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 following table describes the format main menu items.
Table 35–1 The format Main Menu Item Descriptions
Item |
Command or Menu? |
Description |
---|---|---|
disk |
Command |
Lists all of the system's drives. Also lets you choose the disk you want to use in subsequent operations. This disk is referred to as the current disk. |
type |
Command |
Identifies the manufacturer and model of the current disk. Also displays a list of known drive types. Choose the Auto configure option for all SCSI-2 disk drives. |
partition |
Menu |
Creates and modifies slices. For more information, see The partition Menu. |
current |
Command |
Displays the following information about the current disk:
|
format |
Command |
Formats the current disk by using one of these sources of information in this order:
|
fdisk |
Menu |
IA platform only: Runs the fdisk program to create a Solaris fdisk partition. |
repair |
Command |
Repairs a specific block on the current disk. |
label |
Command |
Writes a new label to the current disk. |
analyze |
Menu |
Runs read, write, compare tests. For more information, see The analyze Menu. |
defect |
Menu |
Retrieves and prints defect lists. For more information, see The defect Menu. |
backup |
Command |
Searches for backup labels. |
verify |
Command |
Prints the following information about the current disk:
|
save |
Command |
Saves new disk and partition information. |
inquiry |
Command |
Prints the vendor, product name, and revision level of the current drive (SCSI disks only). |
volname |
Command |
Labels the disk with a new eight-character volume name. |
quit |
Command |
Exits the format menu. |
The partition menu looks similar to the following:
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 following table describes the partition menu items.
Table 35–2 Descriptions for partition Menu Items
The fdisk menu appears on IA based systems only and looks similar to the following.
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 following table describes the fdisk menu items.
Table 35–3 x86: Descriptions for fdisk Menu Items
Menu Item |
Description |
---|---|
Create a partition |
Creates 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 are prompted for the size of the fdisk partition as a percentage of the disk. |
Change Active partition |
Lets you specify the partition to be used for booting. This menu item identifies where the first stage boot program looks for the second stage boot program. |
Delete a partition |
Deletes a previously created partition. This command destroys all the data in the partition. |
Exit |
Writes a new version of the partition table and exits the fdisk menu. |
Cancel |
Exits the fdisk menu without modifying the partition table. |
The analyze menu looks similar to the following.
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 following table describes the analyze menu items.
Table 35–4 Descriptions for analyze Menu Item
The defect menu looks similar to the following:
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 following table describes the defect menu items.
Table 35–5 The defect Menu Item Descriptions
Sub-Command |
Description |
---|---|
primary |
Reads the manufacturer's defect list from the disk drive and updates the in-memory defect list. |
grown |
Reads the grown defect list, which are defects that have been detected during analysis, and then updates the in-memory defect list. |
both |
Reads both the manufacturer's defect list and the grown defect list, and then updates the in-memory defect list. |
|
Displays the in-memory defect list. |
dump |
Saves the in-memory defect list to a file. |
quit |
Exits the defect menu. |