Chapter 13 Formatting and Using Diskettes From the Command Line (Tasks)

This chapter describes all the tasks required to format and use diskettes from the command line in the Solaris environment. This is a list of the step-by-step instructions in this chapter.

• "How to Format a UFS Diskette"

• "How to Place a UFS File System on a Diskette"

• "How to Format a DOS Diskette"

• "How to Load a Diskette"

• "How to Examine the Contents of a Diskette"

• "How to Copy or Move Information From a Diskette"

• "How to Copy or Move Information to a Diskette"

• "How to Find Out If a Diskette Is Still in Use"

• "How to Eject a Diskette"

• "How to Access Diskettes on Other Systems"

• "How to Make Local Diskettes Available to Other Systems"

Formatting Diskettes Task Map

Using Diskette Names

When working with diskettes, you can identify them by name or with a designator from Table 13-2. For brevity, task descriptions use floppy0, but you can replace this with either the diskette name or a different designator.

Diskettes that are not named (that is, they have no "label") are assigned the default name of noname.

Hardware Considerations

A Solaris system can format diskettes for use on both Solaris and DOS systems. However, the hardware platform imposes some limitations. They are summarized in the table below.

Diskettes formatted for UFS are restricted to the hardware platform on which they were formatted. In other words, a UFS diskette formatted on a SPARC platform cannot be used for UFS on an x86 platform, nor can a diskette formatted on an x86 platform be used on a SPARC platform. This is because the SPARC and x86 UFS formats are different. SPARC uses little-endian bit coding, x86 uses big-endian.

A complete format for SunOS file systems consists of the basic "bit" formatting plus the structure to support a SunOS file system. A complete format for a DOS file system consists of the basic "bit" formatting plus the structure to support either an MS-DOS or an NEC-DOS file system. The procedures required to prepare a diskette for each type of file system are different. Therefore, before you format a diskette, consider which procedure to follow. See "Formatting Diskettes Task Map".

On a Solaris system (either SPARC or x86), you can format diskettes of seven different densities (provided you have the appropriate drive).

By default, the diskette drive formats a diskette to a like density. In other words, a 1.44 Mbyte drive attempts to format a diskette for 1.44 Mbytes, whether the diskette is in fact a 1.44 Mbyte diskette or not--unless you instruct it otherwise. You can tell a 1.44 Mbyte drive to format a diskette to, for instance, 720 Kbytes. You cannot, however, instruct a 720 Kbyte drive to format a diskette to 1.44 Mbyte. In other words, a diskette can be formatted to its capacity or lower, and a drive can format to its capacity or lower.

To instruct a drive to format a diskette to a non-default density, use the fdformat command as instructed in the following tasks, but use the appropriate density option from Table 13-3, below.

To view all the options to the fdformat command, either see fdformat(1) or enter fdformat -z. The -z option displays all the options to the command.

If you don't know the default density of your drive, begin the formatting process with the default setting (that is, no density options) and observe the configuration message. It will look something like this:

Formatting 1.44 M in /vol/dev/rdiskette0/unformatted
Press return to start formatting floppy.

The confirmation message indicates the drive's default density. For instance, in the example above, the default density of the drive is 1.44 Mbytes. If the density is not what you expected, use Control-c to escape the formatting process and start over.

How to Format a UFS Diskette

As mentioned in "Hardware Considerations", a UFS diskette formatted on a SPARC platform can only be used on another SPARC platform, and a UFS diskette formatted on an x86 platform can only be used on an x86 platform running Solaris.

Formatting a diskette erases any pre-existing content.

1. Quit File Manager.

   File Manager automatically displays a formatting window when you insert an unformatted diskette. Unfortunately, File Manager formatting is unreliable. To avoid the window, quit from File Manager. If you prefer to keep File Manager open, quit the formatting window when it appears.

2. Make sure the diskette is write-enabled.

   On both 3.5-inch and 5.25 inch diskettes, write-protection is controlled by a small tab in either the lower left or lower right corner. If you can see through the square hole behind the tab, the diskette is write-protected. If the hole is covered by the tab, the diskette is write-enabled. (If you need to eject the diskette to examine it, simply type eject floppy in a shell.)

3. Insert the diskette.

   Make sure the diskette is completely inserted.

4. Invoke formatting.

   $ fdformat -v -U [density-options convenience-options]

   -v		Verifies whether the diskette was formatted correctly.
   -U		Unmounts the diskette if it is mounted.
   density-options		If the drive density is 1.44 Mbytes, density-options are:
   	--none--	Formats a 1.44 Mbyte diskette.
   	-D	Formats a 720 Kbyte diskette.
   		A complete list of density-options appears in Table 13-3.
   convenience-options
   	-e	Ejects the diskette when done formatting.
   	-f	Forces formatting without asking for confirmation.
   	-b label	Names the diskette. label must be eight characters or less, upper or lower case.
   	-z	Lists all the options to the fdformat command, but does not format the diskette.

   ---

   Note -

   If you try to format a 720 Kbyte (DD) diskette for 1.44 Mbytes, fdformat will not stop you unless you include the -v option. With the -v option, fdformat will format the diskette, but the verification will catch the error and notify you with the following message: fdformat: check diskette density, I/O error

   ---

   The fdformat command displays a confirmation message (unless you used the -f option), indicating the type of formatting to be performed:

   Formatting 1.44 M in /vol/dev/rdiskette0/unformatted Press return to start formatting floppy.

5. Select one of the options in the table below.

   To ...	Press ...
   Confirm the type of formatting	Return (unless you used the -f option in the previous step, in which case no confirmation is necessary)
   Cancel formatting	Control-c

   As the formatting progresses, a series of dots is displayed. As the verification progresses, a series of V's appears beneath the dots. When the series stops, the formatting is complete.

   The diskette is now ready for raw character operations such as tar and cpio.

Examples--Formatting a UFS Diskette

Following are several examples of UFS formatting. The first example formats a 1.44 Mbyte diskette on a 1.44 Mbyte drive:

$ fdformat -v -U
Formatting 1.44 M in /vol/dev/rdiskette0/unformatted
Press return to start formatting floppy. [ Return ]
.......................................................
vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

The following example performs the same job, but assigns the diskette the name myfiles:

$ fdformat -v -U -b myfiles
Formatting 1.44 M in /vol/dev/rdiskette0/unformatted
Press return to start formatting floppy. [ Return ]
.......................................................
vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

The following example formats a 720Kbyte diskette on a 1.44 Mbyte drive, and names it myfiles:

$ fdformat -v -U -D -b myfiles
Formatting 720 KB in /vol/dev/rdiskette0/unformatted
Press return to start formatting floppy. [ Return ]
.......................................................
vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
 

How to Place a UFS File System on a Diskette

Even though the procedure for adding a UFS file system is the same for UFS diskettes formatted on x86 platforms and SPARC platforms, a UFS diskette formatted on a SPARC platform can only be used on another SPARC platform, and a UFS diskette formatted on an x86 platform can only be used on an x86 platform running Solaris.

1. Format the diskette for a UFS file system.

   Use "How to Format a UFS Diskette".

2. Create a SunOS file system on the diskette.

   $ /usr/sbin/newfs -v /vol/dev/aliases/floppy0

   -v	Prints status messages.
   /vol/dev/aliases/floppy0	Indicates the location of the floppy.

   The newfs(1M) command displays a message asking you to confirm the creation of the file system.

3. Confirm the creation of the file system.

   newfs: construct a new file system /vol/dev/aliases/floppy0:(y/n)? y

   A status message is displayed, indicating the particulars of the file system and the diskette's formatting.

   The diskette is now ready to be used on a SPARC platform. However, before Volume Management recognizes it, you must run the volrmmount command, as described in the following steps.

4. Invoke the volrmmount command using the -i option to notify Volume Management that the diskette is inserted.

   $ volrmmount -i floppy0

5. Verify that the UFS file system is on the diskette by using the ls command on the /floppy directory.

   If the floppy0 subdirectory appears, the diskette has a UFS file system and has been mounted properly.

   $ ls /floppy floppy0

Example--Placing a UFS File System on a Diskette

$ volcheck -v
media was found
$ /usr/sbin/newfs -v /vol/dev/aliases/floppy0
newfs: construct a new file system /vol/dev/aliases/floppy0: (y/n)? y
mkfs -F ufs /vol/dev/aliases/floppy0 2880 18 2 8192 1024 16 10 5 2048 
t 0 -1 8 15
/vol/dev/aliases/floppy0:  2880 sectors in 80 cylinders of 2 tracks, 
18 sectors
        1.4MB in 5 cyl groups (16 c/g, 0.28MB/g, 128 i/g)
super-block backups (for fsck -F ufs -o b=#) at:
 32, 640, 1184, 1792, 2336,
$ volrmmount -i floppy0
$ ls /floppy
floppy0

How to Format a DOS Diskette

You can format a DOS diskette on a SPARC or x86 Solaris platform. The steps are similar, except that instead of a SunOS file system being placed on the diskette, a DOS file system, either MS-DOS or NEC-DOS, is put on the file system.

Formatting a diskette erases any pre-existing content.

1. Quit File Manager.

   File Manager automatically displays a formatting window when you insert an unformatted diskette. Unfortunately, File Manager formatting is unreliable. To avoid the window, quit from File Manager. If you prefer to keep File Manager open, quit the formatting window when it appears.

2. Make sure the diskette is not write-protected.

   On both 3.5-inch and 5.25 inch diskettes, write-protection is controlled by a small tab in either the lower left or lower right corner. If you can see through the square hole behind the tab, the diskette is write-protected. If the hole is covered by the tab, the diskette is write-enabled. (If you need to eject the diskette to examine it, simply type eject floppy in a shell.)

3. Insert the diskette.

   Make sure the diskette is completely inserted. It must drop down into the drive.

4. Invoke formatting.

   $ fdformat -v -U [density-options convenience-options]

   -v		Verifies whether the diskette was formatted correctly.
   -U		Unmounts the diskette if it is mounted.
   density-options		If the drive density is 1.44 Mbytes, density-options are:
   	-d	Formats at 1.44 Mbytes for MS-DOS.
   	-d -D	Formats at 720 Kbytes for MS-DOS.
   	-t nec -M	Formats at 1.2 Mbytes for NEC-DOS.
   		A complete list of density-options appears in Table 13-3.
   convenience-options
   	-e	Ejects the diskette when done formatting.
   	-f	Does not ask for confirmation before formatting.
   	-b label	Name for the diskette. label must be eight characters or less, upper or lower case.
   	-z	Lists all the options to the fdformat command, but does not format the diskette.

   ---

   Note -

   If you try to format a 720 Kbyte (DD) diskette for 1.44 Mbytes, fdformat will not stop you unless you include the -v option. With the -v option, fdformat will format the diskette, but the verification will catch the error and notify you with the following message: fdformat: check diskette density, I/O error

   ---

   The fdformat command displays a confirmation message, indicating the type of formatting to be performed:

   Formatting 1.44 M in /vol/dev/rdiskette0/unformatted Press return to start formatting floppy.

5. Select one of the options in the table below.

   To ...	Press ...
   Confirm the type of formatting	Return (unless you used the -f option in the previous step, in which case no confirmation is necessary).
   Cancel formatting	Control-c.

   As the formatting progresses, a series of dots is displayed. As the verification progresses, a series of V's appears beneath the dots. When the series stops, the formatting is complete and the diskette is ready for use on a DOS system.

6. Run the volrmmount(1) command using the -i option to notify Volume Management that the diskette is inserted.

   $ volrmmount -i floppy0

   Volume Management mounts the diskette under /floppy/floppy0.

Example--Formatting a DOS Diskette

The following example formats a 1.44 Mbyte MS-DOS diskette and assigns the diskette the name myfiles:

$ fdformat -v -U -b myfiles
Formatting 1.44 M in /vol/dev/rdiskette0/unformatted
Press return to start formatting floppy. [ Return ]
......................................................
vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Using Diskettes Task Map

How to Load a Diskette

1. Make sure the diskette is formatted.

   If you aren't sure, insert it and check the status messages in the console, as described in Step 3. If you need to format the diskette, go to "How to Format a UFS Diskette" or "How to Format a DOS Diskette".

2. Insert the diskette.

   Make sure the diskette is completely inserted. It must drop down into the drive. If the drive has a door, close it.

3. Notify Volume Management.

   $ volcheck -v media was found

   Two status messages are possible:

   media was found

   Volume Management detected the diskette and will attempt to mount it in the /floppy directory.   If the diskette is formatted properly, no error messages appear in the console.     If the diskette is not formatted, the "media was found" message is still displayed, but the following error messages appear in the Console:   fd0: unformatted diskette or no diskette in the drive fd0: read failed (40 1 0) fd0: bad format You must format the diskette before Volume Management can mount it. Instructions are provided on "How to Format a UFS Diskette" (for UFS) and "How to Format a DOS Diskette" (for DOS).

   no media was found

   Volume Management did not detect a diskette. Make sure the diskette is inserted properly and run volcheck(1) again. If unsuccessful, check the diskette; it could be damaged. You can also try to mount the diskette manually.

4. Verify that the diskette was mounted by listing its contents.

   $ ls /floppy floppy0 myfiles

   As described earlier, floppy0 is a symbolic link to the actual name of the diskette; in this case, myfiles. If the diskette has no name but is formatted correctly, the system will refer to it as unnamed_floppy.

   If nothing appears under the /floppy directory, the diskette was either not mounted or is not formatted properly. To find out, run the mount command and look for the line that begins with /floppy (usually at the end of the listing):

   /floppy/name on /vol/dev/diskette0/name ...

   If the line does not appear, the diskette was not mounted. Check the Console for error messages.

How to Examine the Contents of a Diskette

Use the ls -L command because some directories under /floppy are symbolic links.

$ ls -L [-l] floppy0

Example--Examining the Contents of a Diskette

The following example lists the contents of the diskette in the first floppy drive, identified by floppy0.

$ ls -L -l /floppy/floppy0
-rwxrwxrwx  1 smith  staff 362284  Nov 16 20:54  text.doc
-rwxrwxrwx  1 smith  staff  24562  Nov 16 12:20  art.gif

How to Copy or Move Information From a Diskette

Once you have inserted a diskette, you can access its files and directories just as you would those of any other file system. The only significant restrictions are ownership and permissions. For instance, if you are not the owner of a file on a diskette, you won't be able to overwrite that file on the diskette. Or, if you copy a file into your file system, you'll be the owner, but that file won't have write permissions (because it never had them on the diskette); you'll have to change the permissions yourself.

1. Make sure the diskette is formatted and mounted.

   $ ls /floppy floppy0 diskette-name

   If the diskette is properly formatted and mounted, its name and the symbolic link will appear under /floppy.

   If nothing appears under the /floppy directory, the diskette is not mounted. See "How to Load a Diskette". The diskette might also need to be formatted. See "How to Format a UFS Diskette" or "How to Format a DOS Diskette".

2. Copy the files or directories.

   To Copy ...	Use ...
   A file	cp
   A directory	cp -r

3. Verify the copy or move operation by using the ls command.

Examples--Copying or Moving Information from a Diskette

The first example, below, moves a file (readme.doc) from the diskette to the current directory (indicated by the "." symbol). The second example copies a file (readme2.doc) from the diskette to the current directory. The third example copies a directory (morefiles) and everything below it from the diskette to the current directory.

$ mv /floppy/floppy0/readme.doc .
$ cp /floppy/floppy0/readme2.doc .
$ cp -r /floppy/floppy0/morefiles .

How to Copy or Move Information to a Diskette

1. Make sure the diskette is not write-protected.

   On both 3.5-inch and 5.25 inch diskettes, write-protection is controlled by a small tab in either the lower left or lower right corner. If you can see through the square hole behind the tab, the diskette is write-protected. If the hole is covered by the tab, the diskette is write-enabled.

2. Make sure the diskette is formatted and mounted.

   $ ls /floppy floppy0 diskette-name

   If the diskette is properly formatted and mounted, its name and the symbolic link, floppy0, will appear under /floppy.

   If nothing appears under the /floppy directory, the diskette is not mounted. See "How to Load a Diskette". The diskette might also need to be formatted. See "How to Format a UFS Diskette" or "How to Format a DOS Diskette".

3. Move or copy the files or directories.

   To ...	Use ...
   Copy a file	cp
   Copy a directory	cp -r
   Move a file or directory	mv

4. Verify a move or copy operation by using the ls command.

Examples--Copying or Moving Information to a Diskette

The first example, below, moves a file (readme.doc) from the current directory to the diskette loaded into the first floppy drive (indicated by /floppy/floppy0). The second example copies a file (readme2.doc) from the current directory to the diskette loaded into the second floppy drive (indicated by /floppy/floppy1). The third example copies a directory (morefiles) and its contents from the /home/smith/directory to the diskette loaded into the first floppy drive.

$ mv readme.doc /floppy/floppy0
$ cp readme2.doc /floppy/floppy1
$ cp -r /home/smith/morefiles /floppy/floppy0

How to Find Out If a Diskette Is Still in Use

1. Become superuser.

2. Invoke the fuser command.

   The fuser command lists the processes that are currently accessing the CD that you specify.

   # fuser -u [-k] floppy0

   -u	Displays the user of the diskette.
   -k	Kills the process accessing the diskette.

Example--Finding Out If a Diskette Is Still In Use

In the following example, the processes 6400c and 6399c are accessing the /floppy/floppy0 directory, and the process owners are root and smith, respectively.

# fuser -u /floppy/floppy0
/floppy/floppy0: 6400c(root)  6399c(smith)

You can kill the processes individually (as superuser), or you can use the fuser command with the -k option, which kills all the processes accessing that file system. The fuser command may not always identify all the killed processes. To be sure, run it again with the -u option.

# fuser -u -k /floppy/floppy0
/floppy/floppy0: 6400c(root)Killed  6399c(smith)Killed

How to Eject a Diskette

1. Make sure the diskette is not being used.

   Remember, a diskette is "being used" if a shell or an application is accessing any of its files or directories.

   If you are not sure whether you have found all users of a diskette (a renegade shell hidden behind a desktop tool may be accessing it), use the fuser command, as described in "How to Find Out If a Diskette Is Still in Use".

2. Eject the diskette.

   # eject floppy0

   On a SPARC platform the floppy is physically ejected from its drive, but on an x86 platform you'll have to eject the diskette by hand. If you are running Windows, look for an onscreen message that says you can now eject the diskette.

   If the diskette is still in use, the following message appears:

   /vol/dev/rdiskette0/noname: Device busy

   In this case, return to Step 1 and make sure no one is using the diskette, then eject it again.

   If the diskette jams, eject it manually by inserting an unfolded paper clip about an inch into the small hole in the front of the drive.

How to Access Diskettes on Other Systems

You can access a diskette on another system by mounting it manually into your file system--provided the other system has shared its diskette drive according to the instructions in "How to Make Local Diskettes Available to Other Systems".

1. Select an existing directory to serve as the mount point or create one.

   $ mkdir directory

   directory

   Is the name of the directory that you create to serve as a mount point for the other system's diskette.

2. Find the name of the diskette you want to mount.

   When you manually mount a remote diskette, you cannot use the floppy0 or floppy1 variables available with your local diskettes. You must use the exact diskette name. To find it, use the ls command on the remote system's /floppy directory. If the automounter is running, you can simply cd to the system whose diskette you want to mount and then use the ls command. If the automounter is not running, you'll have to use another method, such as logging in remotely.

3. As superuser, mount the diskette.

   # mount -F nfs -o rw system-name:/floppy/diskette-name local-mount-point

   system-name	The name of the system whose diskette you will mount.
   diskette-name	The name of the diskette you want to mount
   local-mount-point	The local directory onto which you will mount the remote diskette.

4. Log out as superuser.

5. Verify that the diskette is mounted by using the ls command to list the contents of the mount point.

   $ ls /floppy

Example--Accessing Diskettes on Other Systems

This example mounts the diskette named myfiles from the remote system mars onto the /floppy directory of the local system.

$ cd /net/mars
$ ls /floppy
floppy0     myfiles
$ su
Password: password
# mount -F nfs rw mars:/floppy/myfiles /floppy
# exit
$ ls /floppy
myfiles
 

How to Make Local Diskettes Available to Other Systems

You can configure your system to share its diskettes; in other words, make any diskettes in those drives available to other systems. Once your diskette drives are shared, other systems can access the diskettes they contain simply by mounting them, as described in "How to Access Diskettes on Other Systems".

1. Become superuser.

2. Find out whether the NFS daemon (nfsd) is running.

   # ps -ef | grep nfsd root 14533 1 17 10:46:55 ? 0:00 /usr/lib/nfs/nfsd -a 16 root 14656 289 7 14:06:02 pts/3 0:00 grep nfsd

   If the daemon is running, a line for /usr/lib/nfs/nfsd will appear, as shown above. If the daemon is not running, only the grep nfsd line will appear.

3. Select an option from the following table.

   If ...	Then ...
   nfsd is running	Go to Step 8
   nfsd is not running	Continue with Step 4

4. Create a dummy directory for nfsd to share.

   # mkdir /dummy-dir

   dummy-dir

   Can be any directory name; for example, dummy. This directory will not contain any files. Its only purpose is to "wake up" the NFS daemon so that it notices your shared diskettes.

5. Add the following entry into /etc/dfs/dfstab.

   share -F nfs -o ro [-d comment] /dummy-dir

   When you start the NFS daemon, it will see this entry, "wake up," and notice the shared diskette drive. Note that the comment (preceded by -d) is optional.

6. Start the NFS daemon.

   # /etc/init.d/nfs.server start

7. Verify that the NFS daemon is indeed running.

   # ps -ef | grep nfsd root 14533 1 17 10:46:55 ? 0:00 /usr/lib/nfs/nfsd -a 16 root 14656 289 7 14:06:02 pts/3 0:00 /grep nfsd

8. Eject any diskette currently in the drive.

   # eject floppy0

9. Assign root write permissions to /etc/rmmount.conf.

   # chmod 644 /etc/rmmount.conf

10. Add the following lines to /etc/rmmount.conf.

    # File System Sharing share floppy*

    These lines share any diskette loaded into your system's diskette drives.

11. Remove write permissions from /etc/rmmount.conf.

    # chmod 444 /etc/rmmount.conf

    This step returns the file to its default permissions.

12. Load a diskette.

    --Insert the diskette-- # volcheck -v media was found

    The diskette you now load, and all subsequent diskettes, will be available to other systems. To access the diskette, the remote user must mount it by name, according to the instructions in "How to Access Diskettes on Other Systems".

13. Verify that the diskette is available to other systems by using the share(1M) command.

    If the diskette is available, its share configuration will be displayed. (The shared dummy directory will also be displayed.)

    # share - /dummy ro "dummy dir to wake up NFS daemon" - /myfiles rw ""

Example--Making Local Diskettes Available to Other Systems

The following example makes any diskette loaded into the local system's diskette drive available to other systems on the network.

# ps -ef | grep nfsd
    root 10127  9986  0 08:25:01 pts/2    0:00 grep nfsd
    root 10118     1  0 08:24:39 ?        0:00 /usr/lib/nfs/nfsd -a
# mkdir /dummy
# vi /etc/dfs/dfstab
(Add the following line:)
share -F nfs -o ro  /dummy
# eject floppy0
# chmod 644 /etc/rmmount.conf
# vi /etc/rmmount
(Add the following line to the File System Sharing section.)
share floppy*
# chmod 444 /etc/rmmount.conf
(Load a diskette.)
# volcheck -v
media was found
# share
-               /dummy   ro   ""  
-               /floppy/myfiles   rw   ""