Epson LT-286 - Manual (Page 50)

There are three essential steps involved in preparing the hard disk
for use:
l
Creating one or more partitions for the MS-DOS operating
system
l
Formatting the MS-DOS partition(s)
l
Copying files from the Operating 2 and Reference diskettes to
the hard disk.
Partitioning the disk prepares it to receive the MS-DOS system
files. You use the FDISK program to perform this step.
Formatting a partition prepares the partition to receive data. You
use the FORMAT command to perform this step.
You use the COPY command to copy essential MS-DOS programs
and Epson-supplied utility programs from your Operating 2 and
Reference diskettes to your hard disk.
Note
The instructions in this chapter assume that MS-DOS is the
only operating system you are going to use on your hard disk. If
you’re going to use another operating system in addition to
MS-DOS, you may need to create an additional partition. For
information about how to do this, consult the chapter an FDISK
in your MS-DOS manual. If you want to set up your hard disk to
run another operating system only, consult the manual fur that
operating system.
With MS-DOS version 3.3, you can create one or more partitions
on the hard disk. You must create a primary partition, which is
where MS-DOS is stored and from which your computer loads the
operating system. Additionally, you can create an extended
partition, which you can use to store additional programs or data.
If you have a 20MB hard disk, you probably need only one
partition. If you have a 40MB hard disk, however, it is best to
create an extended partition in addition to the primary partition.
3-2 Preparing the Hard Disk
for Use