fdformat(1) [freebsd man page]
FDFORMAT(1) BSD General Commands Manual FDFORMAT(1) NAME
fdformat -- format floppy disks SYNOPSIS
fdformat [-F fill] [-f fmt] [-s fmtstr] [-nqvy] device DESCRIPTION
The fdformat utility formats a floppy disk at device, where device may either be given as a full path name of a device node for a floppy disk drive (e.g. /dev/fd0), or using an abbreviated name that will be looked up under /dev (e.g. ``fd0''). The options are as follows: -F fill Use fill as the fill byte for newly formatted sectors. The fill argument must be a number in the range 0 through 255 using common C language notation. The default value is ``0xf6''. -f fmt Specify the density settings for a fmt kilobyte format, as described in fdcontrol(8). -s fmtstr Specify the density settings using explicit parameters, as described in fdcontrol(8). -n Do not verify floppy after formatting. -q Suppress any normal output from the command, and do not ask the user for a confirmation whether to format the floppy disk at device. -v Do not format, verify only. -y Do not ask for confirmation whether to format the floppy disk but still report formatting status. For non-autoselecting subdevices, neither -f fmt nor -s fmtstr may be specified, since the preconfigured media density settings from the ker- nel driver will always be used. However, if device is a device with automatic media density selection (see fdc(4)), both methods can be used to override the density settings for the newly formatted medium (without permanently changing the density settings of device). If the -q flag has not been specified, the user is asked for a confirmation of the intended formatting process. In order to continue, an answer of 'y' must be given. Note that fdformat does only perform low-level formatting. In order to create a file system on the medium, see the commands newfs(8) for a UFS file system, or newfs_msdos(8) for an MS-DOS (FAT) file system. EXIT STATUS
An exit status of 0 is returned upon successful operation. Exit status 1 is returned on any errors during floppy formatting, and an exit status of 2 reflects invalid arguments given to the program (along with an appropriate information written to diagnostic output). DIAGNOSTICS
Unless -q has been specified, a single letter is printed to standard output to inform the user about the progress of work. First, an 'F' is printed when the track is being formatted, then a 'V' while it is being verified, and if an error has been detected, it will finally change to 'E'. Detailed status information (cylinder, head and sector number, and the exact cause of the error) will be printed for up to 10 errors after the entire formatting process has completed. SEE ALSO
fdc(4), fdcontrol(8), newfs(8), newfs_msdos(8) HISTORY
The fdformat utility has been developed for 386BSD 0.1 and upgraded to the new fdc(4) floppy disk driver. It later became part of the FreeBSD 1.1 system. Starting with FreeBSD 5.0, it uses the unified density specifications as described in fdcontrol(8). AUTHORS
The program has been contributed by Jorg Wunsch, Dresden, with changes by Serge Vakulenko and Andrey A. Chernov, Moscow. BSD
December 25, 2001 BSD
Check Out this Related Man Page
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 specified 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 double-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 double-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
/vol/dev/diskette0 Directory providing block device access for the media in floppy drive 0. /vol/dev/diskette0 Directory providing character device access for the media in floppy drive 0. /vol/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. /vol/dev/dsk/cNtNdNsN Directory providing block device access for the PCMCIA memory card. See OPERANDS for a description of N. /vol/dev/rdsk/cNtNdNsN Directory providing character device access for the PCMCIA memory card. See OPERANDS for a description of N. /vol/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), volcancel(1), volcheck(1), volmissing(1), volrmmount(1), mount(1M), newfs(1M), prtvtoc(1M), vold(1M), rmmount.conf(4), vold.conf(4), attributes(5), pcfs(7FS), volfs(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 5.10 16 Mar 2000 fdformat(1)