DOS abc's - How a disk is organized

DOS abc's - How a disk is organized

The DOS abc's tutorials are in sequence. Be sure to read this one first.

A, B, C
DOS and Windows disk drives are identified by a letter and colon. The floppy drive is A:, and the hard drive is C: Additional hard drives, CD-ROMs, Zip drives and other removable drives are named D:, E: and so on. The letter B: used to be the second floppy drive, which is conspicuously absent in machines today.

The default drive is the drive DOS works on unless you tell it otherwise. It is usually drive C: since your hard disk contains most everything.

DIRECTORIES
Disks are further divided into simulated file folders. Each of them is called a directory or folder, and its size is limited only by the unused space left on the disk.

Your software package's install program usually creates the directory for you and copies the appropriate files into it. But there are times when you'll want to create your own directories and move files among them, say for example to transfer office work to your home computer.

Root Directory
A disk is organized in a hierarchical fashion like an organization chart. The top, or starting point, of the hierarchy is the root directory (folder). Only startup and configuration files are placed in the root directory on the hard disk. Applications are stored in their own directories, which are subordinate to the root directory.

With floppies, it's just the opposite. Everything is typically stored in the root directory, because floppies are usually dedicated to a single purpose.

Remember!
When working with files or executing programs from the DOS command line or even from Windows Explorer, your reference point is always a disk drive and a particular directory on that drive. This is known as the

"current" drive and directory, or

"working" drive and directory, or

"default" drive and directory.