User`s guide

Solutions to common problems
6-13
6
Your computer cannot read a floppy disk.
If you see a message that a floppy disk is unreadable, try one of the
following:
• If the disk has never been used, you may simply need to
initialize it. For instructions, see the “Disks” topic area of
Mac OS Guide, available in the Guide menu.
• The disk may be damaged. See Testing and repairing a damaged
disk on page 6-37 for information on testing and repairing
disks.
• If the disk is a high-density disk previously used on another
computer, the disk may have been formatted incorrectly as
an 800K disk rather than as a 1440K (high-density) disk. If so,
use the other computer to copy the disk’s contents onto a
properly formatted disk.
• The disk may have been formatted for use on another kind of
computer. You may be able to use a special program that
allows you to work with such disks.
If you are trying unsuccessfully to use a floppy disk created in a PC
(personal computer), DOS (Disk Operating System), or Windows
environment, consider the following:
• When formatting floppy disks on a DOS computer for use in
a Mac OS compatible computer, you need to format standard
double-sided disks as 720K disks and high-density disks as
1440K disks. It is possible that your disk has been given a
format that will not work in a Mac OS compatible computer.
Try using a DOS computer to copy the contents of your DOS
floppy disk onto another DOS floppy disk that has been
properly formatted for use in a Mac OS compatible computer.