NAME
fdformat
- format a floppy diskette
SYNOPSIS
fdformat
[-f device]
[-t type]
[-n]
[-B nbps]
[-S nspt]
[-T ntrk]
[-C ncyl]
[-P stepspercyl]
[-G gaplen]
[-F fillbyte]
[-X xfer_rate]
[-I interleave]
DESCRIPTION
The
fdformat
utility formats a floppy diskette.
With no arguments, it formats the default floppy device with the default
density parameters (as provided by the floppy diskette device driver).
As the each track of the floppy diskette is formatted, it is read to
verify the format was successful.
The
fdformat
utility does not create a filesystem of any kind.
Use tools like
newfs(8),
newfs_msdos(8),
or
mformat(1)
(part of the pkgsrc/sysutils/mtools package) depending on what filesystem
type you want to use on the floppy disk to do so.
Available command-line flags are:
- -f device
-
Format the floppy using
device
instead of the default
/dev/rfd0a
.
- -t type
-
Format the floppy using parameters for the diskette named
type
in
/etc/floppytab
instead of the device default parameters.
- -n
-
Do not verify each track as it is read.
- -B nbps
-
Set the number of bytes per sector for the formatted diskette.
- -S nspt
-
Set the number of sectors per track for the formatted diskette.
- -T ntrk
-
Set the number of tracks (heads) per cylinder for the formatted diskette.
- -C ncyl
-
Set the number of cylinders for the formatted diskette.
- -P stepspercyl
-
Set the number of motor steps per cylinder for the formatted diskette.
- -G gaplen
-
Set the sector gap length for the formatted diskette.
- -F fillbyte
-
Set the fill byte for the formatted diskette.
- -X xfer_rate
-
Set the bit transfer rate for the formatted diskette.
- -I interleave
-
Set the interleave factor for the formatted diskette.
SEE ALSO
fdc(4)
(amiga, i386 and sparc ports)
HISTORY
The
fdformat
utility appeared in
NetBSD1.3.
BUGS
Some floppy drive units have physical
diskette format sensors which automatically select a diskette
density for reading.
Such drives can format at alternate densities, but
they cannot successfully verify the formatted diskette except at the
diskette's normal density.