NAME

diskformat - format a disk

SYNOPSIS

diskformat [-size #] [-dens #] [-cyl f[-t]] [-sec f[-t]] [-i] #] device

DESCRIPTION

Diskformat initializes a hard disk or floppy disk and formats it according to your specifications. 

The following parameters may be specified ("device" is required):

device
device to be formatted (must be raw device)

−size #
specify sector size in bytes

−dens #
specify density

−cyl #[−#]
format cylinders f to t (default f ).  A specification such as #- means "until the end". 

−head #[−#]
Format heads f to t (default f ).  A specification such as #- means "until the end". 

−sec #[-#]
Format sectors f to t (default f ).  A specification such as #- means "until the end". 

−il # Interleave factor for the disk. 

EXAMPLE

diskformat /dev/rfdc0 -dens 1 -size 128 -il 3

will format the floppy disk on drive 0, single density, 128 bytes per sector with an interleave factor of 3.  This format is the only truly portable floppy format. 

7th Edition  —  2/19/82