man pages section 1: User Commands

fdformat(1)

Name

fdformat– format floppy diskette or PCMCIA memory card

Synopsis

fdformat [-dDeEfHlLmMUqvx] [-b label] [-B filename] 
     [-t dostype] [devname]

Description

The fdformat utility has been superseded by rmformat(1), which provides most but not all of fdformat's functionality.

fdformat is used to format diskettes and PCMCIA memory cards. All new blank diskettes or PCMCIA memory cards must be formatted before they can be used.

fdformat formats and verifies the media and indicates whether any bad sectors were encountered. All existing data on the diskette or PCMCIA memory card, if any, is destroyed by formatting. If no device name is given, fdformat uses the diskette as a default.

By default, fdformat uses the configured capacity of the drive to format the diskette. A 3.5 inch high-density drive uses diskettes with a formatted capacity of 1.44MB. A 5.25 inch high-density drive uses diskettes with a formatted capacity of 1.2MB. In either case, a density option does not have to be specified to fdformat. However, a density option must be specified when using a diskette with a lower capacity than the drive's default. Use the -H option to format high-density diskettes (1.44MB capacity) in an extra-high-density (ED) drive. Use the -D option, the -l option, or the -L option to format double- density (or low-density) diskettes (720KB capacity) in an HD or ED drive. To format medium-density diskettes (1.2MB capacity), use the -M option with -t nec (this is the same as using the -m option with -t nec).

Extended density uses double-sided, extended-density or extra-high-density (DS/ED) diskettes. Medium and high densities use the same media: double-sided, high-density (DS/HD) diskettes. Double (low) density uses double-sided, double-density (DS/DD

D) diskettes. Substituting diskettes of one density for diskettes of either a higher or lower density generally does not work. Data integrity cannot be assured whenever a diskette is formatted to a capacity not matching its density.

A PCMCIA memory card with densities from 512KB to 64MB may be formatted.

fdformat writes new identification and data fields for each sector on all tracks unless the -x option is specified. For diskettes, each sector is verified if the -v option is specified.

After formatting and verifying, fdformat writes an operating-system label on block 0. Use the -t dos option (same as the -d option) to put an MS-DOS file system on the diskette or PCMCIA memory card after the format is done. Use the -t nec option with the -M option (same as the -m option) to put an NEC-DOS file system on a diskette. Otherwise, fdformat writes a SunOS label in block 0.

Options

The following options are supported:

-b label

Labels the media with volume label. A SunOS volume label is restricted to 8 characters. A DOS volume label is restricted to 11 upper-case characters.

-B filename

Installs special boot loader in filename on an MS-DOS diskette. This option is only meaningful when the -d option (or -t dos) is also specified.

-D

Formats a 720KB (3.5 inch) or 360KB (5.25 inch) double-density diskette (same as the -l or -L options). This is the default for double-density type drives. It is needed if the drive is a high- or extended-density type.

-e

Ejects the diskette when done. This feature is not available on all systems.

-E

Formats a 2.88MB (3.5 inch) extended-density diskette. This is the default for extended-density type drives.

-f

Forces formatting, that is, this option does not ask for confirmation before starting format.

-H

Formats a 1.44MB (3.5 inch) or 1.2MB (5.25 inch) high-density diskette. This is the default for high-density type drives; it is needed if the drive is the extended-density type.

-M

Writes a 1.2MB (3.5 inch) medium-density format on a high-density diskette (use only with the -t nec option). This is the same as using -m.

This feature is not available on all systems.

-q

Quiet; does not print status messages.

-t dos

Installs an MS-DOS file system and boot sector formatting. This is equivalent to the DOS format command or the -d option.

-t nec

Installs an NEC-DOS file system and boot sector on the disk after formatting. This should be used only with the -M option. This feature is not available on all systems.

-U

Performs umount on any file systems and then formats. See mount(1M).

-v

Verifies each block of the diskette after the format.

-x

Skips the format and only writes a SunOS label or an MS-DOS file system.

Operands

The following operands are supported:

devname

Replaces devname with rdiskette0 (systems without Volume Management) or floppy0 (systems with Volume Management) to use the first drive or rdiskette1 (systems without Volume Management) or floppy1 (systems with Volume Management) to use the second drive. If devname is omitted, the first drive, if one exists, is used. For PCMCIA memory cards, replace devname with the device name for the PCMCIA memory card which resides in /dev/rdsk/cNtNdNsN or /dev/dsk/cNtNdNsN. If devname is omitted, the default diskette drive, if one exists, is used.

If devname is omitted, the default diskette drive, if one exists, will be used. N represents a decimal number and can be specified as follows:

cN

Controller N

tN

Technology type N:

 
0x1       ROM
0x2       OTPROM
0x3       EPROM
0x4       EEPROM
0x5       FLASH
0x6       SRAM
0x7       DRAM

dN

Technology region in type N.

sN

Slice N.

The following options are provided for compatibility with previous versions of fdformat. Their use is discouraged.

-d: Formats an MS-DOS floppy diskette or PCMCIA memory card (same as -t dos). This is equivalent to the MS-DOS FORMAT command.
-l: Formats a 720KB (3.5 inch) or 360KB (5.25 inch) double-density diskette (same as -D or -L). This is the default for double-density type drives; it is needed if the drive is the high- or extended-density type.
-L: Formats a 720KB (3.5 inch) or 360KB (5.25 inch) double-density diskette (same as -l or -D). This is the default for double-density type drives.
-m: Writes a 1.2 MB (3.5 inch) medium- density format on a high-density diskette (use only with the- t nec option). This is the same as using -M. This feature is not available on all systems.

Files

/vol/dev/diskette0: Directory providing block device access for the media in floppy drive 0.
/vol/dev/diskette0: Directory providing character device access for the media in floppy drive 0.
/vol/dev/aliases/floppy0: Symbolic link to the character device for the media in floppy drive 0.
/dev/rdiskette: Directory providing character device access for the media in the primary floppy drive, usually drive 0.
/vol/dev/dsk/cNtNdNsN: Directory providing block device access for the PCMCIA memory card. See OPERANDS for a description of N.
/vol/dev/rdsk/cNtNdNsN: Directory providing character device access for the PCMCIA memory card. See OPERANDS for a description of N.
/vol/dev/aliases/pcmemS: Symbolic link to the character device for the PCMCIA memory card in socket S where S represents a PCMCIA socket number.
/dev/rdsk/cNtNdNsN: Directory providing character device access for the PCMCIA memory card. See OPERANDS for a description of N.
/dev/dsk/cNtNdNsN: Directory providing block device access for the PCMCIA memory card. See OPERANDS for a description of N.

Attributes

See attributes(5) for descriptions of the following attributes:

ATTRIBUTE TYPE	ATTRIBUTE VALUE
Availability	SUNWcsu

x86 Only

fd(7D)

Notes

A diskette or PCMCIA memory card containing a ufs file system created on a SPARC based system (by using fdformat and newfs(1M)), is not identical to a diskette or PCMCIA memory card containing a ufs file system created on an x86 based system. Do not interchange ufs diskettes or memory cards between these platforms. Use cpio(1) or tar(1) to transfer files on diskettes or memory cards between them. A diskette or PCMCIA memory card formatted using the -t dos option (or -d) for MS-DOS does not have the necessary system files, and is therefore not bootable. Trying to boot from it on a PC produces the following message:

Non-System disk or disk error. 
Replace and strike any key when ready

Bugs

Currently, bad sector mapping is not supported on floppy diskettes or PCMCIA memory cards. Therefore, a diskette or memory card is unusable if fdformat finds an error (bad sector).

SunOS 5.10 Last Revised 16 Mar 2000