Concepts

What is a disk or diskette?

3½ inch, 1.4MB, High Density Diskette

A diskette is a device for storing data. Computer data files can be stored on a diskette in much same the way that music can be stored on a cassette. A diskette consists of a thin round magnetically coated disk inside a square plastic case.

To prevent loss of data there are some precautions you should follow:

Keep diskettes away from magnetic devices such as speakers, monitors, and television sets.
Keep diskettes away from direct sunlight and heat. (The dashboard of your car is not a good place to store diskettes.)
Keep diskettes away from dust and other pollutants.
Don't touch the surface of the magnetically coated disk inside the plastic case. If the temptation is just too great, use one of your neighbor's diskettes or one of the many AOL diskettes that have been sent to every man, woman and child in the world.

Even if you follow all precautions there is a reasonable chance one of your diskettes will develop a defect that prevents the data from being recovered from it. For this reason it is always a good idea to back up your data on a separate diskette.

Follow this link for a real life account about what can happen if you don't keep a backup.