Section 9.9. Formatting a Floppy Disk

9.9. Formatting a Floppy Disk

Most floppies sold in stores today are preformatted , meaning they're ready for Windows XP to save data to them. (If your local stores no longer carry floppies, Amazon [www.amazon.com] still offers them for sale.) But if your PC can't read a floppy, formatting it may give it a second life. Formatting deletes anything stored on the floppy, but if you can't read anything from it, you don't have much to lose.

To format a floppy, insert it (label side-up) into your floppy drive, and then right-click it in My Computer. Choose Format, and then click the Start button. If Windows XP has trouble formatting the floppy, throw it away and start with a fresh one. If a floppy can't be formatted, it's not worth saving.