Caring for your floppies
- Don't open the metal shutter. If you do open it (you should not) don't touch the medium inside.
- Don't use a disk (or drive) that has just come in from the cold or that's been sitting in the sun. Wait for it to reach room temperature before using it.
- Keep away from magnets and magnetic fields.
- To remove the gunk that accumulated on the read/write head of the floppy drive, use a cleaning disk regularly (3M and Curtis make good cleaning disks).
Locking disks and files
To lock a disk so nothing can be changed on it, and so it can't be accidentally deleted, simply slide the simple tab in the upper right corner so that the square hole is open. A disk that's licked shows a lock (what else?) in the upper left corner of its window. It's a very good idea to lock all your master disks.
To lock an individual file or application program just select the icon, choose get info from the
File menu in the Finder and check locked in the dialog box that appears.
This is the only way to eject your floppy disk when the computer is off or in emergency situations while your computer is on.
To do this straighten-out a paper clip and push firmly in the tiny round hole to the right of the floppy drive slot.
The notes are based on The Macintosh Bible, 4th Edition, Arthur Naiman et. al., Peachpit Press, 1987-92.
| Return to Molecular Microbiology Home Page
Send suggestions and comments to: www@borcim.wustl.edu |
WWW
Department of Molecular Microbiology, Box 8230
Washington University School of Medicine
St. Louis, MO 63110-1093 USA |
Tel 314-362-7059
FAX 314-362-1232
Last updated September 7, 1995. |