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Epson LT - 286e User Manual

Page 68

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The

C>

prompt that appears when you load MS-DOS from the

hard disk tells you that drive C, your hard disk, is the current

drive (also called the default drive). The current drive is the one

that MS-DOS uses for all commands unless you specify a

different drive. For example, if the current drive is drive C and

you type the name of a program, MS-DOS searches drive C for

the program.

If you want to run a program or find a data file on a different

drive, you must specify the name of that drive. You can do this

either by logging onto that drive (making it the current drive)

or by including the drive letter with the filename.

To log onto another drive, type the name of the drive followed

by a colon. Then press Enter. For example, if the current drive

is C and you want to log onto drive A, type

A:

and press Enter.

Your screen now displays the

A>

prompt, showing that you are

operating from drive A. Drive A continues to be the current

drive until you log onto a different drive or turn off or reset your

computer.

To access a program or file on another drive without first

logging onto that drive, specify the drive identifier (the name of

the drive followed by a colon) along with the filename. For

example, if you are logged onto drive C and you want to run a

program called WP that is stored on drive A, type

A

:

WP

and

press Enter. MS-DOS runs the program on drive A but remains

logged onto drive C.

Note

You can reverse the drive identifiers for the internal 3

and the external 5

diskette drives by setting DIP

switch SW2-2 to OFF. See “Setting the DIP Switches,” in

Appendix A.

Using MS-DOS With Your Computer

3-3