This page gives the manual page for the fdformat
command.
Formatting disks
The fdformat utility is provided as a ViewStation Console
window shell command to format disks.
This is the fdformat
manual page:
NAME
fdformat - format floppy diskettes
SYNOPSIS
fdformat [ -l ] [ -n ] [ -v label ]
device
DESCRIPTION
fdformat is a utility for formatting floppy diskettes. All
new blank diskettes must be formatted before they can be used. fdformat
formats and verifies each track on the diskette, and terminates if it
finds any bad sectors. All existing data on the diskette, if any, is
destroyed by formatting.
By default, fdformat formats a high density diskette
with a capacity of 1.44 megabytes. Use the -l option to format low
density diskettes (720K capacity).
Note: it is not possible
to put a low density format onto a high density floppy diskette. High
density diskettes can be recognized by the high density detect hole in
the lower right corner of the diskette, opposite the write protect hole
in the lower left corner.
This installs a MS-DOS file system on the diskette after the
format is done.
OPTIONS
-v Put a MS-DOS label on the disk after
formatting it.
-l Format a low density (720K) diskette.
-n
Skip verifying the floppy diskette after formatting.
NOTES
The MS-DOS file system installed by fdformat does not have
the necessary system files to make it bootable on a PC.
FILES
/dev/fd1
/dev/fd2
etc.
BUGS
Bad sector mapping is not currently supported on floppy diskettes.
Therefore, a diskette is unusable if fdformat finds an error
(bad sector).
This command formats a high density disk with a volume label
of `TEST': HDS> fdformat -v test /dev/fd1
Return to Section Heading Page
Return to the Home Page
If you need more information than is available here, you can reach
HDS via email at info@hds.com, or
call us at 1.800.HDS.1551 in the USA, or at +610.277.8300 from outside
the US. For questions or problems regarding the HDS WWW page, contact
webmaster@hds.com.
© 1996 by HDS Network Systems
Inc.