskette
and press “Y”. If you do not wish to format another diskette, press “N”. In the example above, a
1.44Mbyte diskette was formatted. To format a 720Kbyte diskette it will require a special format
command
“FORMAT A: /F:720”
and the total disk space displayed will be 655,360. [SX/DX 5-10]
CHKDSK – The Check Disk Command
The CHKDSK command is a diagnostic command, and it can be used to check the condition of a floppy
diskette or hard disk. The command will give information on the diskette or disk being checked and will
also give you information on the memory of your computer. Again, the CHKDSK command is an
external command, so the DOS diskette must be in the current drive.
To check a diskette in drive A:, type the following command:
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COMMON DOS COMMANDS SX/DX
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