How to Format a Removable Device (rmformat)

You can use the rmformat command to format a diskette. By default, this command creates two partitions on the media: partition 0 and partition 2 (the whole media).

1. Verify that removable media service is running. If so, you can use the shorter nickname for the device name.

   # svcs hal dbus rmvolmgr
   STATE          STIME    FMRI
   online         Apr_09   svc:/system/dbus:default
   online         Apr_09   svc:/system/hal:default
   online         Apr_09   svc:/system/filesystem/rmvolmgr:default

   For information on restarting removable media services, see How to Disable or Enable Removable Media Services. For information on identifying media device names, see Using Removable Media Names.

2. Format the device.

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

   where device-name includes the full path to the device, such as /dev/device.

   See About Formatting Removable Media for more information on rmformat formatting options.

   If the rmformat output indicates bad blocks, see How to Repair Bad Blocks on Removable Media.

3. (Optional) Label the device.

   $ rmformat -b label device-name

   For information on creating a DOS label, see mkfs_pcfs (1M) .