1fdformat(1) User Commands fdformat(1)
2
6 fdformat - format floppy diskette or PCMCIA memory card
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9 fdformat [-dDeEfHlLmMUqvx] [-b label] [-B filename]
10 [-t dostype] [devname]
11
14 The fdformat utility has been superseded by rmformat(1), which provides
15 most but not all of fdformat's functionality.
16 fdformat is used to format diskettes and PCMCIA memory cards. All new
19 blank diskettes or PCMCIA memory cards must be formatted before they
20 can be used.
21 fdformat formats and verifies the media and indicates whether any bad
24 sectors were encountered. All existing data on the diskette or PCMCIA
25 memory card, if any, is destroyed by formatting. If no device name is
26 given, fdformat uses the diskette as a default.
27 By default, fdformat uses the configured capacity of the drive to for‐
30 mat the diskette. A 3.5 inch high-density drive uses diskettes with a
31 formatted capacity of 1.44MB. A 5.25 inch high-density drive uses
32 diskettes with a formatted capacity of 1.2MB. In either case, a density
33 option does not have to be specified to fdformat. However, a density
34 option must be specified when using a diskette with a lower capacity
35 than the drive's default. Use the -H option to format high-density
36 diskettes (1.44MB capacity) in an extra-high-density (ED) drive. Use
37 the -D option, the -l option, or the -L option to format double- den‐
38 sity (or low-density) diskettes (720KB capacity) in an HD or ED drive.
39 To format medium-density diskettes (1.2MB capacity), use the -M option
40 with -t nec (this is the same as using the -m option with -t nec).
41 Extended density uses double-sided, extended-density or extra-high-den‐
44 sity (DS/ED) diskettes. Medium and high densities use the same media:
45 double-sided, high-density (DS/HD) diskettes. Double (low) density uses
46 double-sided, double-density (DS/DD
47 D) diskettes. Substituting diskettes of one density for diskettes of
50 either a higher or lower density generally does not work. Data
51 integrity cannot be assured whenever a diskette is formatted to a
52 capacity not matching its density.
53 A PCMCIA memory card with densities from 512KB to 64MB may be format‐
56 ted.
57 fdformat writes new identification and data fields for each sector on
60 all tracks unless the -x option is specified. For diskettes, each sec‐
61 tor is verified if the -v option is specified.
62 After formatting and verifying, fdformat writes an operating-system
65 label on block 0. Use the -t dos option (same as the -d option) to put
66 an MS-DOS file system on the diskette or PCMCIA memory card after the
67 format is done. Use the -t nec option with the -M option (same as the
68 -m option) to put an NEC-DOS file system on a diskette. Otherwise,
69 fdformat writes a SunOS label in block 0.
70
72 The following options are supported:
73 -b label Labels the media with volume label. A SunOS volume label
75 is restricted to 8 characters. A DOS volume label is
76 restricted to 11 upper-case characters.
77 -B filename Installs special boot loader in filename on an MS-DOS
80 diskette. This option is only meaningful when the -d
81 option (or -t dos) is also specified.
82 -D Formats a 720KB (3.5 inch) or 360KB (5.25 inch) double-
85 density diskette (same as the -l or -L options). This is
86 the default for double-density type drives. It is needed
87 if the drive is a high- or extended-density type.
88 -e Ejects the diskette when done. This feature is not
91 available on all systems.
92 -E Formats a 2.88MB (3.5 inch) extended-density diskette.
95 This is the default for extended-density type drives.
96 -f Forces formatting, that is, this option does not ask for
99 confirmation before starting format.
100 -H Formats a 1.44MB (3.5 inch) or 1.2MB (5.25 inch) high-
103 density diskette. This is the default for high-density
104 type drives; it is needed if the drive is the extended-
105 density type.
106 -M Writes a 1.2MB (3.5 inch) medium-density format on a
109 high-density diskette (use only with the -t nec option).
110 This is the same as using -m.
111 This feature is not available on all systems.
113 -q Quiet; does not print status messages.
116 -t dos Installs an MS-DOS file system and boot sector format‐
119 ting. This is equivalent to the DOS format command or
120 the -d option.
121 -t nec Installs an NEC-DOS file system and boot sector on the
124 disk after formatting. This should be used only with the
125 -M option. This feature is not available on all systems.
126 -U Performs umount on any file systems and then formats.
129 See mount(1M).
130 -v Verifies each block of the diskette after the format.
133 -x Skips the format and only writes a SunOS label or an MS-
136 DOS file system.
137
140 The following operands are supported:
141 devname Replaces devname with rdiskette0 (systems without volume
143 management) or floppy0 (systems with volume management) to
144 use the first drive or rdiskette1 (systems without volume
145 management) or floppy1 (systems with volume management) to
146 use the second drive. If devname is omitted, the first
147 drive, if one exists, is used. For PCMCIA memory cards,
148 replace devname with the device name for the PCMCIA memory
149 card which resides in /dev/rdsk/cNtNdNsN or /dev/dsk/cNt‐
150 NdNsN. If devname is omitted, the default diskette drive, if
151 one exists, is used.
152 If devname is omitted, the default diskette drive, if one
154 exists, will be used. N represents a decimal number and can
155 be specified as follows:
156 cN Controller N
158 tN Technology type N:
161 0x1 ROM
164 0x2 OTPROM
165 0x3 EPROM
166 0x4 EEPROM
167 0x5 FLASH
168 0x6 SRAM
169 0x7 DRAM
170 dN Technology region in type N.
175 sN Slice N.
178 The following options are provided for compatibility with
180 previous versions of fdformat. Their use is discouraged.
181 -d Formats an MS-DOS floppy diskette or PCMCIA memory
183 card (same as -t dos). This is equivalent to the MS-
184 DOS FORMAT command.
185 -l Formats a 720KB (3.5 inch) or 360KB (5.25 inch) dou‐
188 ble-density diskette (same as -D or -L). This is the
189 default for double-density type drives; it is needed
190 if the drive is the high- or extended-density type.
191 -L Formats a 720KB (3.5 inch) or 360KB (5.25 inch) dou‐
194 ble-density diskette (same as -l or -D). This is the
195 default for double-density type drives.
196 -m Writes a 1.2 MB (3.5 inch) medium- density format on a
199 high-density diskette (use only with the -t nec
200 option). This is the same as using -M. This feature is
201 not available on all systems.
202
206 /dev/diskette0 Directory providing block device access for the
207 media in floppy drive 0.
208 /dev/diskette0 Directory providing character device access for
211 the media in floppy drive 0.
212 /dev/aliases/floppy0 Symbolic link to the character device for the
215 media in floppy drive 0.
216 /dev/rdiskette Directory providing character device access for
219 the media in the primary floppy drive, usually
220 drive 0.
221 /dev/dsk/cNtNdNsN Directory providing block device access for the
224 PCMCIA memory card. See OPERANDS for a descrip‐
225 tion of N.
226 /dev/rdsk/cNtNdNsN Directory providing character device access for
229 the PCMCIA memory card. See OPERANDS for a
230 description of N.
231 /dev/aliases/pcmemS Symbolic link to the character device for the
234 PCMCIA memory card in socket S where S repre‐
235 sents a PCMCIA socket number.
236 /dev/rdsk/cNtNdNsN Directory providing character device access for
239 the PCMCIA memory card. See OPERANDS for a
240 description of N.
241 /dev/dsk/cNtNdNsN Directory providing block device access for the
244 PCMCIA memory card. See OPERANDS for a descrip‐
245 tion of N.
246
249 See attributes(5) for descriptions of the following attributes:
250 ┌─────────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────┐
255 │ ATTRIBUTE TYPE │ ATTRIBUTE VALUE │
256 ├─────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┤
257 │Availability │SUNWcsu │
258 └─────────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────────┘
259
261 cpio(1), eject(1), rmformat(1), tar(1), volcheck(1), volrmmount(1),
262 mount(1M), newfs(1M), prtvtoc(1M), attributes(5), pcfs(7FS)
263 x86 Only
265 fd(7D)
266
268 A diskette or PCMCIA memory card containing a ufs file system created
269 on a SPARC based system (by using fdformat and newfs(1M)), is not iden‐
270 tical to a diskette or PCMCIA memory card containing a ufs file system
271 created on an x86 based system. Do not interchange ufs diskettes or
272 memory cards between these platforms. Use cpio(1) or tar(1) to transfer
273 files on diskettes or memory cards between them. A diskette or PCMCIA
274 memory card formatted using the -t dos option (or -d) for MS-DOS does
275 not have the necessary system files, and is therefore not bootable.
276 Trying to boot from it on a PC produces the following message:
277 Non-System disk or disk error.
279 Replace and strike any key when ready
280
284 Currently, bad sector mapping is not supported on floppy diskettes or
285 PCMCIA memory cards. Therefore, a diskette or memory card is unusable
286 if fdformat finds an error (bad sector).
287SunOS 5.11 28 Feb 2007 fdformat(1)