mformat - mtools utility to add a DOS file system to a
low-level formatted diskette
mformat [-t tracks] [-h heads] [-s vectors] [-l volumelabel]
drive:
Specifies the number of tracks (not cylinders) on the
diskette. Specifies the number of heads (sides) on the
diskette. Specifies the number of sectors per track.
Specifies the volume label. This is an optional option.
Note
You must specify the floppy disk storage device that is to
be formatted. If you do not specify a device, or if a
device is not found, the command may incorrectly format a
SCSI device which could be a system or data disk.
The mformat command adds a minimal DOS compatible file
system (boot sector, FAT, and root directory) to a UNIX
formatted diskette. If the diskette is unformatted, you
must low-format the disk. You can do this with a PC system,
or on Tru64 UNIX using either the scu utility or the
fddisk utility, depending on your floppy drive. Tru64
UNIX supports both FDI and SCSI attached 3.5" floppy
drives with DD, HD, or ED media. Not all floppy drives
are compatible with ED media.
The following track/head/sector values are supported:
---------------------------------------------------------------
Media Capacity Tracks Heads Sectors
type KB/MB Bytes Sectors -t -h -s
---------------------------------------------------------------
DD 720KB 737280 1440 80 2 9
HD 1.44MB 1474560 2880 80 2 18
ED 2.88MB 2949120 5760 80 2 36
---------------------------------------------------------------
To format a diskette for other than the ED 2.88MB default
capacity, you must specify the number of sectors per track
with the -s option. No error is returned if you use mformat
to put an ED file system onto an HD floppy, but you
will get errors from other utilities if you try to write
beyond the physical end of the media.
The following restrictions apply: The mformat command
requires a low-level format utility from UNIX. The mformat
command does not detect (or record) bad block information.
The following exit values are returned: Success. Failure.
In the following example, a SCSI floppy diskette is formatted
at the ED 2.88MB capacity, then a DOS file system
is initialized with mformat: $ /sbin/scu -f
/dev/rdisk/dsk/6a format density ED $ mformat a: In the
following example, an FDI floppy diskette is formatted at
the HD 1.44MB capacity, then a DOS file system is initialized
with mformat, a file is copied to the diskette, and
the mdir command is used to check the contents of the
diskette. The mlabel command is used to add a label and
mdir is used to again check the diskette contents.
Finally, a DD file system is placed on the diskette, mcopy
is used to place a file on it, and mdir is used to verify
the diskette contents:
$ fddisk -fmt /dev/rfd0a
NOTE: Setting interleave factor to ``-i2:4''.
Use ``-i<nnn>[:<ccc>]'' option to override.
Disk type: 3.50 inch, HD (1.44MB) Number of sectors
per track: 18 Number of surfaces: 2 Number
of cylinders: 80 Sector size: 512 interleave factor:
2:4 Formatting disk... Percentage complete:
Format complete, checking...
Quick check of disk passes OK.
$ mformat -s 18 a: $ mcopy README a:
Copying README
$ mdir a:
Volume in drive A has no label Directory for A:/
README 769 6-04-97 8:59a
1 File(s) 1456640 bytes free
$ mlabel a: Volume in drive A is unlabeled Enter
the new volume label (11 characters): hddisk
$ mdir a:Volume in drive A is hddisk Directory for
A:/
README 769 6-04-97 8:59a
1 File(s) 1456640 bytes free
$ mformat -s 9 -l dddisk a: $ mcopy README
a:README.1 $ mdir a:
Volume in drive A is dddisk
Directory for A:/
README 1 769 6-04-97 9:16a
1 File(s) 729088 bytes free In the following
example, an unformatted 2.8Mb floppy
diskette is formatted using the scu command, followed
by the mformat command. Once it is formatted
by both the scu and mformat commands, it is ready
for use: $ /sbin/scu -f /dev/disk/floppy format
density ED $ mformat -t 80 -h 2 -s 36 a:
Executable file
Commands: mlabel(1), mtools(1)
Utilities: fddisk(8), scu(8)
Floppy disk interface: fd(7)
mformat(1)
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