THE ATARI®810™DISKDRIYETHE ATARI® 800™COMPUTER SYSTEM

OWNER'S GUIDE . . ~"

JI,-AlARI@ A Warner Communications Company a

With the addition of the ATARI81O™Disk Drive to your ATARIHome Computer, you havegreatly increased the efficiencyof your system. Severalindividual files can be stored ona diskette and each file can beaccessed directly, by name.The disk drive transfers data toyour computer much faster thanthe ATARI 41O™ProgramRecorder.

Your ATARI 810 Disk Drive issimple to connect and easy touse. Follow the step-by-stepinstructions on the followingpages.

CONNECTINGYOUR ATARI 810DISKDRIYE

1Turn off the power to allparts of your computer

system.

2 Plug the AC Power Adapterinto the wall socket. Plug

the smaller end into the holemarked PWR on the back of thedisk drive.

3Plug one end of the I/O DataCord into the jack on the

side of the computer consolemarked PERIPHERAL. Plug theother end into one of the jacksmarked I/O CONNECTORS onthe back of the disk drive. If youhave an ATARI 410 Program Re-corder, plug it into the remainingI/O CONNECTOR jack.

Since your television creates astrong magnetic field, yourATARI810 Disk Drive should beplaced as far away from it aspossible. This will help protectthe magnetic head in the diskdrive from losing its sensitivity.

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4 Turn on the disk drive.When the red BUSYlight

goes off, open the door to thedisk drive by pushing the rec-tangular button to the left of theATARI810 label.

5 Insert the diskette you wantto use and close the disk

drive door.

6 Turn on the computer. Ifyou're using the ATARI

BASIC cartridge, your disk driveis ready for use when theREADY prompt appears on thescreen. If you're using a car-tridge or program other thanATARIBASIC, read the instruc-tions for that program to find outhow to use it with your diskdrive.

CONNECTINGMORE THAN ONEDISKDRIYE

You can attach up to four ATARI810 Disk Drives, as well as othercomponents, to your ATARIHomeComputer. Disk drives andthe Program Recorder are con-nected to each other in a "daisychain" using the data cords sup-plied with each component.

You may have noticed that thereare two I/O CONNECTOR jackson the back of each disk drive.To install multiple drives, con-nect a data cord from the I/OCONNECTOR of the first diskdrive to the I/O CONNECTOR of

the computer console. Then con-nect the next disk drive by run-ning a data cord from it to the re-maining I/O CONNECTOR onthe first.

If you have more than one ATARI810 Disk Drive, you must set twosmall switches on each diskdrive so that the computer knowswhich drive you are referring toin your programs or commands.You must always have one diskdrive in the chain set as Drive 1.

1Turn off the power to thedisk drive, then turn the disk

drive so that you are looking atthe back of it.

2 Using a pen or a screw-driver, set the Drive Code

No. switches to match the DriveCode number shown in thediagrams. Set Disk Drive 2 tomatch DRIVE No.2, etc.

TAKING CAREOF YOUR

DISKETTES

The recording surface of adiskette is similar to the record-ing surface on a program cas-sette. Each is coated with amagnetic material that storesyour data. Careful handling andstorage of your diskettes ensureslonger life.

Diskettes are enclosed in a blackenvelope. Most diskettes have asmall notch in the edge, calledthe "write-protect notch." Bycovering this notch with the rec-tangular tabs provided by themanufacturer, you can preventany accidental computer opera-tions that might destroy the dataon the diskette.

Do not use pencil erasers on diskettelabels. Eraser dust is abrasive and willdamage the diskette.

Do not write on your diskettes with apencil or a ball-point pen. The sharppoint of a pencil or ball-point pen canscore the surface of the diskette. Use afelt-tippen to mark the diskette label orwrite on the label before you put it onthe diskette.

Do not store your diskettes in directsunlight. Keep them away from anyexcessive heat.

Do not bend your diskettes; they mustturn freely in the protective envelope.Handle them with care when loading orunloading.

Because the diskette turns inside theenvelope, damage to the envelope canresult in damage to the diskette.

Store your diskettes away from yourtelevision set. The strong magnetic fieldsproduced by the television can partiallyerase the data stored. Keep your disk-ettes away from electrical devices (aswell as the telephone).

Never wet or wash a diskette. Use a softbrush or compressed air from a spraycan to remove any dust from the surface.

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Store each diskette in its paper sleeveand store them standing on edge to pre-vent damage to the magnetic surface.

Never touch the diskette where it is ex-posed through the diskette envelope.Fingerprints can damage the magneticmedium.

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Do not attach paper clips to yourdiskettes.

WHERETOGOFROMHERE

The ATARIHome ComputerSystem is designed for modularexpansion. All ATARIperipheraldevices plug together quickly,making it easy to get the new ad-dition to your system on-line andfunctioning. This means thatyour system can grow as yourneeds grow.

ATARI 810 DISK DRIVENow that you have purchasedone disk drive, why would youneed more? You'll find that ad-ditional disk drives in yoursystem increase the amount ofdata you can store and retrievequickly. A second disk drivemakes it much easier to makebackup files by directlyduplicating your Master Disketteor file without first loading the fileinto computer memory.

ATARI850™INTERFACE MODULEThe ATARI830™AcousticModem and the ATARI825™80-Column Printer connect toyour ATARIHome Computerthrough the ATARI850Interface Module. The interfacemodule offers four program-mable serial interface ports(compatible with the industrystandard RS-232-C)and aCentronics-type parallel port.

ATARI MEMORY MODULESTMThe memory of the ATARI800Home Computer can be easilyexpanded (up to 48K of RAM)with the addition of ATARIMemory Modules. Thesemodules are easily installed inthe slots behind your existing10KROM Memory Module.

ATARI830™ACOUSTIC MODEMThe acoustic modem gives youaccess to local and national databases and data base networksthrough your telephone. You caneven communicate with anotherATARIHome Computer user.The ATARI850 Interface Moduleis required to connect themodem to your system.

ATARI410™PROGRAM RECORDERAs with the disk drive, you canstore and retrieve data or pro-grams on cassette tape using theATARI410 Program Recorder.Because of the inexpensive cost,many programs are sold oncassette. The Program Recorderalso has an audio track that canbe used to record music or ver-bal program instructions that areplayed back while your programis loading.

ATARI82?MTHERMAL PRINTERThis quiet and compact40-column printer has a bidirec-tional print head that allows it toprint in both directions. It prints5 x 7 dot-matrix characters onthermal paper. The ATARI822Thermal Printer can be con-nected directly to your computerconsole.

ATARI825™80-COLUMN PRINTERThe 80-column printer prints aline up to eight inches in lengthin four different charactermodes. It is a dot-matrix impactprinter that can be programmedby your computer to producehalf spacing, underlining, andjustified right (flush right)margins. The printer uses rollpaper, fanfold (including three-part forms), or single sheets. TheATARI825 Printer also requiresthe ATARI850 Interface Module.

Now that you have installed yournew ATARI810 Disk Drive, you'llwant to begin using it right away.Although connecting the diskdrive is relatively simple, you'llfind that learning to use it takes abit longer.

Included with your disk drive isa Master Diskette II. This disk-ette contains a programcalled the Disk OperatingSystem, or DOS. Although DOS isnot a complicated program, itdoes take a bit of practice beforeyou will feel comfortable with it.To help you get going as quicklyas possible, we have includedtwo books about DOS: one is anintroductory book; the other is adetailed reference manual.

An Introduction to the DiskOperating System is for first-timeusers. It explains what DOS isand how to use its most importantfeatures. Once you have readthis book and followed theexamples, you'll be able to usemany DOS functions such assaving and loading programs,making copies of programs,deleting programs from adiskette, and copying entirediskettes.

The Disk Operating System IIReference Manual is a far moredetailed and extensive expla-nation of DOS. It will be easier tounderstand if you have read theother book first. Not only doesthe reference manual cover all ofthe DOS functions, but it does soin much greater detail. The ref-erence manual also contains awealth of information of par-ticular interest to serious pro-grammers.

MANUAl CONTENTS © 1981 ATARI, INC. PfillNTED IN U.S.A. C060056 REV. i

A Warner Communications Company GEvery effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the product documentation in this manual. However, because ATARI, INC. is constantly improvingand updating the computer software and hardware, we are unable to guarantee the accuracy of the printed material, or accept responsibility for errorsor omissions after the date of publication.

No reproduction is allowed without the specific written permission of ATARIJNC., Sunnyvale, CA 94086. Nor can this document or the subject matterthereof be reproduced without written agreement or written permission from the Corporation.