40 MS-DOS User's Guide
o
E
Default disk drive
The
drive
where
MS-DOS
searches
for any
filenames that
you
may
type_
MS-DOS looks for files in
the
default
drive unless you specify a different drive_
The
standard
MS-DOS
prompt
contains
the
default drive letter_ For example,
if
the
prompt
is
A>,
then
"A"
is
the
default drive_
Del An MS-DOS
command
that tells MS-DOS
to
delete
one
or
more
files_
A synonym for
del
is erase_
Device errors Errors that MS-DOS displays
while
reading
or
writ-
ing
to
devices
on
your
computer_ A
device
can
be, for example,
a printer, a disk drive,
or
a monitor_
Dir
An
MS-DOS
command
that means "directory_"
When
you
type
the
dir
command, MS-DOS displays
the
contents
of
the
disk in
the
default drive_
The
command
dir
b:
displays
the
contents
of
the
disk in drive
B_
Directory A table
of
contents
for a
disk
The
directory
contains
the
names
of
your
files,
the
sizes
of
the
files,
and
the
dates
they
were
created
or
last modified_
Disk See Floppy disk;
Hard
disk_
Disk drive A
piece
of
hardware
attached
to
your
computer_ A
disk drive
can
be
either
a floppy
or
a
hard
disk drive_ You insert
floppy disks
into
floppy disk drives_ Usually,
hard
disks
are
built
into
the
computer_
Floppy disk drives are
commonly
referred
to
as
the
A drive
and
the
B drive_ Hard disks are usually
the
C drive_
Your
computer
manual
should
tell
you
how
your
drives are labeled_
Disk operating system A
group
of
programs
that
act
as a trans-
lator
between
you
and
your
computer_ MS-DOS is a disk
operating
system_
Diskcopy An MS-DOS
command
that
copies
disks_
diskcopy
for-
mats a disk before copying files
onto
it_
Drive name Consists
of
a drive
letter
and
a colon_ A drive
name
tells MS-DOS
which
drive
to
search
for
the
file_
For example,
the
command
type
aprogress.
rpt
contains
a drive
name
(a:)
that tells
MS-DOS
to
look
on
the
disk in drive A for
the
file called
progress.
rpt_
Editor A
program
that allows you
to
manipulate
text
and
data
on
the
computer_ Editors allow you
to
move, add,
and
delete
charac-
ters
and
lines,
and
to
save
files_
The
MS-DOS
editor
is called edlin_
Edlin A line-oriented
editor
that
comes
with
MS-DOS_ See also
Editor_
To Next Page
Loading...
