DOS Media Utilities: Comparing Two Floppy Disks Which DOS command is specifically used to compare the contents of two floppy disks?

Introduction / Context:
DOS provides several floppy-disk utilities. Two that are often confused are DISKCOPY and DISKCOMP. Understanding the difference between copying and comparing is essential when verifying backups, diagnosing media issues, or validating duplication work on legacy systems.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Working DOS environment with two floppy drives or the ability to swap disks.
• Goal is to verify whether two disks contain identical data, sector by sector.
• Commands must be run from the DOS prompt.

Concept / Approach:
DISKCOMP compares the contents of two floppy disks and reports any differences. DISKCOPY, by contrast, creates a duplicate of a disk (source → destination). FORMAT prepares a disk and does not compare contents.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Insert source disk in drive A: and target disk in drive B:.Run DISKCOMP A: B: to compare sector contents.Review output for messages indicating identical disks or listing sectors that differ.

Verification / Alternative check:
To ensure a good clone, first use DISKCOPY A: B: and then run DISKCOMP A: B: to verify equality, especially when data integrity is critical.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
DISKCOPY (Options A and C variants) copies; it does not compare.FORMAT A: B: (Option D) is invalid syntax and unrelated to comparison.

Common Pitfalls:

• Assuming a successful copy implies correctness; always verify with DISKCOMP when needed.
• Using file-level comparison utilities can miss structural disk differences versus sector-level checks.

Final Answer:
DISKCOMP