System Administration Commands format(1M)
NAME
format - disk partitioning and maintenance utility
SYNOPSIS
format [-f command-file] [-l log-file] [-x data-file]
[-d disk-name] [-t disk-type] [-p partition-name]
[-s] [-m] [-M] [-e] [disk-list]
DESCRIPTION
format enables you to format, label, repair, and analyze
disks on your system. Unlike previous disk maintenance pro-
grams, format runs under SunOS. Because there are limita-
tions to what can be done to the system disk while the sys-
tem is running, format is also supported within the memory-
resident system environment. For most applications, however,
running format under SunOS is the more convenient approach.
format first uses the disk list defined in data-file if the
-x option is used. format then checks for the FORMATPATH
environment variable, a colon-separated list of filenames
and/or directories. In the case of a directory, format
searches for a file named format.dat in that directory; a
filename should be an absolute pathname, and is used without
change. format adds all disk and partition definitions in
each specified file to the working set. Multiple identical
definitions are silently ignored. If FORMATPATH is not set,
the path defaults to /etc/format.dat.
disk-list is a list of disks in the form c?t?d? or
/dev/rdsk/c?t?d?s?. With the latter form, shell wildcard
specifications are supported. For example, specifying
/dev/rdsk/c2* causes format to work on all drives connected
to controller c2 only. If no disk-list is specified, format
lists all the disks present in the system that can be admin-
istered by format.
Removable media devices are listed only when users execute
format in expert mode (option -e). This feature is provided
for backward compatibility. Use rmformat(1) for rewritable
removable media devices.
OPTIONS
The following options are supported:
-d disk-name Specify which disk should be made
current upon entry into the program.
The disk is specified by its logical
name (for instance, -d c0t1d0). This
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System Administration Commands format(1M)
can also be accomplished by specifying
a single disk in the disk list.
-e Enable SCSI expert menu. Note this
option is not recommended for casual
use.
-f command-file Take command input from command-file
rather than the standard input. The
file must contain commands that appear
just as they would if they had been
entered from the keyboard. With this
option, format does not issue continue?
prompts; there is no need to specify
y(es) or n(o) answers in the command-
file. In non-interactive mode, format
does not initially expect the input of
a disk selection number. The user must
specify the current working disk with
the -d disk-name option when format is
invoked, or specify disk and the disk
selection number in the command-file.
-l log-file Log a transcript of the format session
to the indicated log-file, including
the standard input, the standard output
and the standard error.
-m Enable extended messages. Provides more
detailed information in the event of an
error.
-M Enable extended and diagnostic mes-
sages. Provides extensive information
on the state of a SCSI device's mode
pages, during formatting.
-p partition-name Specify the partition table for the
disk which is current upon entry into
the program. The table is specified by
its name as defined in the data file.
This option can be used only if a disk
is being made current, and its type is
either specified or available from the
disk label.
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System Administration Commands format(1M)
-s Silent. Suppress all of the standard
output. Error messages are still
displayed. This is generally used in
conjunction with the -f option.
-t disk-type Specify the type of disk which is
current upon entry into the program. A
disk's type is specified by name in the
data file. This option can only be used
if a disk is being made current as
described above.
-x data-file Use the list of disks contained in
data-file.
USAGE
When you invoke format with no options or with the -e, -l,
-m, -M, or -s options, the program displays a numbered list
of available disks and prompts you to specify a disk by list
number. If the machine has more than 10 disks, press SPACE
to see the next screenful of disks.
You can specify a disk by list number even if the disk is
not displayed in the current screenful. For example, if the
current screen shows disks 11-20, you can enter 25 to
specify the twenty-fifth disk on the list. If you enter a
number for a disk that is not currently displayed, format
prompts you to verify your selection. If you enter a number
from the displayed list, format silently accepts your selec-
tion.
After you specify a disk, format displays its main menu.
This menu enables you to perform the following tasks:
analyze Run read, write, compare tests, and data purge.
The data purge function implements the National
Computer Security Center Guide to Understanding
Data Remnance (NCSC-TG-025 version 2) Overwrit-
ing Algorithm. See NOTES.
backup Search for backup labels.
cache Enable, disable, and query the state of the
write cache and read cache. This menu item only
appears when format is invoked with the -e
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option, and is only supported on SCSI devices..
current Display the device name, the disk geometry, and
the pathname to the disk device.
defect Retrieve and print defect lists. This option is
supported only on SCSI devices. IDE disks per-
form automatic defect management. Upon using
the defect option on an IDE disk, you receive
the message:
Controller does not support defect management
or disk supports automatic defect management.
disk Choose the disk that will be used in subsequent
operations (known as the current disk.)
fdisk Run the fdisk(1M) program to create a fdisk
partition for Solaris software (x86 based sys-
tems only).
format Format and verify the current disk. This option
is supported only on SCSI devices. IDE disks
are pre-formatted by the manufacturer. Upon
using the format option on an IDE disk, you
receive the message:
Cannot format this drive. Please use your
manufacturer-supplied formatting utility.
inquiry Display the vendor, product name, and revision
level of the current drive.
label Write a new label to the current disk.
partition Create and modify slices.
quit Exit the format menu.
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repair Repair a specific block on the disk.
save Save new disk and slice information.
type Select (define) a disk type.
verify Read and display labels. Print information such
as the number of cylinders, alternate
cylinders, heads, sectors, and the partition
table.
volname Label the disk with a new eight character
volume name.
ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
FORMATPATH a colon-separated list of filenames and/or
directories of disk and partition defini-
tions. If a directory is specified, format
searches for the file format.dat in that
directory.
FILES
/etc/format.dat default data file
ATRIBUTES
See attributes(5) for descriptions of the following attri-
butes:
ATRIBUTE TYPE ATRIBUTE VALUE
Availability SUNWcsu
SEE ALSO
fmthard(1M), prtvtoc(1M), rmformat(1), format.dat(4), attri-
butes(5), sd(7D)
x86 Only
fdisk(1M)
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WARNINGS
When the format function is selected to format the Maxtor
207MB disk, the following message displays:
Mode sense page(4) reports rpm value as 0, adjusting it to 3600
This is a drive bug that may also occur with older third
party drives. The above message is not an error; the drive
will still function correctly.
Cylinder 0 contains the partition table (disk label), which
can be overwritten if used in a raw disk partition by third
party software.
format supports writing EFI-compliant disk labels in order
to support disks or LUNs with capacities greater than one
terabyte. However, care should be exercised since many
software components, such as filesystems and volume
managers, are still restricted to capacities of one terabyte
or less. See the System Administration Guide: Basic Adminis-
tration for additional information.
By default, on an unlabeled disk, EFI labels will be written
on disks larger than 2 TB. When format is invoked with the
-e option, on writing the label, the label type can be
chosen. Booting is not currently supported on a disk with an
EFI label.
NOTES
format provides a help facility you can use whenever format
is expecting input. You can request help about what informa-
tion is expected by simply entering a question mark (?) and
format prints a brief description of what type of input is
needed. If you enter a ? at the menu prompt, a list of
available commands is displayed.
For SCSI disks, formatting is done with both Primary and
Grown defects list by default. However, if only Primary list
is extracted in defect menu before formatting, formatting
will be done with Primary list only.
Changing the state of the caches is only supported on SCSI
devices, and not all SCSI devices support changing or saving
the state of the caches.
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The NCSC-TG-025 algorithm for overwriting meets the DoD
5200.28-M (ADP Security Manual) Eraser Procedures specifica-
tion. The NIST Guidelines for Media Sanitization (NIST SP
800-88) also reference this algorithm.
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