xref: /netbsd/usr.bin/fdformat/fdformat.1 (revision bf9ec67e)
1.\"	$NetBSD: fdformat.1,v 1.13 2001/12/01 19:09:41 wiz Exp $
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3.\" Copyright (c) 1996, 1997 The NetBSD Foundation, Inc.
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6.\" This code is derived from software contributed to The NetBSD Foundation
7.\" by John Kohl.
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37.Dd November 28, 1996
38.Dt FDFORMAT 1
39.Os
40.Sh NAME
41.Nm fdformat
42.Nd format a floppy diskette
43.Sh SYNOPSIS
44.Nm
45.Bk -words
46.Op Fl f Ar device
47.Ek
48.Bk -words
49.Op Fl t Ar type
50.Ek
51.Op Fl n
52.Bk -words
53.Op Fl B Ar nbps
54.Ek
55.Bk -words
56.Op Fl S Ar nspt
57.Ek
58.Bk -words
59.Op Fl T Ar ntrk
60.Ek
61.Bk -words
62.Op Fl C Ar ncyl
63.Ek
64.Bk -words
65.Op Fl P Ar stepspercyl
66.Ek
67.Bk -words
68.Op Fl G Ar gaplen
69.Ek
70.Bk -words
71.Op Fl F Ar fillbyte
72.Ek
73.Bk -words
74.Op Fl X Ar xfer_rate
75.Ek
76.Bk -words
77.Op Fl I Ar interleave
78.Ek
79.Sh DESCRIPTION
80The
81.Nm
82utility formats a floppy diskette.
83With no arguments, it formats the default floppy device with the default
84density parameters (as provided by the floppy diskette device driver).
85.Pp
86As the each track of the floppy diskette is formatted, it is read to
87verify the format was successful.  A status is printed for each track.
88.Em F
89indicates a track was formatted.
90.Em V
91indicates the track was successfully verified.
92.Em E
93indicates an error in formatting or verifying a track.
94.Pp
95The
96.Nm
97utility does not create a filesystem of any kind. Use tools like
98.Xr newfs 8 ,
99.Xr newfs_msdos 8 ,
100or
101.Xr mformat 1
102(part of the pkgsrc/sysutils/mtools package) depending on what filesystem
103type you want to use on the floppy disk to do so.
104.Pp
105Available command-line flags are:
106.Bl -tag -width indent -compact
107.It Fl f Ar device
108Format the floppy using
109.Ar device
110instead of the default
111.Pa /dev/rfd0a .
112.It Fl t Ar type
113Format the floppy using parameters for the diskette named
114.Ar type
115in
116.Pa /etc/floppytab
117instead of the device default parameters.
118.It Fl n
119Do not verify each track as it is read.
120.It Fl B Ar nbps
121Set the number of bytes per sector for the formatted diskette.
122.It Fl S Ar nspt
123Set the number of sectors per track for the formatted diskette.
124.It Fl T Ar ntrk
125Set the number of tracks (heads) per cylinder for the formatted diskette.
126.It Fl C Ar ncyl
127Set the number of cylinders for the formatted diskette.
128.It Fl P Ar stepspercyl
129Set the number of motor steps per cylinder for the formatted diskette.
130.It Fl G Ar gaplen
131Set the sector gap length for the formatted diskette.
132.It Fl F Ar fillbyte
133Set the fill byte for the formatted diskette.
134.It Fl X Ar xfer_rate
135Set the bit transfer rate for the formatted diskette.
136.It Fl I Ar interleave
137Set the interleave factor for the formatted diskette.
138.El
139.Sh SEE ALSO
140.Xr fdc 4
141(amiga, i386 and sparc ports)
142.Sh HISTORY
143The
144.Nm
145utility appeared in
146.Nx 1.3 .
147.Sh BUGS
148Some floppy drive units have physical
149diskette format sensors which automatically select a diskette
150density for reading.  Such drives can format at alternate densities, but
151they cannot successfully verify the formatted diskette except at the
152diskette's normal density.
153