fddisk(8) System Manager's Manual fddisk(8)
NAME
fddisk - FDI disk maintenance utility
SYNOPSIS
/sbin/fddisk options special
OPTIONS
Unless this option is specified, an attempt to format or to install a file system fails in two cases. The first failure occurs when the
device has been opened since the media was inserted. The second failure occurs if the device is currently opened by another process. For-
mats the media to the density appropriate for that media. Copies a hex dump of sector number PSN to stdout. Uses the interleave factor
nnn for formatting. If specified, ccc indicates an additional intercylinder interleave. Copies a packed-C hex dump of the entire disk to
stdout. Specifies silent mode. This option blocks informational messages from appearing on stderr. Reads the entire media. The command
fails if the utility finds a bad sector. Waits for media to be inserted into the drive if none is present. Waits for new media to be
inserted into the drive if none is present or if the current media has been opened since it was last inserted. Reads the disk and reports
on the format of the disk.
OPERANDS
Specifies an unmounted, raw device pathname. This device must be an FDI interface (fd).
DESCRIPTION
The fddisk utility, an FDI (integrated Floppy Disk Interface) disk maintenance program, can format a floppy disk, scan a floppy disk for
bad blocks, and read and write selected blocks. It can be used in shell scripts for checking the status of floppy disks. Such status
checks include checking for or waiting for the presence of media, and checking for or waiting for the user to change the media.
RESTRICTIONS
The fddisk utility has the following restrictions: You must have read/write access to the device. The device must not be mounted. The
program can only be used with a 3.5-inch floppy disk in the RX26 drive. In some cases, it might not be possible to format a floppy disk at
a higher density than it is already formatted. If this situation occurs, the floppy disk must be bulk erased before it can be reformatted
at a higher density.
EXAMPLES
This example formats a floppy disk in drive zero: # /sbin/fddisk -fmt /dev/rdisk/floppy0a This example formats a floppy disk in drive zero
when the disk has been read or written since it was inserted into the drive: # /sbin/fddisk -fmt -f /dev/rdisk/floppy0a
SEE ALSO
Commands: mount(8), restore(8), uerf(8)
Files: fd(7)
fddisk(8)