System User's Guide: Operating System and Devices

Formatting Diskettes (format or fdformat Command)

Attention: Formatting a diskette destroys any existing data on that diskette.

You can format diskettes in the diskette drive specified by the Device parameter (the /dev/rfd0 device by default) with the format and fdformat commands. The format command determines the device type, which is one of the following:

• 5.25-inch low-density diskette (360KB) containing 40x2 tracks, each with 9 sectors
• 5.25-inch high-capacity diskette (1.2MB) containing 80x2 tracks, each with 15 sectors
• 3.5-inch low-density diskette (720KB) containing 80x2 tracks, each with 9 sectors
• 3.5-inch high-capacity diskette (2.88MB) containing 80x2 tracks, each with 36 sectors.

The sector size is 512 bytes for all diskette types.

The format command formats a diskette for high density unless the Device parameter specifies a different density.

The fdformat command formats a diskette for low density unless the -h flag is specified. The Device parameter specifies the device containing the diskette to be formatted (such as the /dev/rfd0 device for drive 0).

Before formatting a diskette, the format and fdformat commands prompt for verification. This allows you to end the operation cleanly if necessary.

For example, to format a diskette in the /dev/rfd0 device, type:

format -d /dev/rfd0

Press Enter.

For example, to format a diskette without checking for bad tracks, type:

format -f

Press Enter.

For example, to format a 360KB diskette in a 5.25-inch, 1.2MB diskette drive in the /dev/rfd1 device, type:

format -l -d /dev/rfd1

Press Enter.

For example, to force high-density formatting of a diskette when using the fdformat command, type:

fdformat -h

Press Enter.

See the format command in the AIX 5L Version 5.1 Commands Reference for the exact syntax.