fdformat Command

Purpose

The fdformat command formats diskettes.

Syntax

fdformat [ Device ] [ -h ]

Description

Attention: Formatting a diskette or read/write optical disk destroys any existing data on it.

The fdformat command formats diskettes in the diskette drive specified for low density unless the -h flag is specified.

All new, blank diskettes must be formatted before they can be used.

Before formatting a diskette or read/write optical disk, the fdformat command prompts for verification. This allows you to end the operation cleanly.

Flags

Item	Description
-h	Forces high-density formatting. This flag is used only with the fdformat command.

Parameters

Item	Description
Device	Specifies the device containing the diskette to be formatted. The default is the /dev/rfd0 device for drive 0.

Examples

To force high-density formatting of a diskette when using the fdformat command, enter:

fdformat -h

Files

Item	Description
/usr/sbin/fdformat	Contains the fdformat command.
/dev/rfd*	Specifies the device parameters.
/dev/fd*	Specifies the device parameters.
/dev/romd*	Specifies the device parameters.
/dev/omd*	Specifies the device parameters.