This chapter describes the format utility's menu and commands.
This is a list of the overview information in this chapter.
See Chapter 28, Disk Management (Overview) for a conceptual overview of when to use the format utility.
You must be superuser to use the format utility. If you are not superuser, you will see the following error message when you try to use format.
% format Searching for disk...done No permission (or no disk found)! |
Back up all files on the disk drive before doing anything else.
Save all your defect lists in files by using format's dump command. The file name should include the drive type, model number, and serial number.
Save the paper copies of the manufacturer's defect list shipped with your drive.
The format main menu looks like 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 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 quit format> |
The table below describes the format main menu items.
Table 32-1 The format Main Menu Item Descriptions
Item |
Command or Menu? |
Allows You To ... |
---|---|---|
disk |
Command |
Choose the disk that will be used in subsequent operations (known as the current disk). All of the system's drives are listed. |
type |
Command |
Identify the manufacturer and model of the current disk. A list of known drive types is displayed. Choose the Auto configure option for all SCSI-2 disk drives. |
partition |
Menu |
Create and modify slices. See "The partition Menu" for more information. |
current |
Command |
Display the following information about the current disk:
|
format |
Command |
Format the current disk, using one of these sources of information in this order:
|
fdisk |
Menu |
Run the fdisk program to create a Solaris fdisk partition. |
repair |
Command |
Repair a specific block on the disk. |
label |
Command |
Write a new label to the current disk. |
analyze |
Menu |
Run read, write, compare tests. See "The analyze Menu" for more information. |
defect |
Menu |
Retrieve and print defect lists. See "The defect Menu" for more information. |
backup |
Command |
Search for backup labels. |
verify |
Command |
Print the following information about the disk:
|
save |
Command |
Save new disk and partition information. |
inquiry |
Command |
Print the vendor, product name, and revision level of the current drive (SCSI disks only). |
volname |
Command |
Label the disk with a new eight-character volume name. |
quit |
Command |
Exit the format menu. |
The partition menu looks like this.
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 table below describes the partition menu items.
Table 32-2 The partition Menu Item Descriptions
The fdisk menu appears on IA based systems only and looks like this.
format> fdisk Total disk size is 1855 cylinders Cylinder size is 553 (512 byte) blocks Cylinders Partition Status Type Start End Length % ========= ====== ======== ===== === ====== === 1 DOS-BIG 0 370 371 20 2 Active SOLARIS 370 1851 1482 80 SELECT ONE OF THE FOLLOWING: 1. Create a partition 2. Change Active (Boot from) partition 3. Delete a partition 4. Exit (Update disk configuration and exit) 5. Cancel (Exit without updating disk configuration) Enter Selection: |
The table below describes the fdisk menu items.
Table 32-3 IA: The fdisk Menu Item Descriptions
The Command ... |
Allows You To ... |
---|---|
Create a partition |
Create an fdisk partition. You must create a separate partition for each operating environment such as Solaris or DOS. There is a maximum of 4 partitions per disk. You will be prompted for the size of the fdisk partition as a percentage of the disk. |
Change Active partition |
Specify which partition will be used for booting. This identifies where the first stage boot program will look for the second stage boot program. |
Delete a partition |
Delete a previously created partition. This command will destroy all the data in the partition. |
Exit |
Write a new version of the partition table and exit the fdisk menu. |
Cancel |
Exit the fdisk menu without modifying the partition table. |
The analyze menu looks like this.
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 table below describes the analyze menu items.
Table 32-4 The analyze Menu Item Descriptions
The defect menu looks like this.
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 table below describes the defect menu items.
Table 32-5 The defect Menu Item Descriptions
The Command ... |
Allows You To ... |
---|---|
primary |
Read the manufacturer's defect list from the disk drive and update the in-memory defect list. |
grown |
Read the grown defect list (defects that have been detected during analysis) and update the in-memory defect list. |
both |
Read both the manufacturer's and grown defect list and update the in-memory defect list. |
|
View the in-memory defect list. |
dump |
Save the in-memory defect list to a file. |
quit |
Exit the defect menu. |
The format data file, /etc/format.dat, contains:
Disk types
Default slice tables
The format.dat file shipped with the Solaris operating environment supports many standard disks. If your disk drive is not listed in the format.dat file, you can choose to add an entry for it or allow format to prompt you for the information it needs while it is performing operations.
Adding an entry to the format.dat file can save time if the disk drive will be used throughout your site. To use the format.dat file on other systems, copy the file to each system that will use the specific disk drive you added to the format.dat file.
You should modify the data file for your system if you have one of the following:
A disk that is not supported by the Solaris operating environment
A disk with a slice table that is different from the Solaris operating environment default configuration
Do not alter default entries. If you want to alter the default entries, copy the entry, give it a different name, and make the modification to avoid confusion.
The format.dat contains specific disk drive information used by the format utility. Three items are defined in the format.dat file:
Search paths
Disk types
Slice tables
The following syntax rules apply to the data file:
The pound sign (#) is the comment character. Any text on a line after a pound sign is not interpreted by format.
Each definition in the format.dat file appears on a single logical line. If the definition is more than one line long, all but the last line of the definition must end with a backslash (\).
A definition consists of a series of assignments that have an identifier on the left side and one or more values on the right side. The assignment operator is the equal sign (=). The assignments within a definition must be separated by a colon (:).
White space is ignored by format. If you want an assigned value to contain white space, enclose the entire value in double quotes ("). This will cause the white space within the quotes to be preserved as part of the assignment value.
Some assignments can have multiple values on the right hand side. Separate values by a comma.
The data file contains disk definitions that are read in by format when it is started. Each definition starts with one of the following keywords: search_path, disk_type, and partition, which are described in the table below.
Table 32-6 format.dat Keyword Descriptions
Keyword |
Use |
---|---|
search_path |
This keyword is no longer used in the format.dat file. Starting with the Solaris 2.0 release, the format utility searchs the logical device hierarchy (/dev) so there is no need to set this keyword to find a system's disks. |
disk_type |
Defines the controller and disk model. Each disk_type definition contains information concerning the physical geometry of the disk. The default data file contains definitions for the controllers and disks that the Solaris operating environment supports. You need to add a new disk_type only if you have an unsupported disk. You can add as many disk_type definitions to the data file as you want. |
partition |
Defines a slice table for a specific disk type. The slice table contains the slice information, plus a name that lets you refer to it in format. The default data file contains default slice definitions for several kinds of disk drives. Add a slice definition if you recreated slices on any of the disks on your system. Add as many slice definitions to the data file as you need. |
disk_type defines the controller and disk model. Each disk_type definition contains the physical geometry of the disk. The default data file contains definitions for the controllers and disks that the Solaris operating environment supports. You need to add a new disk_type only if you have an unsupported disk. You can add as many disk_type definitions to the data file as you want.
The keyword itself is assigned the name of the disk type. This name appears in the disk's label, and is used to identify the disk type whenever format is run. Enclose the name in double quotes to preserve any white space in the name. The table below describes the identifiers that must also be assigned values in all disk_type definitions.
Table 32-7 Required disk_type Identifiers
Identifier |
Description |
---|---|
ctlr |
Valid controller type for the disk type. Currently, the supported values for this assignment are SCSI and ISP-80 (IPI controller). |
ncyl |
The number of data cylinders in the disk type. This determines how many logical cylinders of the disk the system will be allowed to access. |
acyl |
The number of alternate cylinders in the disk type. These cylinders are used by format to store information such as the defect list for the drive. You should always leave at least two cylinders for alternates. |
pcyl |
The number of physical cylinders in the disk type. This number is used to calculate the boundaries of the disk media. This number is usually equal to ncyl plus acyl. |
nhead |
The number of heads in the disk type. This number is used to calculate the boundaries of the disk media. |
nsect |
The number of data sectors per track in the disk type. This number is used to calculate the boundaries of the disk media. Note that this is only the data sectors, any spares are not reflected in the assignment. |
rpm |
The rotations per minute of the disk type. This information is put in the label and later used by the file system to calculate the optimal placement of file data. |
Other assignments might be necessary depending on the controller. The table below describes the assignments required for SCSI controllers.
Table 32-8 disk_type Identifiers for SCSI Controllers
Identifier |
Description |
---|---|
fmt_time |
A number indicating how long it takes to format a given drive. See the controller manual for more information. |
cache |
A number that controls the operation of the onboard cache while format is operating. See the controller manual for more information. |
trks_zone |
A number that specified how many tracks you have per defect zone, to be used in alternate sector mapping. See the controller manual for more information. |
asect |
The number assigned to this parameter specifies how many sectors are available for alternate mapping within a given defect zone. See the controller manual for more information. |
Below are some examples of disk_type definitions:
disk_type = "SUN1.3G" \ : ctlr = SCSI : fmt_time = 4 \ : trks_zone = 17 : asect = 6 : atrks = 17 \ : ncyl = 1965 : acyl = 2 : pcyl = 3500 : nhead = 17 : nsect = 80 \ : rpm = 5400 : bpt = 44823 disk_type = "SUN2.1G" \ : ctlr = SCSI : fmt_time = 4 \ : ncyl = 2733 : acyl = 2 : pcyl = 3500 : nhead = 19 : nsect = 80 \ : rpm = 5400 : bpt = 44823 disk_type = "SUN2.9G" \ : ctlr = SCSI : fmt_time = 4 \ : ncyl = 2734 : acyl = 2 : pcyl = 3500 : nhead = 21 : nsect = 99 \ : rpm = 5400 |
A partition definition keyword is assigned the name of the slice table. Enclose the name in double quotes to preserve any white space in the name. The table below describes the identifiers that must be assigned values in all slice tables.
Table 32-9 Required Identifiers for Slice Tables
Identifier |
Description |
---|---|
disk |
The name of the disk_type that this slice table is defined for. This name must appear exactly as it does in the disk_type definition. |
ctlr |
The disk controller type this slice table can be attached to. Currently, the supported values for this assignment are ISP-80 for IPI controllers and SCSI for SCSI controllers. The controller type specified here must also be defined for the disk_type chosen above. |
The other assignments in a slice definition describe the actual slice information. The identifiers are the numbers 0 through 7. These assignments are optional. Any slice not explicitly assigned is set to 0 length. The value of each of these assignments is a pair of numbers separated by a comma. The first number is the starting cylinder for the slice, and the second is the number of sectors in the slice. Below are some examples of slice definitions:
partition = "SUN1.3G" \ : disk = "SUN1.3G" : ctlr = SCSI \ : 0 = 0, 34000 : 1 = 25, 133280 : 2 = 0, 2672400 : 6 = 123, 2505120 partition = "SUN2.1G" \ : disk = "SUN2.1G" : ctlr = SCSI \ : 0 = 0, 62320 : 1 = 41, 197600 : 2 = 0, 4154160 : 6 = 171, 3894240 partition = "SUN2.9G" \ : disk = "SUN2.9G" : ctlr = SCSI \ : 0 = 0, 195426 : 1 = 94, 390852 : 2 = 0, 5683986 : 6 = 282, 5097708 |
The format utility learns of the location of your data file by the following methods.
If a filename is given with the -x command line option, that file is always used as the data file.
If the -x option is not specified, then format looks in the current directory for a file named format.dat. If the file exists, it is used as the data file.
If neither of these methods yields a data file, format uses /etc/format.dat as the data file. This file is shipped with the Solaris operating environment and should always be present.
When using the format utility, you need to provide various kinds of information. This section describes the rules for this information. See "Using format Help" for information on using format's help facility when inputting data.
Several places in format require an integer as input. You must either specify the data or select one from a list of choices. In either case, the help facility causes format to print the upper and lower limits of the integer expected. Simply enter the number desired. The number is assumed to be in decimal format unless a base is explicitly specified as part of the number (for example, 0x for hexadecimal).
The following are examples of integer input:
Enter number of passes [2]: 34 Enter number of passes [34] Oxf |
Whenever you are required to specify a disk block number, there are two ways to input the information:
Block number as an integer
Block number in the cylinder/head/sector format
You can specify the information as an integer representing the logical block number. You can specify the integer in any base, but the default is decimal. The maximum operator (a dollar sign, $) can also be used here to let format select the appropriate value. Logical block format is used by the SunOS disk drivers in error messages.
The other way to specify a block number is by the cylinder/head/sector designation. In this method, you must specify explicitly the three logical components of the block number: the cylinder, head, and sector values. These values are still logical, but they allow you to define regions of the disk related to the layout of the media.
If any of the cylinder/head/sector numbers are not specified, the appropriate value is assumed to be zero. You can also use the maximum operator in place of any of the numbers and let format select the appropriate value. Below are some examples of cylinder, head, and sector entries:
Enter defective block number: 34/2/3 Enter defective block number: 23/1/ Enter defective block number: 457// Enter defective block number: 12345 Enter defective block number: Oxabcd Enter defective block number: 334/$/2 Enter defective block number: 892//$ |
The format utility always prints block numbers, in both of the above formats. Also, the help facility shows you the upper and lower bounds of the block number expected, in both formats.
Command names are needed as input whenever format is displaying a menu prompt. You can abbreviate the command names, as long as what you enter is sufficient to uniquely identify the command desired.
For example, use p to enter the partition menu from the format menu. Then enter p to display the current slice table.
format> p 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> p |
There are certain times in format when you must name something. In these cases, you are free to specify any string you want for the name. If the name has white space in it, the entire name must be enclosed in double quotes ("). Otherwise, only the first word of the name is used.
The format utility provides a help facility you can use whenever format is expecting input. You can request help about what information is expected by entering a question mark (?). The format utility displays a brief description of what type of input is needed.
If you enter a ? at a menu prompt, a list of available commands is displayed.
The man pages associated with the format utility is format(1M), which describes the basic format utility capabilities and provides descriptions of all command line variables, and format.dat(4), which describes disk drive configuration information for the format utility.