Format Menu and Command Descriptions

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> 

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: 

• Device name and type

• Number of cylinders, alternate cylinders, heads and sectors

• Physical device name

format

Command 

Format the current disk, using one of these sources of information in this order: 

1. Information found in the format.dat file

2. Information from the automatic configuration process

3. Information you enter at the prompt if there is no format.dat entry

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: 

• Device name and type

• Number of cylinders, alternate cylinders, heads and sectors

• Partition table

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.

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> 

change `x' partition

Specify new slice: 

• Identification tag

• Permission flags

• Starting cylinder

• Size

select

Choose a predefined slice table. 

modify

Change all the slices in the slice table. This command is preferred over the individual change `x' partition commands.

name

Specify a name for the current slice table. 

print

View the current slice table. 

label

Write the slice map and label to the current disk. 

quit

Exit the partition menu.

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: 

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.

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> 

read

Read each sector on this disk. Repairs defective blocks as a default. 

refresh

Read then write data on the disk without harming the data. Repairs defective blocks as a default. 

test

Write a set of patterns to the disk without harming the data. Repairs defective blocks as a default. 

write

Write a set of patterns to the disk then read the data on the disk back. Destroys existing data on the disk. Repairs defective blocks as a default. 

compare

Write a set of patterns to the disk, read the data back, and compare it to the data in the write buffer. Destroys existing data on the disk. Repairs defective blocks as a default. 

purge

Remove all data from the disk so that the data can't be retrieved by any means. Data is removed by writing three distinct patterns over the entire disk (or section of the disk), then writing an hex-bit pattern if the verification passes. 

Repairs defective blocks as a default. 

verify

Write unique data to each block on the entire disk in the first pass. Read and verify the data in the next pass. Destroys existing data on the disk. Repairs defective blocks as a default. 

print

View the data in the read/write buffer. 

setup

Specify the following analysis parameters 

Analyze entire disk? yes
Starting block number: depends on drive
Ending block number: depends on drive
Loop continuously? no
Number of passes: 2
	Repair defective blocks? yes
Stop after first error? no
Use random bit patterns? no
Number of blocks per transfer: 126 (0/n/nn)
Verify media after formatting? yes
Enable extended messages? no
Restore defect list? yes
Restore disk label? yes

Defaults are shown in bold. 

config

View the current analysis parameters. 

quit

Exit the analyze menu.

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> 

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. 

print

View the in-memory defect list. 

dump

Save the in-memory defect list to a file. 

quit

Exit the defect menu.