Owner`s manual
Page 3-8 Chapter Three
A diskette consists of a soft or hard plastic jacket or case enclosing a thin disk of
magnetically treated mylar on which your data is recorded. Never try to remove this
plastic jacket—doing so will ruin the diskette.
Your VAR has ready-to-use diskettes available, containing software designed for Alpha
Micro computers.
If you want to use empty, brand new diskettes to hold your own data, you need to
perform a couple of simple steps before using an empty diskette for the first time.
Please see "Formatting and Initializing a Diskette" in Chapter 5 for more information.
You should always have at least one diskette containing the AMOS system software,
which you can use to boot your computer in the unlikely event you aren’t able to boot
from your hard drive. Take special care of your bootable diskettes, since if you do have
problems with your System Disk, they may be the only way you can boot your computer.
Diskettes have a finite lifetime, so be sure to make backup copies of your diskettes from
time to time. The
System Operator’s Guide
for your operating system version explains
the procedures and commands for backing up data onto diskettes.
Using Diskettes
If you haven’t used diskettes before, take a few minutes to look at one before you insert
it in the drive. The figures below illustrate two types of diskettes.
5-1/4"
DOUBLE SIDE
DOUBLE DENSITY / 96TPI
WRITE PROTECT
NOTCH
MAC196
51/4" Diskette
Eagle Series Computer Owner’s Manual, Rev. 03