fdformat(1)							   User Commands						       fdformat(1)

NAME

       fdformat - format floppy diskette or PCMCIA memory card

SYNOPSIS

       fdformat [-dDeEfHlLmMUqvx] [-b label] [-B filename]
	    [-t dostype] [devname]

DESCRIPTION

       The fdformat utility has been superseded by rmformat(1), which provides most but not all of fdformat's functionality.

       fdformat  is used to format diskettes and PCMCIA memory cards. All new blank diskettes or PCMCIA memory cards must be formatted before they
       can be used.

       fdformat formats and verifies the media and indicates whether any bad sectors were encountered. All existing data on the diskette or PCMCIA
       memory card, if any, is destroyed by formatting. If no device name is given, fdformat uses the diskette as a default.

       By  default, fdformat uses the configured capacity of the drive to format the diskette. A 3.5 inch high-density drive uses diskettes with a
       formatted capacity of 1.44MB. A 5.25 inch high-density drive uses diskettes with a formatted capacity of 1.2MB. In either case,	a  density
       option  does  not have to be specified to fdformat. However, a density option must be specified when using a diskette with a lower capacity
       than the drive's default. Use the -H option to format high-density diskettes (1.44MB capacity) in an extra-high-density (ED) drive. Use the
       -D  option,  the -l option, or the -L option to format double- density (or low-density) diskettes (720KB capacity) in an HD or ED drive. To
       format medium-density diskettes (1.2MB capacity), use the -M option with -t nec (this is the same as using the -m option with -t nec).

       Extended density uses double-sided, extended-density or extra-high-density (DS/ED) diskettes. Medium and high densities use the same media:
       double-sided, high-density (DS/HD) diskettes. Double (low) density uses double-sided, double-density (DS/DD

       D)  diskettes.  Substituting  diskettes	of  one  density  for  diskettes of either a higher or lower density generally does not work. Data
       integrity cannot be assured whenever a diskette is formatted to a capacity not matching its density.

       A PCMCIA memory card with densities from 512KB to 64MB may be formatted.

       fdformat writes new identification and data fields for each sector on all tracks unless the -x option is  specified.  For  diskettes,  each
       sector is verified if the -v option is specified.

       After  formatting and verifying, fdformat writes an operating-system label on block 0. Use the -t dos option (same as the -d option) to put
       an MS-DOS file system on the diskette or PCMCIA memory card after the format is done. Use the -t nec option with the -M option (same as the
       -m option) to put an NEC-DOS file system on a diskette. Otherwise, fdformat writes a SunOS label in block 0.

OPTIONS

       The following options are supported:

       -b label       Labels  the media with volume label. A SunOS volume label is restricted to 8 characters. A DOS volume label is restricted to
		      11 upper-case characters.

       -B filename    Installs special boot loader in filename on an MS-DOS diskette. This option is only meaningful when the  -d  option  (or	-t
		      dos) is also specified.

       -D	      Formats  a 720KB (3.5 inch) or 360KB (5.25 inch) double-density diskette (same as the -l or -L options). This is the default
		      for double-density type drives. It is needed if the drive is a high- or extended-density type.

       -e	      Ejects the diskette when done. This feature is not available on all systems.

       -E	      Formats a 2.88MB (3.5 inch) extended-density diskette. This is the default for extended-density type drives.

       -f	      Forces formatting, that is, this option does not ask for confirmation before starting format.

       -H	      Formats a 1.44MB (3.5 inch) or 1.2MB (5.25 inch) high-density diskette. This is the default for high-density type drives; it
		      is needed if the drive is the extended-density type.

       -M	      Writes  a  1.2MB	(3.5 inch) medium-density format on a high-density diskette (use only with the -t nec option). This is the
		      same as using -m.

		      This feature is not available on all systems.

       -q	      Quiet; does not print status messages.

       -t dos	      Installs an MS-DOS file system and boot sector formatting. This is equivalent to the DOS format command or the -d option.

       -t nec	      Installs an NEC-DOS file system and boot sector on the disk after formatting. This should be used only with the  -M  option.
		      This feature is not available on all systems.

       -U	      Performs umount on any file systems and then formats. See mount(1M).

       -v	      Verifies each block of the diskette after the format.

       -x	      Skips the format and only writes a SunOS label or an MS-DOS file system.

OPERANDS

       The following operands are supported:

       devname	  Replaces  devname  with  rdiskette0  (systems  without volume management) or floppy0 (systems with volume management) to use the
		  first drive or rdiskette1 (systems without volume management) or floppy1 (systems with volume  management)  to  use  the  second
		  drive.  If devname is omitted, the first drive, if one exists, is used. For PCMCIA memory cards, replace devname with the device
		  name for the PCMCIA memory card which resides in /dev/rdsk/cNtNdNsN or /dev/dsk/cNtNdNsN. If devname	is  omitted,  the  default
		  diskette drive, if one exists, is used.

		  If  devname is omitted, the default diskette drive, if one exists, will be used. N represents a decimal number and can be speci-
		  fied as follows:

		  cN	Controller N

		  tN	Technology type N:

			  0x1	    ROM
			  0x2	    OTPROM
			  0x3	    EPROM
			  0x4	    EEPROM
			  0x5	    FLASH
			  0x6	    SRAM
			  0x7	    DRAM

		  dN	Technology region in type N.

		  sN	Slice N.

		  The following options are provided for compatibility with previous versions of fdformat. Their use is discouraged.

		  -d	Formats an MS-DOS floppy diskette or PCMCIA memory card (same as -t dos). This is equivalent to the MS-DOS FORMAT command.

		  -l	Formats a 720KB (3.5 inch) or 360KB (5.25 inch) double-density diskette (same as -D or -L). This is the default  for  dou-
			ble-density type drives; it is needed if the drive is the high- or extended-density type.

		  -L	Formats  a  720KB (3.5 inch) or 360KB (5.25 inch) double-density diskette (same as -l or -D). This is the default for dou-
			ble-density type drives.

		  -m	Writes a 1.2 MB (3.5 inch) medium- density format on a high-density diskette (use only with the -t nec	option).  This	is
			the same as using -M. This feature is not available on all systems.

FILES

       /dev/diskette0	       Directory providing block device access for the media in floppy drive 0.

       /dev/diskette0	       Directory providing character device access for the media in floppy drive 0.

       /dev/aliases/floppy0    Symbolic link to the character device for the media in floppy drive 0.

       /dev/rdiskette	       Directory providing character device access for the media in the primary floppy drive, usually drive 0.

       /dev/dsk/cNtNdNsN       Directory providing block device access for the PCMCIA memory card. See OPERANDS for a description of N.

       /dev/rdsk/cNtNdNsN      Directory providing character device access for the PCMCIA memory card. See OPERANDS for a description of N.

       /dev/aliases/pcmemS     Symbolic  link  to  the	character device for the PCMCIA memory card in socket S where S represents a PCMCIA socket
			       number.

       /dev/rdsk/cNtNdNsN      Directory providing character device access for the PCMCIA memory card. See OPERANDS for a description of N.

       /dev/dsk/cNtNdNsN       Directory providing block device access for the PCMCIA memory card. See OPERANDS for a description of N.

ATTRIBUTES

       See attributes(5) for descriptions of the following attributes:

       +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
       |      ATTRIBUTE TYPE	     |	    ATTRIBUTE VALUE	   |
       +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
       |Availability		     |SUNWcsu			   |
       +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+

SEE ALSO

       cpio(1), eject(1), rmformat(1), tar(1), volcheck(1), volrmmount(1), mount(1M), newfs(1M), prtvtoc(1M), attributes(5), pcfs(7FS)

   x86 Only
       fd(7D)

NOTES

       A diskette or PCMCIA memory card containing a ufs file system created on a SPARC based system (by using fdformat  and  newfs(1M)),  is  not
       identical to a diskette or PCMCIA memory card containing a ufs file system created on an x86 based system. Do not interchange ufs diskettes
       or memory cards between these platforms. Use cpio(1) or tar(1) to transfer files on diskettes or memory cards between them. A  diskette	or
       PCMCIA  memory  card  formatted	using  the -t dos option (or -d) for MS-DOS does not have the necessary system files, and is therefore not
       bootable. Trying to boot from it on a PC produces the following message:

	 Non-System disk or disk error.
	 Replace and strike any key when ready

BUGS

       Currently, bad sector mapping is not supported on floppy diskettes or PCMCIA memory cards. Therefore, a diskette or memory card is unusable
       if fdformat finds an error (bad sector).

SunOS 5.11							    28 Feb 2007 						       fdformat(1)