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fdformat(1)			 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       The fdformat utility has been superseded by rmformat(1), which provides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 for‐
       mat 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  capacity
       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- den‐
       sity (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-den‐
       sity  (DS/ED)  diskettes. Medium and high densities use the same media:
       double-sided, high-density (DS/HD) diskettes. Double (low) density uses
       double-sided, double-density (DS/DD

       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  diskette is formatted to a
       capacity not matching its density.

       A PCMCIA memory card with densities from 512KB to 64MB may  be  format‐
       ted.

       fdformat	 writes	 new identification and data fields for each sector on
       all tracks unless the -x option is specified. For diskettes, each  sec‐
       tor 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 meaningful 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.

       -f	      Forces formatting, that is, this option does not ask for
		      confirmation before starting format.

       -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 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.

       -q	      Quiet; does not print status messages.

       -t dos	      Installs	an  MS-DOS file system and boot sector format‐
		      ting. This is equivalent to the DOS  format  command  or
		      the -d option.

       -t nec	      Installs	an  NEC-DOS file system and boot sector 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 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/cNt‐
		  NdNsN. If devname 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	    EEPROM
			  0x5	    FLASH
			  0x6	    SRAM
			  0x7	    DRAM

		  dN	Technology region in type N.

		  sN	Slice N.

		  The following options are provided  for  compatibility  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) dou‐
			ble-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.

		  -L	Formats a 720KB (3.5 inch) or 360KB (5.25  inch)  dou‐
			ble-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 device 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 descrip‐
			       tion 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 device  for  the
			       PCMCIA  memory  card in socket S where S repre‐
			       sents a PCMCIA socket number.

       /dev/rdsk/cNtNdNsN      Directory providing character device access for
			       the  PCMCIA  memory  card.  See	OPERANDS for a
			       description of N.

       /dev/dsk/cNtNdNsN       Directory providing block device access for the
			       PCMCIA memory card. See OPERANDS for a descrip‐
			       tion of N.

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

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

SEE ALSO
       cpio(1), eject(1),  rmformat(1),	 tar(1),  volcheck(1),	volrmmount(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 system created
       on a SPARC based system (by using fdformat and newfs(1M)), is not iden‐
       tical  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 sector).

SunOS 5.11			  28 Feb 2007			   fdformat(1)
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