|
|
Formatting Floppy Disks
So exactly what's the easiest way to format disks? You can
do it one of three ways:
full format (recommended for new
disks and disks whose contents are unknown to you), quick
format (recommended for reusing disks whose contents are
known to be OK, just not useful any longer), and system
disks (covered here). Your best bet is always the Full
format choice. Insert the disk into the drive, double-click
My Computer, and choose the A: drive, and click Format on
the menu bar. Select "Full" under Format type, choose a
label (title) if you like (11 characters max), and click OK.
The drive whirs and mutters to itself for a while, then
you're done. Windows has wiped the disk clean, checked it
for errors, and formatted it for file storage. (In theory,
you can put a Macintosh-formatted disk in for reformatting,
but I've seen some computers refuse to recognize the disk,
so don't get your hopes up for reformatting that fistful of
old Mac disks.)
Quick
formats are even easier than full formats, and take less
time. Just shove the disk into the drive, double-click My
Computer, and choose the A: drive, and select Format. Select
"Quick (Erase)" and, if you like, a label (title) for the
disk up to 11 characters long. Click OK, listen to the drive
hum, and then when prompted, click Close and then OK again.
That's all there is to it.
|
|