How to Format Removable Media (rmformat)

The rmformat command formats the media and by default creates two partitions on the media: partition 0 and partition 2 (the whole media).

1. Verify that volume manager is running, which means you can use the shorter nickname for the device name.

   $ ps -ef | grep vold root 212 1 0 Nov 03 ? 0:01 /usr/sbin/vold

   See System Administration Guide, Volume I for information on determining removable media device names and starting volume manager if it is not running.

2. Format the removable media.

   $ rmformat -F [ quick | long | force ] device-name

   See the section above for more information on rmformat formatting options.

   If the rmformat output indicates bad blocks, see the procedure below for repairing bad blocks.

3. (Optional) Label the removable media with an 8-character label to be used in the Solaris environment.

   $ rmformat -b label device-name

   See mkfs_pcfs(1M) for information on creating a DOS label.

Examples--Formatting Removable Media

This example formats a diskette.

$ rmformat -H /dev/rdiskette
Formatting will erase all the data on disk.
Do you want to continue? (y/n) y
.........................................................................

This example formats a Zip drive.

$ rmformat -F quick zip0
Formatting will erase all the data on disk.
Do you want to continue? (y/n) y
.........................................................................