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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] [dev‐
       name]

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       The fdformat utility has been superseded by rmformat(1), which provides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  Vol‐
		       ume Management) or floppy0 (systems with Volume Manage‐
		       ment) 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/cNtNdNsN. 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 dis‐
		       couraged.

		       -d	Formats an MS-DOS floppy  diskette  or	PCMCIA
				memory	card (same as -t dos). This is equiva‐
				lent 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.

		       -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
       /vol/dev/diskette0	       Directory providing block device access
				       for the media in floppy drive 0.

       /vol/dev/diskette0	       Directory  providing  character	device
				       access for the media in floppy drive 0.

       /vol/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.

       /vol/dev/dsk/cNtNdNsN	       Directory providing block device access
				       for  the	 PCMCIA memory card. See OPER‐
				       ANDS for a description of N.

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

	/vol/dev/aliases/pcmemS	       Symbolic link to the  character	device
				       for  the PCMCIA memory card in socket S
				       where S represents a PCMCIA socket num‐
				       ber.

       /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	 OPER‐
				       ANDS for a description of N.

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

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

SEE ALSO
       cpio(1),	 eject(1),  rmformat(1),  tar(1),  volcancel(1),  volcheck(1),
       volmissing(1),  volrmmount(1),	mount(1M),   newfs(1M),	  prtvtoc(1M),
       vold(1M),   rmmount.conf(4),  vold.conf(4),  attributes(5),  pcfs(7FS),
       volfs(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 5.10			  16 Mar 2000			   fdformat(1)
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