Commodore PC - File Protection; How MS-DOS Keeps Track of Your Files

2 MS-DOS User's Reference
Protecting your files File Protection
The ms-dos operating system is a powerful and useful tool for pro
cessing personal and business information. As with any computer,
though, errors may occur and information may be misused. So, if
you are doing work that cannot be replaced or that requires a lot
of security, you should protect your programs.
You can take simple but effective measures like putting your disks
away when you're not using them, or covering the write-protect
notch on your program disks. Also, if your disks contain valuable
information, you should make backup copies of them on a regular
basis. Another way to protect your programs is by installing your
equipment in a secure office or work area.
Allocation Table How MS-DOS Keeps Track of Your Files
As you learned in themsdos User's Guide, ms-dos stores files in
directories. In addition to directories, it uses an area on a disk
called the File Allocation Table. When you format a disk with the
format command, ms-dos copies this table onto the disk and
creates an empty directory, called the root directory. So, on each
of your disks, the directories store the files, and the File Alloca
tion Table keeps track of their locations. The table also allocates
the free space on your disks so that you have enough room to
create new files.
File Allocation
Table
File 1
File 2
File 3
location
location
location
File
File
File
Directory
1
2
3
size date
size date
size date
u
u
u
u
u
u
o
O
O