how to reformat a hard disk


 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Operating Systems Solaris how to reformat a hard disk
# 1  
Old 08-09-2007
how to reformat a hard disk

hi

i need help on how to reformat a hard disk. what should i do since i don't have any bootable disk. i'm using solaris 1 & 2 and also need to make a backup copy of the current hard disk. appreciate all the help i can get...
# 2  
Old 08-10-2007
Confuse!

Sorry but I am not sure if I understand this post really. (maybe its my bad EnglishSmilie)

If you want to backup your system then use the ufsdump command and save this file on an other system or tape.

Example of the man page to write on a tape the filesystem at the c0t3d0s0 slice:
ufsdump 0cfu /dev/rmt/0 /dev/rdsk/c0t3d0s0

Your first question regarding the boot device:
Insert the Solaris install dvd or cd then the system label the disks (If there is a physical disk mounted) automatically!

Best regards
joerg
# 3  
Old 08-10-2007
what is solaris 1 & 2?

Last edited by blowtorch; 08-10-2007 at 04:21 AM.. Reason: profanity
# 4  
Old 08-10-2007
hi joerg

your english is great. my problem is that i have very limited skills when it comes to unix that's why my question may be hard to comprehend.
i want to create a back up of my hard disk but the hard disk that i'll be using is already loaded with files as it is the back up of another system and i want to create a dedicated backup for my system. i also have limited resources since the hard disk i'm using is very hard to find here in our place. the hard disk i'm using currently is from a sparc 20 computer.
if you can give me the best alternatives to solve my problem, i would be more than grateful... by the way, i don't have a deep understanding about the c0t3d0s0 you're mentioning... all i know about this is the hard disk present but i'm not really familiiar about what the letters & numbers stand for. if you can also explain it for me, i'll be really grateful. i come from the philippines by the way...
for the meantime, i'll try reading about ufsdump...
Thanks and God Bless!!!
# 5  
Old 08-10-2007
More Info

Hi,
I need more Information to support you.

First of all your hardware is a sparc20 is this right?

If it is a sparc20 you have two slots for disks.
So the question is you have only one or two disks inside the box?

To test this behavior please use the
format
command. Please post this output or/and the
ls -ltr /dev/dsk
output.

To determine how much diskspace is available send the output of
df -hk # If your Solaris Version is less then Solaris 9 then try it without the h option, because this option is first available in solaris 9.

One important thing inside this forum is to post the uname -a output. It is to see witch Version of solaris you use and the Hardware platform is shown.


Best regards
joerg
# 6  
Old 08-11-2007
hi joerg

My hardware is a sparc 20 computer. I have 2 hard disk slots and I also have 2 hard disks inside b'coz I managed to ask for one from my co-worker. The good hard disk that I want to duplicate is in slot 0 when I invoke the format command. The 2nd hard disk that I want to make my back up is in slot 1. By the way, I already tried to mirror the disk but failed. I don't know where I went wrong with the process that's why I'm asking if there are still available options to solve my problem. I'll try what you advised and give you feedback asap so that I can give you a better information about my situation... Thanks and God Bless Always!!!
# 7  
Old 08-12-2007
hi joerg,

I already tried the inputs you gave me and here are the scripts...

# format

Searching for disks...done


AVAILABLE DISK SELECTIONS:
0. c0t1d0 <SUN2.1G cyl 2733 alt 2 hd 19 sec 80>
/iommu@f,e0000000/sbus@f,e0001000/espdma@f,400000/esp@f,800000/sd@1,0
1. c0t3d0 <SUN1.05 cyl 2036 alt 2 hd 14 sec 72>
/iommu@f,e0000000/sbus@f,e0001000/espdma@f,400000/esp@f,800000/sd@3,0
Specify disk (enter its number):

------------------------------

# ls -ltr /dev/dsk
total 32
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 84 Aug 9 1995 c0t3d0s0 -> ../../devicesa
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 84 Aug 9 1995 c0t3d0s7 -> ../../devicesh
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 84 Aug 9 1995 c0t3d0s6 -> ../../devicesg
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 84 Aug 9 1995 c0t3d0s5 -> ../../devicesf
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 84 Aug 9 1995 c0t3d0s4 -> ../../devicese
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 84 Aug 9 1995 c0t3d0s3 -> ../../devicesd
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 84 Aug 9 1995 c0t3d0s2 -> ../../devicesc
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 84 Aug 9 1995 c0t3d0s1 -> ../../devicesb
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 84 Feb 2 2005 c0t1d0s7 -> ../../devicesh
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 84 Feb 2 2005 c0t1d0s6 -> ../../devicesg
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 84 Feb 2 2005 c0t1d0s0 -> ../../devicesa
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 84 Feb 2 2005 c0t1d0s5 -> ../../devicesf
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 84 Feb 2 2005 c0t1d0s4 -> ../../devicese
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 84 Feb 2 2005 c0t1d0s3 -> ../../devicesd
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 84 Feb 2 2005 c0t1d0s2 -> ../../devicesc
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 84 Feb 2 2005 c0t1d0s1 -> ../../devicesb

------------------------------------

# df -k
Filesystem kbytes used avail capacity Mounted on
/dev/dsk/c0t3d0s0 47975 41567 1618 96% /
/dev/dsk/c0t3d0s6 211607 182009 8438 96% /usr
/proc 0 0 0 0% /proc
fd 0 0 0 0% /dev/fd
swap 206024 656 205368 0% /var/tmp
/dev/dsk/c0t3d0s5 96455 59527 27288 69% /export
/dev/dsk/c0t3d0s7 607086 288790 257596 53% /w.local
pylon:/export/home/vega
16068155 9052213 6855261 57% /vega
pylon:/export/home/home1
16068155 9052213 6855261 57% /home

-------------------------------------

# uname -a
SunOS robintc1 5.4 ksam.on494-patch.12/22/94 sun4m sparc

another confusion that I have is that the 2nd disk I put into the sparc computer is labeled to have 2.1G capacity but when I invoke the format command, it only has 1.05G of memory. Do you have any ideas about this?

Just tell me if you need further info about my problem 'coz I really need your input/s...

Thanks and God Bless!!!
Login or Register to Ask a Question

Previous Thread | Next Thread

10 More Discussions You Might Find Interesting

1. Linux

C++ Code to Access Linux Hard Disk Sectors (with a LoopBack Virtual Hard Disk)

Hi all, I'm kind of new to programming in Linux & c/c++. I'm currently writing a FileManager using Ubuntu Linux(10.10) for Learning Purposes. I've got started on this project by creating a loopback device to be used as my virtual hard disk. After creating the loop back hard disk and mounting it... (23 Replies)
Discussion started by: shen747
23 Replies

2. UNIX for Advanced & Expert Users

Need help for getting hard-disk traces

When we write a programme,we declare variables and compiler allocates memory to them.I want to get access to the physical block number of hard-disk where actually the data is stored by the programme " Some one help me out... (3 Replies)
Discussion started by: nagraz007
3 Replies

3. Red Hat

Need help for getting hard-disk traces

When we write a programme,we declare variables and compiler allocates memory to them.I want to get access to the physical block number of hard-disk where actually the data is stored by the programme " Some one help me out... (1 Reply)
Discussion started by: nagraz007
1 Replies

4. SCO

declare disk driver for IDE hard disk

hi I've a fresh installation of SCO 5.0.7 on the IDE hard disk. For SCSI hard disk I can declare, for example blc disk driver using: # mkdev hd 0 SCSI-0 0 blc 0but it works for IDE hard disk? (3 Replies)
Discussion started by: ccc
3 Replies

5. UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

Reformat WD 500 GB hard drive for Linux machine

Linux Red Hat machine GNOME version 2.16.0 External hard drive is a Western Digital 500 GB My Book Essential. How can I reformat the external hard drive so that I can backup my Linux machine? Thanks (1 Reply)
Discussion started by: jm4smtddd
1 Replies

6. UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

Hard Disk at 99% Help!

:eek: I use this Solaris to run CMS a call acounting software package for my job. No one could run reports today because it said the this when you logged on "The following file systems are low, and could adversely affect server performance: File system /: 99%full" Can some one please explain... (9 Replies)
Discussion started by: mannyisme
9 Replies

7. UNIX Desktop Questions & Answers

Hard Disk

I have a cuestion. How Can I to add other hard disk to my computer? I need to configurate anyone? (4 Replies)
Discussion started by: hmaraver
4 Replies

8. Filesystems, Disks and Memory

hard disk meltdown

I had an issue with a second hard disk in my machine. I have a sparc station running solaris 7. It was working fine but now it wont mount on boot up and when you try to mount it manually it gives an I/O error. I tried a different disk as a control which was fine. What I want to know is if my... (3 Replies)
Discussion started by: Henrik
3 Replies

9. UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

hard disk problems

Hi all I am facing a strange problem. I am using a sun ultra10 spark machine. first i took a 20gb IDE hard disk and installed solaris 5.8. But due to some requirement i have to reinstall the OS but this time solaris 2.6. and now the hard disk capacity is only showing 8gb. Where the 12gb... (3 Replies)
Discussion started by: Prafulla
3 Replies

10. UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

Hard Disk Problem

Does anyone know of any commands that offer the same sort of facilities of scandisk on windows. My Linux server (Mandrake 6.2) keeps crashing and gives hard disk errors when I reboot. I've used fcsk to fix any problems that arise but when I use dumpe2fs to display disk information it says that... (1 Reply)
Discussion started by: DGM
1 Replies
Login or Register to Ask a Question