Formating floppy disks and deleting files

1. How can I format a floppy disk? I accidentally deleted the formatted programs off a floppy that was formatted when I bought it.

2. I have several icons on my Desktop with '.exe' extensions. Can they be deleted without deleting the program? If not, can I click and drag them into Program Files under My Computer?

Thank you for responding.

This question was answered on November 10, 2001. Much of the information contained herein may have changed since posting.

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Thanks for your question You generally don't want to delete EXE, COM, or BAT files as these are programs

Files NOT to delete:

Anything in your SYSBCKUP directory.

0Your Registry (SYSTEM.DAT, SYSTEM.DA0, USER.DAT, USER.DA0), as well as SYSTEM.1ST, which you can use if the first four become corrupted.

Any files in your root directory not mentioned above

If in doubt:

If you're not sure if something should be deleted, try moving it to another directory first to see if it makes a difference.

Check the file's date - if it's recent, most likely it's still being used.

For information on removing a particular application, contact the manufacturer of that application, or refer to the application's documentation

To format a floppy disk; install your disk in the floppy drive and then with your pointer double click on my computer Go to drive "A" and right click on that drive You'll see a menu come up on your screen and on that menu you should see "FORMAT" Click on FORMAT and you'll be asked whether you want to quick erase or full erase Either one will do it Usually when I re-format a disk I go for the full

Good luck and have fun.

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Posted by Jeffrey of Chandler-Gilbert Community College on November 10, 2001

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