Formatting a Disk

Formatting your disk drive is optional, because many hard disks have already been formatted at the factory.

---

Note - You must be in superuser mode to use the format utility.

---

1. Type format at the root prompt.

2. Select the disk that you want to format from the list displayed on your screen.

   If the disks have already been labeled, the system displays the following information.

Searching for disks...done AVAILABLE DISK SELECTIONS: 0. c0t3d0 <SUN0207 cyl 1214 alt 2 hd 9 sec 36> /sbus@1,f8000000/esp@0,8000000/sd@3,0 1. c0t0d0 <SUN0207 cyl 1214 alt 2 hd 9 sec 36> /sbus@1,f8000000/esp@0,8000000/sd@0,0 2. c1t1d0 <SUN0207 cyl 1214 alt 2 hd 9 sec 36> /sbus@1,f8000000/esp@0,8000000/sd@1,0 3. c1t2d0 <SUN0207 cyl 1214 alt 2 hd 9 sec 36> /sbus@1,f8000000/esp@0,8000000/sd@2,0 Specify disk (enter its number):2

In this example disk drives 2 and 3 have been added. Drive 2 with address c1t1d0 is the first external hard disk that is connected to a SCSI card. Drive 3, with address c1t2d0, is the second external hard disk that is connected to a SCSI card. After you have completed formatting the first external hard disk, you can format the second external hard disk that is connected to the SCSI card.

---

Caution - Do not select item 0, the system disk. Formatting your system disk deletes your operating system and any data that you may have on this disk.

---

If the Solaris operating system is unable to find a valid label on drive 2 with address c1t1d0, the following is displayed:

Searching for disks...done c1t1d0: configured with capacity of 198 MB AVAILABLE DISK SELECTIONS: 0. c0t3d0 <SUN0207 cyl 1214 alt 2 hd 9 sec 36> /sbus@1,f8000000/esp@0,8000000/sd@3,0 1. c0t0d0 <SUN0207 cyl 1214 alt 2 hd 9 sec 36> /sbus@1,f8000000/esp@0,8000000/sd@0,0 2. c1t1d0 <SUN0207 cyl 1214 alt 2 hd 9 sec 36> /sbus@1,f8000000/esp@0,8000000/sd@1,0 3. c1t2d0 <SUN0207 cyl 1214 alt 2 hd 9 sec 36> /sbus@1,f8000000/esp@0,8000000/sd@2,0 Specify disk (enter its number):2 Selecting c1t1d0 [disk formatted] Disk not labeled. Label it now? y

The configured with capacity message and the Label it now? prompt are displayed for a disk without a valid label or for a new, unlabeled disk.

If you already know that the disk drive you are adding has a SCSI interface, go to Step 8.

3. Type defect at the format> prompt.

   The Defect menu entries that are displayed depend on the type of disk drive that you are trying to format. The menu that your system displays can differ from the one below.

format> defect DEFECT MENU: primary - extract manufacturer's defect list print - display working list dump - dump working list to file commit - set current list = working list quit defect>

4. Read the Defect menu.

   If your disk drive has a SCSI interface, the commit option is not displayed. If this is the case, go to Step 7.

5. At the defect> prompt, type primary.

defect> primary Extracting manufacturer's defect list ... Extraction complete. Current Defect List updated, total of 20 defects.

6. Type commit and confirm your choice by typing y.

defect> commit Ready to update Current Defect List, continue? y Current Defect List updated, total of 20 defects. Disk must be reformatted for changes to take effect.

7. Type quit to leave the Defect menu.

defect> quit

8. At the format> prompt, type format, and confirm the command by typing y.

format> format Ready to format. Formatting cannot be interrupted. Continue? y Beginning format. The current time is Fri Sept 11 14:56:51 1993 Formatting ... done Verifying media ... pass 0 - pattern = 0xc6dec6de pass 1 - pattern = 0x6db6db6d total of 0 defective blocks repaired. format>