FDFORMAT(1)                  BSD Reference Manual                  FDFORMAT(1)

NAME
     fdformat - format floppy disk

SYNOPSIS
     fdformat [-l] [-v] device type

DESCRIPTION
     The fdformat utility formats floppy disks.  The device argument is the
     name of the device special file (normally in the /dev directory).  If the
     name does not begin with a slash, the prefix /dev/ is prepended to the
     name.  The type is the name of a disk description entry in /etc/disktab.
     The conventional names are floppy for 1.44MB HD 3.5 and floppy15 for
     1.2MB HD 5.25 disks.

     The following options are available:

     -l    Place a disk label on the disk after formatting.

     -v    Verbose: print track and head number during formatting.

     Floppies which are to be used as BSD/386 filesystems need to be formatted
     with fdformat, labeled with disklabel (or the -l option of fdformat ),
     and then newfs should be used to create a filesystem on the floppy.

SEE ALSO
     floppy(4)

HISTORY
     The fdformat command first appeared in BSDI.

4th Berkeley Distribution       March 27, 1993                               1