NAME    [Toc]    [Back]

       fddisk - FDI disk maintenance utility

SYNOPSIS    [Toc]    [Back]

       /sbin/fddisk options special

OPTIONS    [Toc]    [Back]

       Unless  this  option is specified, an attempt to format or
       to install a file system fails in two  cases.   The  first
       failure  occurs  when the device has been opened since the
       media was inserted.  The  second  failure  occurs  if  the
       device  is  currently  opened by another process.  Formats
       the media to  the  density  appropriate  for  that  media.
       Copies  a  hex  dump of sector number PSN to stdout.  Uses
       the interleave factor nnn for formatting.   If  specified,
       ccc  indicates  an  additional  intercylinder  interleave.
       Copies a packed-C hex dump of the entire disk  to  stdout.
       Specifies  silent  mode.  This option blocks informational
       messages from  appearing  on  stderr.   Reads  the  entire
       media.   The command fails if the utility finds a bad sector.
  Waits for media to be inserted  into  the  drive  if
       none  is present.  Waits for new media to be inserted into
       the drive if none is present or if the current  media  has
       been  opened  since  it was last inserted.  Reads the disk
       and reports on the format of the disk.

OPERANDS    [Toc]    [Back]

       Specifies an unmounted, raw device pathname.  This  device
       must be an FDI interface (fd).

DESCRIPTION    [Toc]    [Back]

       The  fddisk utility, an FDI (integrated Floppy Disk Interface)
 disk maintenance program, can format a floppy  disk,
       scan  a  floppy  disk  for  bad blocks, and read and write
       selected blocks.  It can be  used  in  shell  scripts  for
       checking  the  status of floppy disks.  Such status checks
       include checking for or waiting for the presence of media,
       and  checking  for  or  waiting for the user to change the
       media.

RESTRICTIONS    [Toc]    [Back]

       The fddisk utility has  the  following  restrictions:  You
       must  have  read/write  access  to the device.  The device
       must not be mounted.  The program can only be used with  a
       3.5-inch floppy disk in the RX26 drive.  In some cases, it
       might not be possible to format a floppy disk at a  higher
       density  than  it is already formatted.  If this situation
       occurs, the floppy disk must be bulk erased before it  can
       be reformatted at a higher density.

EXAMPLES    [Toc]    [Back]

       This  example  formats  a  floppy  disk  in  drive zero: #
       /sbin/fddisk -fmt /dev/rdisk/floppy0a This example formats
       a floppy disk in drive zero when the disk has been read or
       written  since  it  was  inserted  into   the   drive:   #
       /sbin/fddisk -fmt -f /dev/rdisk/floppy0a

SEE ALSO    [Toc]    [Back]

       Commands: mount(8), restore(8), uerf(8)

       Files: fd(7)



                                                        fddisk(8)