Terms

System Software
Floppy disk formatting

The following are system software terms you should be familiar with.

Warm boot: (warm start).

Used to reset the computer without turning the power off/on. Use [Ctrl]+[Alt]+[Del] or the [reset] button.

Cold boot: (cold strat).

Turn power on or off/on.

Shut down:

In windows 95, 98, NT, OS/2 and Macintosh, select shut down from the list of options.
Closes programs, cleans up temporary files.

Program

Programs, also referred to as Application Programs, applications, or software, are a series of instructions written in computer language. These instructions are stored in files and tell your computer to perform a task.

File

Collection of related data. (May be thought of as a document in a filing cabinet).

Files can contain text (words, numbers, punctuation, etc), numbers, computer programs, or even sound recordings, among other things. Some files (called text files) can be read and understood easily by humans, while others (called binary files) are formatted so the data they contain can be read quickly and easily by a computer.

Filename.

Just as each folder in a file has a label, each file on the disk has a name. An MS-DOS file can be from 1 to 8 characters long, using any of the following combinations (though some computer packages will not allow some of these)

A..Z, 0..9 and $ # & ( ) % - @ ! ' - { } ~,

As a recommendation you should restrict yourselves to Alphabetic (A..Z) and digits (0..9).

Imbedded spaces are NOT allowed.

Some filenames have special meanings in DOS and may not be used
AUX, CLOCK$, COM, CON, LPT, LST, NUL, PRN

. and .. are two files that exist in sub-directories and record path information for that sub-directory.

File Extensions.

Each file may have an extension, consisting of a full-stop followed by up to 3 characters. The extension is used to identify the type of the file. Many applications (such as MS-WORD) assign specific extensions to identify certain types of data files.

Some file extensions you should identify

Program files (able to be run from the DOS prompt)
.COM .EXE .BAT
(If files have the same name but different extensions (COM, EXE, BAT) DOS will only run one in the following order of precedence. (COM, EXE, BAT).)
Directory entries (Folders within the draws)
No extension (usually)

File Attributes.

As each file is created or modified system data is attached. This includes; the size of the file (in bytes), the date and time the file was last created, as well as any file permissions (used mainly in a network).

Directory (folder).

A directory is a disk table of contents. It contains the names of your files their sizes and last modified dates.

Volume label

When you use a disk you (usually) stick on a label to identify the contents. We can also add an electronic label, called the disk volume.

Disk Drive

Diskette drives are given the letters A and B, and a Hard Disk is labeled from C onwards.

Drive Name

Each file name can be shown with a drive letter to show where it is stored on your computer system.
For example, a file called FINANCES.WP on your floppy disk (drive A) is called A:FINANCES.WP

If a drive is not specified DOS will assume it is the default drive. If you are working with the DOS prompt it is usually the first character on the line (you are able to modify the DOS prompt!)

e.g.

A:\>

Means you are working on drive A (floppy)

C:\>

Means you are working on drive C (Hard Disk)

Disk Formatting

Floppy disk formatting