PCMCIA Memory Cards

Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) cards are rugged, credit card-sized, user-installable devices. You can use PCMCIA memory cards in the same way as a diskette, but you can store much larger amounts of data on a PCMCIA memory card.

PCMCIA serial and modem cards provide a convenient way to add an RS-232 interface or data/fax modem functionality to your SPARCstation. PCMCIA cards are available from many vendors. Check with your SunService provider or the PCMCIA card vendor to determine if a device is compatible with your SPARCstation.

To Format a PCMCIA Memory Card

Before using a PCMCIA memory card, you may need to format it. Use the fdformat utility to format diskettes and PCMCIA memory cards.

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Caution -

Formatting deletes all data on a PCMCIA memory card. (See the Table 4-1 table below.)

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1. Format the PCMCIA memory card using the fdformat command:

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   % fdformat option device_name
   

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The following table lists the available options for the fdformat utility.

Table 4-1 fdformat Utility Options

Option	Description
-U	Unmounts the PCMCIA memory card
-d	Installs an MS-DOS file system (UNIX file system is the default)
-f	Does not display confirmation messages before starting to format
-q	Disables print status messages
-x	Installs a Solaris label or an MS-DOS file system; it does not format the PCMCIA memory card
-b label	Specifies a UNIX or MS-DOS label on a PCMCIA memory card
-t dos	Installs an MS-DOS file system (UNIX file system is the default)
-B filename	Installs a special boot loader

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Note -

There is no option in the fdformat utility for installing a NEC-DOS file system on a PCMCIA memory card.

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If you want to format a PCMCIA memory card, you must specify a device name for the PCMCIA memory card. Otherwise, the fdformat utility automatically specifies the diskette drive as the default device.

The format for a device name of a PCMCIA memory card is /dev/rdsk/cntndnsn or /dev/dsk/cntndnsn. For example, the device name /dev/dsk/c1t6d0s2 represents a PCMCIA SRAM memory card with the logical socket controller number 1, the technology number 6, and the slice number 2.

Table 4-2 lists the available device name options for the fdformat utility.

Table 4-2 fdformat Utility Device Name Options

Device Name Option	Description
n	A decimal number
cn	Controller n
tn	Technology region n 0x1 ROM, 0x2 OTPROM, 0x3 EPROM,  0x4 EEPROM, 0x5 FLASH, 0x6 SRAM, 0x7 DRAM
dn	Technology region in type n
sn	Slice n

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Note -

This release supports only one partition on the PCMCIA memory card. Therefore, the partition number sn for the device name must be s2.

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