Preparing Your Computer

1)  Windows XP and older versions of Windows may be configured to hide file extensions by default.  To avoid confusion and headaches, you should make sure that file extensions are displayed.  You can do this by opening "My Computer", clicking on Tools -> Folder Options, going to the View tab, unchecking the box labeled "Hide file extensions for known file types" (you may need to scroll down to find it), and clicking on the OK button.

2)  To simplify your life, you should keep the assembler and simulator in the same folder.  You should also create, edit, assemble, and simulate your programs in this same folder.  If you want to keep things tidy, you can move the program files into another directory when you are done with the lab.  For example, when you are done with lab assignment 1, you can move the files called "lab1.asm", "lab1.lst", and "lab1.s19" into another folder called "lab1".