Disk drives are devices from which information is retrieved or to which information is written or stored. An Amiga can have one or more hard disk drives, as well as floppy disk drives, depending on the model. All Amiga floppy disk drives can use low density floppy disks. However, if you have a high density floppy disk drive on your Amiga, you can also use high density floppy disks. Refer to the hardware manual that came with your system if you are not sure about the type of floppy disk drive you have.
Each disk drive has a device name, such as DF0: for the internal floppy drive. (Additional floppy drives are designated DF1:, DF2:, and DF3:). A disk icon is displayed on the Workbench screen for each disk inserted in a drive and for each hard disk partition.
The device name and the volume name are two ways of identifying a given disk. For most purposes use either name to refer to the disk when entering a path or within a file requester. The device name refers to the disk that is in the specified disk drive. The volume name refers specifically to a particular disk. For example, if you have a floppy disk in device DF0: with a volume name of Mydisk, you can reference it as either DF0: or Mydisk:. Referencing the disk as Mydisk: lets you insert Mydisk into any drive, not only DF0:.
Each drive has an activity light that is lit when the device is in use, either reading or writing data.
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Never reboot or turn off you Amiga and never remove a floppy disk from a floppy disk drive when any of the drive activity lights are lit or you risk damaging the drive and/or the files on the disk. |
The standard 3,5-inch floppy disk can be inserted only one way. Insert the disk into the disk drive with the label side facing up and the metal end with the indicator arrow entering first.
Floppy disks must be write-enabled and formatted before information can be written on them. To write-enable a floppy disk, turn the disk to its back side and push the plastic tab in the upper left corner down to cover the hole. Conversely, to write-protect a floppy disk, push the plastic tab up, uncovering the hole Figure 2-5 illustrates the write-enable/protect tab on a floppy disk. Formatting floppy disks is described in Chapter 3.
Write Protecting/Enabling Floppy Disks
The disk from which information is copied is referred to as the source disk (FROM disk). The disk to which the information is copied is referred to as the destination disk (TO disk). The source disk should always be write-protected to avoid accidental erasure. The destination disk can be a blank disk or a previously used disk whose contents are no longer needed. This disk must be write-enabled to accept the information from the source disk.
The Ram Disk icon represents RAM:, an area of the Amiga's internal memory that is set up as a file storage device like a disk. Files, directories, and entire floppy disk (available memory permitting) can be copied to RAM: for temporary storage. The Ram Disk serves as a work area that the system can quickly access.
The size of RAM: is dynamic. It is never any larger than necessary to hold its contents. Therefore, it is always 100% full. Its maximum size is limited by the amount of free memory.
The primary advantage of RAM: is speed. Since it is electronic rather than mechanical, storage and retrieval are almost instantaneous. The disadvantage of RAM: is that data stored in RAM: does not survive when the computer is powered down or rebooted. You must save to floppy disk or to hard disk anything in the Ram Disk that you want to use again.
Applications commonly use RAM: to store temporary files created when the program runs or for backup files created when the program is exited. RAM: can also be used as storage for experimental script files, as a destination for testing command output, and when the creation of a file on an actual disk is too slow, risky, or inconvenient.
Be careful when using RAM: for storing important files. If the Amiga loses power, has a software failure, or you reboot, everything stored in RAM: is lost. Be sure when working with RAM: to regularly back up any important files onto disk.
Backup disks ensure against a loss of data in the event of damage, corruption, or accidental erasure of the original disk. We recommend that you make backup copies of important disks and files, following the licensing agreements provided with your applications software. Making and distributing unlicensed copies of disks is a copyright violation known as software piracy. Store your original disks in a safe place and use your backup disks for everyday purposes. For information on making backup copies of your system disks on floppy-only systems, see Appendix B.
