Changing the Default Drive
To change the default drive, type the letter of the drive you want to
change to, followed by a colon. Then press Enter. For example, to
change the default from A to C, type C : and press Enter. MS-DOS
acknowledges the change by displaying the command prompt C >.
Changing to a new drive is also sometimes called logging onto that
drive.
To access a program or file without first changing the default drive,
use a drive identifier with the filename. For example, if you are logged
onto drive A and type B : PROGRAM, MS-DOS loads and executes the
file named PROGRAM from drive B but stays logged onto drive A.
The MS-DOS Command Format
To enter an MS-DOS command, you need to type the command in
the correct format. The command format provides MS-DOS with the
information needed to perform a task.
The MS-DOS command format consists of the command name,
parameters, and delimiters. The command name tells MS-DOS the
task you want the computer to perform. Parameters specify details
such as what data you want to process and where to locate or store a
file. Delimiters are characters such as spaces or commas that separate
command names and parameters.
For example, the command to format a diskette in drive A is:
FORMAT A:
FORMAT is the command name to execute the file FORMATCOM.
The A: is a parameter that tells the command what to format-in this
case, the diskette in drive A. The space between FORMAT and A: is
the delimiter that lets MS-DOS distinguish the command name
(FORMAT) from the parameter (A:).
Using MS-DOS with Your Equity 386
5-3
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