The format main menu appears similar to the following:
FORMAT MENU: disk - select a disk type - select (define) a disk type partition - select (define) a partition table current - describe the current disk format - format and analyze the disk fdisk - run the fdisk program (x86 only) repair - repair a defective sector label - write label to the disk analyze - surface analysis defect - defect list management backup - search for backup labels verify - read and display labels save - save new disk/partition definitions inquiry - show vendor, product and revision volname - set 8-character volume name !<cmd> - execute <cmd>, then return quit format> |
The following table describes the main menu items for the format utility.
Table 15–1 The Main Menu Item Descriptions for the format Utility
Menu Item |
Command or Menu? |
Description |
---|---|---|
disk |
Command |
Lists all of the system's drives. Also lets you choose the disk you want to use in subsequent operations. This disk is referred to as the current disk. |
type |
Command |
Identifies the manufacturer and model of the current disk. Also displays a list of known drive types. Choose the Auto configure option for all SCSI-2 disk drives. |
partition |
Menu |
Creates and modifies slices. For more information, see partition Menu. |
current |
Command |
Displays the following information about the current disk:
|
format |
Command |
Formats the current disk by using one of these sources of information in this order:
This command does not apply to IDE disks. IDE disks are preformatted by the manufacturer. |
fdisk |
Menu |
x86 platform only: Runs the fdisk program to create a Solaris fdisk partition. The fdisk command cannot be used on disks with an EFI label that are greater than 1 terabyte in size. |
repair |
Command |
Repairs a specific block on the current disk. |
label |
Command |
Writes a new label to the current disk. |
analyze |
Menu |
Runs read, write, and compare tests. For more information, see analyze Menu. |
defect |
Menu |
Retrieves and displays defect lists. For more information, see defect Menu. This feature does not apply to IDE disks. IDE disks manage defects automatically. |
backup |
Command |
VTOC – Searches for backup labels. EFI – Not supported. |
verify |
Command |
Displays the following information about the current disk:
|
save |
Command |
VTOC – Saves new disk and partition information. EFI – Not applicable. |
inquiry |
Command |
SCSI disks only – Displays the vendor, product name, and revision level of the current drive. |
volname |
Command |
Labels the disk with a new eight-character volume name that you specify. |
quit |
Command |
Exits the format menu. |
The partition menu appears similar to the following:
format> partition PARTITION MENU: 0 - change `0' partition 1 - change `1' partition 2 - change `2' partition 3 - change `3' partition 4 - change `4' partition 5 - change `5' partition 6 - change `6' partition 7 - change `7' partition select - select a predefined table modify - modify a predefined partition table name - name the current table print - display the current table label - write partition map and label to the disk quit partition> |
The following table describes the partition menu items.
Table 15–2 Descriptions for partition Menu Items
The fdisk menu appears on x86 based systems only and appears similar to the following.
format> fdisk Total disk size is 14169 cylinders Cylinder size is 2510 (512 byte) blocks Cylinders Partition Status Type Start End Length % ========= ====== ============ ===== === ====== === 1 Active x86 Boot 1 9 9 0 2 Solaris2 10 14168 14159 100 SELECT ONE OF THE FOLLOWING: 1. Create a partition 2. Specify the active partition 3. Delete a partition 4. Change between Solaris and Solaris2 Partition IDs 5. Exit (update disk configuration and exit) 6. Cancel (exit without updating disk configuration) Enter Selection: |
The following table describes the fdisk menu items.
Table 15–3 x86: Descriptions for fdisk Menu Items
Menu Item |
Description |
---|---|
Create a partition |
Creates an fdisk partition. You must create a separate partition for each OS such as Solaris or DOS. There is a maximum of four partitions per disk. You are prompted for the size of the fdisk partition as a percentage of the disk. |
Specify the active partition |
Enables you to specify the partition to be used for booting. This menu item identifies where the first stage boot program looks for the second stage boot program. |
Delete a partition |
Deletes a previously created partition. This command destroys all the data in the partition. |
Change between Solaris and Solaris2 Partition IDs |
Changes partition IDs from 130 (0x82) to 191 (0xbf) and back again. |
Exit (update disk configuration and exit) |
Writes a new version of the partition table and exits the fdisk menu. |
Cancel (exit without updating disk configuration) |
Exits the fdisk menu without modifying the partition table. |
The analyze menu appears similar to the following.
format> analyze ANALYZE MENU: read - read only test (doesn't harm SunOS) refresh - read then write (doesn't harm data) test - pattern testing (doesn't harm data) write - write then read (corrupts data) compare - write, read, compare (corrupts data) purge - write, read, write (corrupts data) verify - write entire disk, then verify (corrupts data) print - display data buffer setup - set analysis parameters config - show analysis parameters quit analyze> |
The following table describes the analyze menu items.
Table 15–4 Descriptions for analyze Menu Items
The defect menu appears similar to the following:
format> defect DEFECT MENU: primary - extract manufacturer's defect list grown - extract manufacturer's and repaired defects lists both - extract both primary and grown defects lists print - display working list dump - dump working list to file quit defect> |
The following table describes the defect menu items.
Table 15–5 The defect Menu Item Descriptions
Subcommand |
Description |
---|---|
primary |
Reads the manufacturer's defect list from the disk drive and updates the in-memory defect list. |
grown |
Reads the grown defect list and then updates the in-memory defect list. Grown defects are defects that have been detected during analysis. |
both |
Reads both the manufacturer's defect list and the grown defect list. Then, updates the in-memory defect list. |
|
Displays the in-memory defect list. |
dump |
Saves the in-memory defect list to a file. |
quit |
Exits the defect menu. |