Managing Disks and Disk Drives

• Disk-Related Features of Windows 98
• Formatting Floppy Disks
• Naming Disks
• Copying Floppy Disks
• Creating a Startup Disk

Disk-Related Features of Windows 98

Formatting, naming, and copying disks in Windows 98 are done the same way they were in Windows 95. The only difference between Windows 95 and Windows 98 is in the contents of the Startup Disk. In Windows 95 the Startup Disk did not include any CD-ROM drivers, making it difficult to use the Startup Disk to reinstall Windows from a CD-ROM. Windows 98 adds CD-ROM drivers to the Startup Disk, so if you need to reinstall the entire operating system from scratch, you can use the CD-ROM version of Windows 98 to do so.

Formatting Floppy Disks

If you have a new disk that is not preformatted, you must format it before you can store any information on it. You also can erase all files from a disk by formatting it; the formatting cleans the disk of all files and prepares it for new information.

1. Insert the disk into the appropriate drive.
2. Click the My Computer icon to start My Computer.
3. Right-click the applicable drive and choose Format. When the Format dialog box appears, set the desired options. The first time you format a disk, choose the Full option; when you're reformatting a previously formatted disk, choose the Quick Erase option.
4. Click the Start button. Windows 98 formats your floppy disk and displays the results in a dialog box when complete.

Naming Disks

A volume label is simply a name for a disk. You can change an existing label or name a new disk by following these steps:

1. Click the My Computer icon to start My Computer. If you are changing the volume label for a removable disk, be sure to insert the disk into the appropriate drive.
2. Right-click the drive and choose Properties from the pop-up menu.
3. When the Properties dialog box appears, select the General tab and type the desired volume name into the Label box. Click the OK button.

Copying Floppy Disks

You can copy the complete contents of a floppy disk onto another disk with a few simple mouse clicks:

1. Insert the disk you want to copy into the floppy disk drive.
2. Click the My Computer icon to start My Computer.
3. Right-click the floppy drive icon and choose Copy Disk from the menu. Click the Start button in the Copy Disk dialog box.
4. When prompted, remove the source disk and insert the destination disk. Click the OK button.

Creating a Startup Disk

A Startup disk is vital in case you have to restart your computer in an emergency, such as when corrupted system files are detected at normal Windows 98 startup or if your hard disk crashes. With a Startup disk, you essentially start your system from a floppy disk instead of your hard disk.

The Windows 98 Installation Wizard prompts you to make a Startup disk during installation. You can also create a Startup disk at any other time by following these instructions:

1. Click the Start button, select Settings, and then select Control Panel to open the Control Panel.
2. Click the Add/Remove Programs icon to open the Add/Remove Programs Properties dialog box, and then click the Startup Disk tab.
3. Click the Create Disk button to start the process. As Windows prepares to create the Startup disk, it prompts you to label and insert a floppy disk in drive A:; do so, and then click the OK button.
4. You are returned to the Add/Remove Programs Properties dialog box (with no additional messages) when the Startup Disk has been successfully created. Click OK to close the dialog box and return to the desktop.