xref: /netbsd-src/usr.bin/fdformat/fdformat.1 (revision 4472dbe5e3bd91ef2540bada7a7ca7384627ff9b)
1.\"	$NetBSD: fdformat.1,v 1.9 1999/03/22 18:16:37 garbled 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
95Available command-line flags are:
96.Bl -tag -width indent -compact
97.It Fl f Ar device
98Format the floppy using
99.Ar device
100instead of the default
101.Pa /dev/rfd0a .
102.It Fl t Ar type
103Format the floppy using parameters for the diskette named
104.Ar type
105in
106.Pa /etc/floppytab
107instead of the device default parameters.
108.It Fl n
109Do not verify each track as it is read.
110.It Fl B Ar nbps
111Set the number of bytes per sector for the formatted diskette.
112.It Fl S Ar nspt
113Set the number of sectors per track for the formatted diskette.
114.It Fl T Ar ntrk
115Set the number of tracks (heads) per cylinder for the formatted diskette.
116.It Fl C Ar ncyl
117Set the number of cylinders for the formatted diskette.
118.It Fl P Ar stepspercyl
119Set the number of motor steps per cylinder for the formatted diskette.
120.It Fl G Ar gaplen
121Set the sector gap length for the formatted diskette.
122.It Fl F Ar fillbyte
123Set the fill byte for the formatted diskette.
124.It Fl X Ar xfer_rate
125Set the bit transfer rate for the formatted diskette.
126.It Fl I Ar interleave
127Set the interleave factor for the formatted diskette.
128.El
129.Sh BUGS
130Some floppy drive units have physical
131diskette format sensors which automatically select a diskette
132density for reading.  Such drives can format at alternate densities, but
133they cannot successfully verify the formatted diskette except at the
134diskette's normal density.
135.Sh SEE ALSO
136.Xr fdc 4
137(i386 port).
138.Sh HISTORY
139The
140.Nm
141utility appeared in
142.Nx 1.3 .
143