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The fdformat utility has been superseded by rmformat(1),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 capa-
city 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 densi-
ties use the same media: double-sided, high-density (DS/HD)
diskettes. Double (low) density uses double-sided, double-
density (DS/D
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
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User Commands fdformat(1)
diskette is formatted to a capacity not matching its den-
sity.
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 mean-
ingful 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.
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User Commands fdformat(1)
-f Forces formatting, that is, this option does
not ask for confirmation before starting for-
mat.
-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 for-
mat 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 sec-
tor formatting. This is equivalent to the DOS
format command or the -d option.
-t nec Installs an NEC-DOS file system and boot sec-
tor 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
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User Commands fdformat(1)
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 dev-
name 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 EPROM
0x5 FLASH
0x6 SRAM
0x7 DRAM
dN Technology region in type N.
sN Slice N.
The following options are provided for compati-
bility 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.
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User Commands fdformat(1)
-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
/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 dev-
ice 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 dev-
ice 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.
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User Commands fdformat(1)
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.
ATRIBUTES
See attributes(5) for descriptions of the following attri-
butes:
ATRIBUTE TYPE ATRIBUTE VALUE
Availability SUNWcsu
SEE ALSO
cpio(1), eject(1), rmformat(1), tar(1), volcheck(1), volrm-
mount(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 sys-
tem 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 sec-
tor).
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