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format(1M)		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 programs,  format  runs	 under
       SunOS.  Because there are limitations to what can be done to the system
       disk while the system 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 FORMAT_PATH 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 direc‐
       tory; a filename should be an absolute pathname, and  is	 used  without
       change.	format	adds all disk and partition definitions in each speci‐
       fied file to  the  working  set.	 Multiple  identical  definitions  are
       silently	 ignored.  If  FORMAT_PATH  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  administered  by
       format.

       Removable  media	 devices  are listed only when users execute format in
       expert mode (option -e). This feature is provided for backward compati‐
       bility. 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
			    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, for‐
			    mat does not issue continue? prompts; there is  no
			    need  to specify y(es) or n(o) answers in the com‐
			    mand-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 messages.  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.

       -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 selection.

       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) Overwriting 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 option, and is only supported on SCSI
		    devices..

       current	    Display the device name, the disk geometry, and the	 path‐
		    name to the disk device.

       defect	    Retrieve  and print defect lists. This option is supported
		    only on SCSI devices. IDE disks perform  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 systems only).

       format	    Format and verify the current disk. This  option  is  sup‐
		    ported  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.

       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
       FORMAT_PATH    a colon-separated list of filenames  and/or  directories
		      of  disk	and  partition	definitions. If a directory is
		      specified, format searches for the  file	format.dat  in
		      that directory.

FILES
       /etc/format.dat	  default data file

ATTRIBUTES
       See attributes(5) for descriptions of the following attributes:

       ┌─────────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────┐
       │      ATTRIBUTE TYPE	     │	    ATTRIBUTE VALUE	   │
       ├─────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┤
       │Availability		     │SUNWcsu			   │
       └─────────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────────┘

SEE ALSO
       fmthard(1M),  prtvtoc(1M),  rmformat(1),	 format.dat(4), attributes(5),
       sd(7D)

   x86 Only
       fdisk(1M)

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  cor‐
       rectly.

       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 Administration  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 sup‐
       ported on a disk with an EFI label.

NOTES
       format provides a help facility you can use whenever format is  expect‐
       ing  input.  You can request help about what information is expected by
       simply entering a question mark (?) and format prints a brief  descrip‐
       tion  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.

       The NCSC-TG-025 algorithm for overwriting meets the DoD 5200.28-M  (ADP
       Security	 Manual)  Eraser Procedures specification. The NIST Guidelines
       for Media Sanitization (NIST SP 800-88) also reference this algorithm.

SunOS 5.10			  25 Sep 2008			    format(1M)
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