Chapter 17 Using PCMCIA Memory Cards From the Command Line (Tasks)

This chapter describes all the tasks required to format and use PCMCIA memory cards from the command line in the Solaris environment.

This is a list of the step-by-step instructions in this chapter.

• "How to Format a UFS PCMCIA Memory Card"

• "How to Place a UFS File System on a PCMCIA Memory Card"

• "How to Format a DOS PCMCIA Memory Card"

• "How to Load a PCMCIA Memory Card"

• "How to Examine the Contents of a PCMCIA Memory Card"

• "How to Copy or Move Information From a PCMCIA Memory Card"

• "How to Copy or Move Information to a PCMCIA Memory Card"

• "How to Find Out If a PCMCIA Memory Card Is Still In Use"

• "How to Eject a PCMCIA Memory Card"

• "How to Access PCMCIA Memory Cards on Other Systems"

• "How to Make Local PCMCIA Memory Cards Available to Other Systems"

Formatting PCMCIA Memory Cards Task Map

Using PCMCIA Memory Cards Names

When working with PCMCIA memory cards, you can identify them by name or with a designator from the table below. For brevity, task descriptions use pcmem0, but you can replace this with either the PCMCIA memory card's name or a different designator.

PCATA drives that are not named (that is, they have no "label") are assigned the default name of noname.

Hardware Considerations

A Solaris platform can format PCMCIA memory cards for use on both Solaris and DOS platforms. However, the hardware platform imposes some limitations. They are summarized in the table below.

PCMCIA memory cards formatted for UFS are restricted to the hardware platform on which they were formatted. In other words, a UFS PCMCIA memory card formatted on a SPARC platform cannot be used for UFS on an IA platform. Likewise, PCMCIA memory cards formatted on an IA platform cannot be used on a SPARC platform. This is because the SPARC and IA UFS formats are different.

A complete format for UFS file systems consists of the basic "bit" formatting plus the structure to support a UFS file system. A complete format for a DOS file system consists of the basic "bit" formatting plus the structure to support either an MS-DOS or an NEC-DOS file system. The procedures required to prepare a PCMCIA memory card for each type of file system are different. Therefore, before you format a PCMCIA memory card, consider which file system you are using. See "Formatting PCMCIA Memory Cards Task Map".

To view all the options to the fdformat command, either see fdformat(1) or enter fdformat -z. The -z option displays all the options to the command.

How to Format a UFS PCMCIA Memory Card

As mentioned in the introduction, a UFS PCMCIA memory card formatted on a SPARC based platform can be used only on another SPARC based platform, and a UFS PCMCIA memory card formatted on an IA platform can be used only on an IA platform running the Solaris Intel Platform Edition.

Formatting a PCMCIA memory card erases any pre-existing content.

1. Quit File Manager.

   File Manager automatically displays a formatting window when you insert an unformatted PCMCIA memory card. To avoid the window, quit File Manager. If you prefer to keep File Manager open, quit the formatting window when it appears.

2. Make sure the PCMCIA memory card is write-enabled.

   Write-protection is controlled by a small slide switch in the end of the PCMCIA memory card.

3. Insert the PCMCIA memory card.

   Make sure the PCMCIA memory card is completely inserted.

4. Invoke formatting.

   $ fdformat -v -U [convenience-options]

   -v		Verifies whether the PCMCIA memory card was formatted correctly.
   -U		Unmounts the PCMCIA memory card if it is mounted.
   convenience-options
   	-e	Ejects the PCMCIA memory card when done formatting.
   	-f	Forces formatting without asking for confirmation.
   	-b label	Names the PCMCIA memory card. label must be eight characters or less, upper or lower case.
   	-z	Lists all the options to the fdformat command, but does not format the PCMCIA memory card.

   The fdformat command displays a confirmation message (unless you used the -f option), indicating the type of formatting to be performed:

   Formatting in /vol/dev/aliases/pcmem0 Press return to start formatting pcmem0.

5. Select one of the options in the table below.

   To ...	Press ...
   Confirm the type of formatting	Return (unless you used the -f option in the previous step, in which case no confirmation is necessary)
   Cancel formatting	Control-c

   As the formatting progresses, a series of dots is displayed. As the verification progresses, a series of Vs appears beneath the dots. When the series stops, the formatting is complete.

   The PCMCIA memory card is now ready for raw character operations such as tar and cpio.

Examples--Formatting a UFS PCMCIA Memory Card

Following are examples of UFS formatting.

$ fdformat -v -U
Formatting in /vol/dev/aliases/unformatted
Press return to start formatting pcmem0. [ Return ]
.........................................................
vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

The following example performs the same job, but assigns the PCMCIA memory card the name myfiles:

$ fdformat -v -U -b myfiles
Formatting in /vol/dev/aliases/unformatted
Press return to start formatting pcmem0. [ Return ]
.........................................................
vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

How to Place a UFS File System on a PCMCIA Memory Card

Even though the procedure for adding a UFS file system is the same for UFS PCMCIA memory cards formatted on IA platforms and SPARC based platforms, a UFS PCMCIA memory card formatted on a SPARC based platform can only be used on another SPARC based platform, and a UFS PCMCIA memory card formatted on an IA platform can only be used on a IA platform.

1. Format the PCMCIA memory card for a UFS file system.

   Use the procedure "How to Format a UFS PCMCIA Memory Card".

2. Use the newfs(1M) command and the full pathname to the Volume Management directory to create a UFS file system on the PCMCIA memory card.

   $ /usr/sbin/newfs -v /vol/dev/aliases/pcmem0

   -v	Prints status messages.
   /vol/dev/aliases/pcmem0	Indicates the location of the memory card.

   The newfs(1M) command displays a message asking you to confirm the creation of the file system.

3. Confirm the creation of the file system.

   newfs: construct a new file system \ /vol/dev/aliases/pcmem0:(y/n)? y

   A status message is displayed, indicating the particulars of the file system and the PCMCIA memory card's formatting:

   mkfs -F ufs /vol/dev/aliases/pcmem0 2848 8 2 8192 1024 16 \ 10 60 2048 t 0 -1 8 -1 /vol/dev/aliases/pcmem0: 2848 sectors in 128 cylinders of \ 2 tracks, 8 sectors 1.0MB in 8 cyl groups (16 c/g, 0.12MB/g, 64 i/g) super-block backups (for fsck -F ufs -o b=#) at: 32, 304, 544, 816, 1056, 1328, 1568, 1840

   The PCMCIA memory card is now ready to be used on a SPARC based platform. However, before Volume Management recognizes the memory card, you must use the volrmmount(1) command as described in the following step.

4. Use the volrmmount command with the -i option to notify Volume Management that the memory card is inserted.

   $ volrmmount -i pcmem0

   The PCMCIA memory card should now be mounted under /pcmem/pcmem0.

5. Verify the UFS file system is on the PCMCIA card by using the ls command on the /pcmem directory.

   If the pcmem0 subdirectory appears, the PCMCIA memory card has a UFS file system and has been mounted properly.

   $ ls /pcmem pcmem0

Example--Placing a UFS File System on a PCMCIA Memory Card

$ volcheck -v
media was found
$ /usr/sbin/newfs -v /vol/dev/aliases/pcmem0
newfs: construct a new file system  \
/vol/dev/aliases/pcmem0:(y/n)? y
mkfs -F ufs /vol/dev/aliases/pcmem0 ...

$ volrmmount -i pcmem0

media was found

How to Format a DOS PCMCIA Memory Card

You can format a DOS PCMCIA memory card on a SPARC or IA based platform. The steps are similar, except that instead of a SunOS file system being placed on the PCMCIA memory card, a DOS file system, either MS-DOS or NEC-DOS, is put on the file system.

Formatting a PCMCIA memory card erases any pre-existing content.

1. Quit File Manager.

   File Manager automatically displays a formatting window when you insert an unformatted PCMCIA memory card. To avoid the window, quit File Manager. If you prefer to keep File Manager open, quit the formatting window when it appears.

2. Make sure the PCMCIA memory card is not write-protected.

   Write-protection is controlled by a small slide switch in the end of the PCMCIA memory card.

3. Insert the PCMCIA memory card.

   Make sure the PCMCIA memory card is completely inserted. It must drop down into the drive.

4. Invoke formatting.

   $ fdformat -v -U [density-options convenience-options]

   -v		Verifies whether the PCMCIA memory card was formatted correctly.
   -U		Unmounts the PCMCIA memory card, if it is mounted.
   density-options		If the drive density is 1.44 Mbytes, density-options are:
   	-d	Formats for MS-DOS.
   	-t nec -M	Formats at 1.2 Mbytes for NEC-DOS.
   		Lists all the options to the fdformat command, but does not format the PCMCIA memory card.
   convenience-options
   	-e	Ejects the PCMCIA memory card when done formatting.
   	-f	Does not ask for confirmation before formatting.
   	-b label	Name for the PCMCIA memory card. label must be eight characters or less, upper or lower case.
   	-z	Lists all the options to the fdformat command, but does not format the PCMCIA memory card.

   ---

   Note -

   If you try to format a 720 Kbyte (DD) diskette for 1.44 Mbytes, fdformat will not stop you unless you include the -v option. With the -v option, fdformat will format the diskette, but the verification will catch the error and notify you with the following message: fdformat: check diskette density, I/O error

   ---

   The fdformat command displays a confirmation message, indicating the type of formatting to be performed:

   Formatting 1.44 M in /vol/dev/rdiskette0/unformatted Press return to start formatting floppy.

5. Select one of the options in the table below.

   To ...	Press ...
   Confirm the type of formatting	Return (unless you used the -f option in the previous step, in which case no confirmation is necessary)
   Cancel formatting	Control-c

   As the formatting progresses, a series of dots is displayed. As the verification progresses, a series of Vs appears beneath the dots. When the series stops, the formatting is complete and the PCMCIA memory card is ready for use on a DOS system.

6. Use the volrmmount command with the -i option to notify Volume Management that the memory card is inserted.

   $ volrmmount -i pcmem0

   Volume Management mounts the PCMCIA memory card under /pcmem/pcmem0.

Using PCMCIA Memory Cards Task Map

How to Load a PCMCIA Memory Card

1. Make sure the PCMCIA memory card is formatted.

   If you aren't sure, insert it and check the status messages in the Console, as described in "Using PCMCIA Memory Cards Task Map". If you need to format the PCMCIA memory card, go to "How to Format a UFS PCMCIA Memory Card" or "How to Format a DOS PCMCIA Memory Card".

2. Insert the PCMCIA memory card.

   Make sure the PCMCIA memory card is completely inserted. It must drop down into the drive. If the drive has a door, close it.

3. Notify Volume Management.

   $ volcheck -v media was found

   Two status messages are possible:

   media was found

   Volume Management detected the PCMCIA memory card and will attempt to mount it in the /pcmem directory.   If the PCMCIA memory card is formatted properly, no error messages appear in the Console.     If the PCMCIA memory card is not formatted, the "media was found" message is still displayed, but the following error messages appear in the Console: fd0: unformatted diskette or no diskette in the drive fd0: read failed (40 1 0) fd0: bad format You must format the PCMCIA memory card before Volume Management can mount it. Instructions are provided on "How to Format a UFS PCMCIA Memory Card" (for UFS) and "How to Format a DOS PCMCIA Memory Card" (for DOS).

   no media was found

   Volume Management did not detect a PCMCIA memory card. Make sure the PCMCIA memory card is inserted properly and run volcheck again. If unsuccessful, check the PCMCIA memory card; it could be damaged. You can also try to mount the PCMCIA memory card manually.

4. Verify that the PCMCIA memory card was mounted by listing its contents.

   $ ls /pcmem/pcmem0 pcmem0 myfiles

   As described earlier, pcmem0 is a symbolic link to the actual name of the PCMCIA memory card; in this case, myfiles. If the PCMCIA memory card has no name but is formatted correctly, the system will refer to it as unnamed_floppy.

   If nothing appears under the /pcmem directory, the PCMCIA memory card was either not mounted or is not formatted properly. To find out, run the mount command and look for the line that begins with /pcmem (usually at the end of the listing):

   /pcmem/name on /vol/dev/diskette0/name ...

   If the line does not appear, the PCMCIA memory card was not mounted. Check the Console for error messages.

How to Examine the Contents of a PCMCIA Memory Card

Use the ls -L command because some directories under /pcmem are symbolic links:

$ ls -L [-l] pcmem0

Example--Displaying the Contents of a PCMCIA Memory Card

The following example lists the contents of the PCMCIA memory card in the first floppy drive, identified by pcmem0.

$ ls -L -l /pcmem/pcmem0
-rwxrwxrwx  1 smith  staff 362284  Nov 16 20:54  text.doc
-rwxrwxrwx  1 smith  staff  24562  Nov 16 12:20  art.gif

How to Copy or Move Information From a PCMCIA Memory Card

Once you have inserted a PCMCIA memory card, you can access its files and directories just as you would those of any other file system. The only significant restrictions are ownership and permissions. For instance, if you are not the owner of a file on a PCMCIA memory card, you won't be able to overwrite that file on the PCMCIA memory card. Or, if you copy a file into your file system, you'll be the owner, but that file won't have write permissions (because it never had them on the PCMCIA memory card); you'll have to change the permissions yourself.

1. Make sure the PCMCIA memory card is formatted and mounted.

   $ ls /pcmem pcmem0 PCMCIAmemorycard-name

   If the PCMCIA memory card is properly formatted and mounted, its name and the symbolic link will appear under /pcmem.

   If nothing appears under the /pcmem directory, the PCMCIA memory card is not mounted. See "How to Load a PCMCIA Memory Card". The PCMCIA memory card might also need to be formatted. See "How to Format a UFS PCMCIA Memory Card" or "How to Format a DOS PCMCIA Memory Card".

2. Copy the files or directories.

   To Copy ...	Use ...
   A file	cp
   A directory	cp -r

3. Verify the copy or move operation by using the ls command.

Examples--Copying or Moving Information From a PCMCIA Memory Card

The first example, below, moves a file (readme.doc) from the PCMCIA memory card to the current directory (indicated by the "." symbol). The second example copies a file (readme2.doc) from the PCMCIA memory card to the current directory. The third example copies a directory (morefiles) and everything below it from the PCMCIA memory card to the current directory.

$ mv /pcmem/pcmem0/readme.doc .
$ cp /pcmem/pcmem0/readme2.doc .
$ cp -r /pcmem/pcmem0/morefiles .

How to Copy or Move Information to a PCMCIA Memory Card

1. Make sure the PCMCIA memory card is not write-protected.

   Write-protection is controlled by a small slide switch in the end of the PCMCIA memory card.

2. Make sure the PCMCIA memory card is formatted and mounted.

   $ ls /pcmem pcmem0 PCMCIAmemory-card-name

   If the PCMCIA memory card is properly formatted and mounted, its name and the symbolic link, pcmem0, will appear under /pcmem.

   If nothing appears under the /pcmem directory, the PCMCIA memory card is not mounted. See "How to Load a PCMCIA Memory Card". The PCMCIA memory card might also need to be formatted. See "How to Format a UFS PCMCIA Memory Card" or "How to Format a DOS PCMCIA Memory Card".

3. Move or copy the files or directories.

   To ...	Use ...
   Copy a file	cp
   Copy a directory	cp -r
   Move a file or directory	mv

4. Verify the move or copy operation by using the ls command.

Examples--Copying or Moving Information to a PCMCIA Memory Card

The first example, below, moves a file (readme.doc) from the current directory to the PCMCIA memory card loaded into the first floppy drive (indicated by /pcmem/pcmem0). The second example copies a file (readme2.doc) from the current directory to the PCMCIA memory card loaded into the second floppy drive (indicated by /pcmem/pcmem1). The third example copies a directory (morefiles) and its contents from the /home/smith/directory to the PCMCIA memory card loaded into the first floppy drive.

$ mv readme.doc /pcmem/pcmem0
$ cp readme2.doc /pcmem/pcmem1
$ cp -r /home/smith/morefiles /pcmem/pcmem0

How to Find Out If a PCMCIA Memory Card Is Still In Use

1. Become superuser.

2. Invoke the fuser(1M) command.

   The fuser command lists the processes that are currently accessing the CD that you specify.

   # fuser -u [-k] pcmem0

   -u		Displays the user of the PCMCIA memory card.
   -k		Kills the process accessing the PCMCIA memory card.

Example--Finding Out If a PCMCIA Memory Card Is Still in Use

In the following example, the processes 6400c and 6399c are accessing the /pcmem/pcmem0 directory, and the process owners are root and smith, respectively.

# fuser -u /pcmem/pcmem0
/pcmem/pcmem0: 6400c(root)  6399c(smith)

You can kill the processes individually (as superuser), or you can use the fuser command with the -k option, which kills all the processes accessing that file system:

# fuser -u -k /pcmem/pcmem0
/pcmem/pcmem0: 6400c(root)Killed  6399c(smith)Killed

The fuser command might not always identify all the killed processes. To be sure, run it again with the -u option.

How to Eject a PCMCIA Memory Card

1. Make sure the PCMCIA memory card is not being used.

   Remember, a PCMCIA memory card is "being used" if a shell or an application is accessing any of its files or directories.

   If you are not sure whether you have found all users of a PCMCIA memory card (a renegade shell hidden behind a desktop tool might be accessing it), use the fuser command, as described in "How to Find Out If a PCMCIA Memory Card Is Still In Use".

2. Eject the PCMCIA memory card.

   # eject pcmem0

   You'll have to eject the PCMCIA memory card by hand. If you are running Windows, look for an onscreen message that says you can now eject the PCMCIA memory card.

   If the PCMCIA memory card is still in use, the following message appears:

   /vol/dev/pcmem/noname: Device busy

   In this case, return to Step 1 and make sure no one is using the PCMCIA memory card, then eject it again.

How to Access PCMCIA Memory Cards on Other Systems

You can access a PCMCIA memory card on another system by mounting it manually into your file system--provided the other system has shared its PCMCIA memory card drive according to the instructions in "How to Make Local PCMCIA Memory Cards Available to Other Systems".

1. Select an existing directory to serve as the mount point or create one.

   $ mkdir directory

   directory

   The name of the directory that you create to serve as a mount point for the other system's PCMCIA memory card.

2. Find the name of the PCMCIA memory card you want to mount.

   When you manually mount a remote PCMCIA memory card, you cannot use the pcmem0 or floppy1 variables available with your local PCMCIA memory cards. You must use the exact PCMCIA memory card name. To find it, use the ls command on the remote system's /pcmem directory. If the automounter is running, you can simply cd to the system whose PCMCIA memory card you want to mount and then use the ls command. If the automounter is not running, you'll have to use another method, such as logging in remotely.

3. As superuser, mount the PCMCIA memory card.

   # mount -F nfs system-name:/pcmem/PCMCIAmemory-card-name local-mount-point

   system-name	The name of the system whose PCMCIA memory card you want to mount.
   PCMCIAmemory-card-name	The name of the PCMCIA memory card you want to mount.
   local-mount-point	The local directory onto which you will mount the remote PCMCIA memory card.

4. Log out as superuser.

5. Verify that the PCMCIA memory card is indeed mounted by using the ls command to list the contents of the mount point.

   $ ls /pcmem

Example--Accessing PCMCIA Memory Cards on Other Systems

This example mounts the PCMCIA memory card named myfiles from the remote system mars onto the /pcmem directory of the local system.

$ cd /net/mars
$ ls /pcmem
pcmem0     myfiles
$ su
Password: password
# mount -F nfs mars:/pcmem/myfiles /pcmem
# exit
$ ls /pcmem
myfiles

How to Make Local PCMCIA Memory Cards Available to Other Systems

You can configure your system to share its PCMCIA memory cards; in other words, you can make any PCMCIA memory cards in those drives available to other systems. Once your PCMCIA memory card drives are shared, other systems can access the PCMCIA memory cards they contain simply by mounting them, as described in "How to Access PCMCIA Memory Cards on Other Systems".

1. Become superuser.

2. Find out whether the NFS daemon (nfsd) is running.

   # ps -ef | grep nfsd root 14533 1 17 10:46:55 ? 0:00 /usr/lib/nfs/nfsd -a 16 root 14656 289 7 14:06:02 pts/3 0:00 grep nfsd

   If the daemon is running, a line for /usr/lib/nfs/nfsd will appear, as shown above. If the daemon is not running, only the grep nfsd line will appear.

3. Select an option from the following table.

   If ...	Then ...
   nfsd is running	Go to Step 8
   nfsd is not running	Continue with Step 4

4. Create a dummy directory for nfsd to share.

   # mkdir /dummy-dir

   dummy-dir

   Can be any directory name; for example, dummy. This directory will not contain any files. Its only purpose is to "wake up" the NFS daemon so that it notices your shared PCMCIA memory cards.

5. Add the following entry into the /etc/dfs/dfstab file.

   share -F nfs -o ro [-d comment] /dummy-dir

   When you start the NFS daemon, it will see this entry, "wake up," and notice the shared PCMCIA memory card drive. Note that the comment (preceded by -d) is optional.

6. Start the NFS daemon.

   # /etc/init.d/nfs.server start

7. Verify that the NFS daemon is indeed running.

   # ps -ef | grep nfsd root 14533 1 17 10:46:55 ? 0:00 /usr/lib/nfs/nfsd -a 16 root 14656 289 7 14:06:02 pts/3 0:00 grep nfsd

8. Eject any PCMCIA memory card currently in the drive.

   # eject pcmem0

9. Assign write permissions to /etc/rmmount.conf.

   # chmod 644 /etc/rmmount.conf

10. Add the following lines to /etc/rmmount.conf.

    # File System Sharing share floppy*

    These lines share any PCMCIA memory card loaded into your system's PCMCIA memory card drives.

11. Remove write permissions from /etc/rmmount.conf.

    # chmod 444 /etc/rmmount.conf

    This step returns the file to its default permissions.

12. Load a PCMCIA memory card.

    --Insert the PCMCIA memory card-- # volcheck -v media was found

    The PCMCIA memory card you now load, and all subsequent PCMCIA memory cards, will be available to other systems. To access the PCMCIA memory card, the remote user must mount it by name, according to the instructions in "How to Access PCMCIA Memory Cards on Other Systems".

13. Verify that the PCMCIA memory card is indeed available to other systems by using the share command.

    If the PCMCIA memory card is available, its share configuration will be displayed. (The shared dummy directory will also be displayed.)

    # share - /dummy ro "dummy dir to wake up NFS daemon" - /myfiles rw ""

Example--Making Local PCMCIA Memory Cards Available to Other Systems

The following example makes any PCMCIA memory card loaded into the local system's PCMCIA memory card drive available to other systems on the network.

# ps -ef | grep nfsd
    root 10127  9986  0 08:25:01 pts/2    0:00 grep nfsd
    root 10118     1  0 08:24:39 ?        0:00 /usr/lib/nfs/nfsd -a
# mkdir /dummy
# vi /etc/dfs/dfstab
(Add the following line:)
share -F nfs -o ro  /dummy
# eject pcmem0
# chmod 644 /etc/rmmount.conf
# vi /etc/rmmount
(Add the following line to the File System Sharing section:)
share floppy*
# chmod 444 /etc/rmmount.conf
(Load a PCMCIA memory card.)
# volcheck -v
media was found
# share
-               /dummy   ro   ""  
-               /pcmem/myfiles   rw   ""