flinit(1)                                                         flinit(1)

NAME
     flinit - write floppy disk label area (floppy initialization)

SYNOPSIS
     /usr/sbin/flinit [-o owner] [-v version]

DESCRIPTION
     flinit initializes the label area of the floppy disk currently in
     drive 0. This area is at the beginning of the floppy disk (track 0).

     The following can be recorded in the label area:

     -  the owner of the floppy disk,

     -  the volume serial number.

     Entries in the label area of a floppy disk can be displayed and
     checked with the fldisp(1) and flchk(1) commands, respectively.

     flinit resides in the directory /usr/sbin.

   Before the call

     The floppy disk must be in drive 0, and it must not be write-protec-
     ted. flinit only supports floppy disks in drive 0.

     If you are using a new floppy disk, you will have to format it first.
     This must be done with the command flformat /dev/rdsk/f0...t.

     depending on how you wish to have the floppy disk formatted. Any of
     the available floppy disk formats [see flformat(1M)] may be used. Only
     then will the floppy disk be formatted in a manner that will allow you
     to access the label area with flinit.

OPTIONS
     No option specified:
          A null string is entered as the volume serial number version.

          owner is entered as 14 blanks.

     -o owner
          Here you can specify an owner name up to 14 characters long.

          -o owner not specified: owner is entered as 14 blanks.

     -v version
          version is an alphanumeric string (max. 6 characters) that is
          written to the label area. If the volume serial number comprises
          digits only, it is stored right-aligned, and padded to the left
          with leading zeros as required. If the specified volume serial
          number includes characters other than digits, it is stored left-
          aligned.



Page 1                       Reliant UNIX 5.44                Printed 11/98

flinit(1)                                                         flinit(1)

          -v version not specified:

          A null string is entered as the volume serial number.

   The format of a floppy disk

     Floppy disks that are formatted with flformat and initialized with
     flinit are divided into two areas:

     -  the label area, which you can access via the special file name
        /dev/dsk/f0...t or, for character-oriented (raw) access,
        /dev/rdsk/f0...t. The label area may contain information about the
        owner of the disk and about the volume serial number of the disk.

        Caution:

        When you access a floppy disk via one of the special files listed
        above, you can read from and write to the entire floppy disk, as
        the device driver does not restrict access to just the label area.
        There is thus a potential danger of inadvertently overwriting data
        that follows the label area.

     -  the data area, which you can access via the file name
        /dev/dsk/f0... (no t at the end). This is the area in which your
        data is stored.

   Use of the flinit command

     flinit is used by the menu system when processing floppy disks. The
     entry in the label area enables a program to identify a floppy disk.
     Furthermore, in the menu system, only the owner recorded in the label
     area can access a floppy disk. Data is thus protected against access
     by unauthorized users, provided the access attempt is made in the menu
     system.

          Caution:

          Commands such as cpio and tar do not check the label area. In
          other words, the flinit command cannot be used as an all-purpose
          protection against unauthorized access.














Page 2                       Reliant UNIX 5.44                Printed 11/98

flinit(1)                                                         flinit(1)

LOCALE
     The LCMESSAGES environment variable governs the language in which
     message texts are displayed.

     Answers to yes/no queries must be given in the language appropriate to
     the current locale.

     LCCTYPE governs character classes and character conversion (shift-
     ing).

     If LCMESSAGES or LCCTYPE is undefined or is defined as the null
     string, it defaults to the value of LANG. If LANG is likewise undefined
     or null, the system acts as if it were not internationalized.

     If any of the locale variables has an invalid value, the system acts
     as if none of the variables were set.

EXAMPLES
     You can enter the user name john and the volume serial number 1 in the
     label area with:

     $ flinit -v 1 -o john

     and then use the fldisp command to check whether the entries have been
     made correctly.

     The entry in the label area is shown as:

     VSN:   000001
     owner: john

FILES
     /dev/dsk/f0...t
          Special file used to access the label area of a floppy disk.

     /dev/dsk/f0...
          Special file used to access the data area of a floppy disk.

SEE ALSO
     flchk(1), fldisp(1), flformat(1M).














Page 3                       Reliant UNIX 5.44                Printed 11/98