How to Create a File System on a USB Mass Storage Device Without vold Running

Use this procedure to add a file system to a USB mass storage device with removable media services disabled.

A USB diskette must be formatted before you can add a file system to it. All other USB mass storage devices just need a PCFS or UFS file system before they can be used. Keep the following key points in mind when formatting a USB diskette:

• Do not use the rmformat -F except on a USB diskette.

• If the default slices are not acceptable, use the rmformat -s command to create slices. Use the fdisk utility to partition a USB device, if needed. For step-by-step instructions, see:

  • How to Modify Partitions and Create a PCFS File System on a USB Mass Storage Device Without vold Running

  • How to Create a Solaris Partition and Modify the Slices on a USB Mass Storage Device Without vold Running

Perform steps 7–8 only if you need to format a USB diskette.

1. Become superuser.

2. For information on disabling removable media services, see How to Disable or Enable Removable Media Services.

3. Verify that removable media services are not running.

   # svcs volfs STATE STIME FMRI disable 10:39:12 svc:/system/filesystem/volfs:default

4. Add the USB device to your system.

   For information on hot-plugging USB devices, see:

   • Hot-Plugging USB Mass Storage Devices

   • Hot-Plugging USB Devices With the cfgadm Command (Task Map)

5. (Optional) Identify the USB device.

   The following example identifies a USB diskette device.

   # cd /dev/rdsk # ls -l c*0 | grep usb lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 55 Mar 5 10:35 c2t0d0s0 -> ../../devices/pci@1f,0/usb@c,3/storage@3/disk@0,0:a,raw

   In this example, the diskette device is c2t0d0s0.

6. Insert a diskette into the diskette drive, if necessary.

7. Format the diskette, if necessary.

   % rmformat -F long raw-device

   For example, on a SPARC system:

   % rmformat -F long /dev/rdsk/c2t0d0s2

   For example, on an x86 system:

   % rmformat -F long /dev/rdsk/c3t0d0p0

8. Determine the file system type and select one of the following:

   • Create a PCFS file system.

     # mkfs -F pcfs -o nofdisk,size=size raw-device

     Specify the -size option in 512-byte blocks.

     The following example shows how to create a PCFS file system on a 1.4-MB diskette on a SPARC system:

     # mkfs -F pcfs -o nofdisk,size=2880 /dev/rdsk/c4t0d0s2

     The following example shows how to create a PCFS file system on a 1.4-MB diskette on an x86 system:

     # mkfs -F pcfs -o nofdisk,size=2880 /dev/rdsk/c4t0d0p0

     The following example shows how to create a PCFS file system on a 100-MB USB memory stick on a SPARC system:

     # mkfs -F pcfs /dev/rdsk/c5t0d0s2:c

     The following example shows how to create a PCFS file system on a 100-MB USB memory stick on an x86 system:

     # mkfs -F pcfs /dev/rdsk/c5t0d0p0:c

     This command can take several minutes to complete.

   • Create a UFS file system.

     # newfs raw-device

     For example:

     # newfs /dev/rdsk/c4t0d0s7

     Consider using the newfs -f 4096 option or newfs -T option for large USB hard disks.

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     Note –

     UFS file system overhead consumes a significant portion of space on a diskette, due to a diskette's limited storage capacity.

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   See the next two procedures for a detailed example of creating a PCFS file system and modifying slices on a USB mass storage device.