Chapter 29 Administering Disks (Tasks)

This chapter contains disk administration procedures. Many of the procedures described in this chapter are optional if you are already familiar with how disks are managed on systems running the Solaris release.

This is a list of step-by-step instructions in this chapter.

• "How to Identify the Disks on a System"

• "How to Determine if a Disk is Formatted"

• "How to Format a Disk"

• "How to Display Disk Slice Information"

• "How to Label a Disk"

• "How to Examine a Disk Label"

• "How to Recover a Corrupted Disk Label"

• "How to Create a format.dat Entry"

• "How to Automatically Configure a SCSI Drive"

• "How to Identify a Defective Sector by Using Surface Analysis"

• "How to Repair a Defective Sector"

For overview information about disk management, see Chapter 28, Disk Management (Overview).

Administering Disks Task Map

Identifying Disks on a System

Use the format utility to discover the types of disks that are connected to a system. You can also use the format utility to verify that a disk is known to the system. See Chapter 32, The format Utility (Reference) for information on using the format utility.

How to Identify the Disks on a System

1. Become superuser.

2. Identify the disks that are recognized on the system with the format utility.

   # format

   The format utility displays a list of disks that it recognizes under AVAILABLE DISK SELECTIONS.

Examples--Identifying the Disks on a System

The following format output is from a system with two disks.

# format
Searching for disks...done
AVAILABLE DISK SELECTIONS:
  0. c0t1d0 <SUN1.05 cyl 2036 alt 2 hd 14 sec 72>
     /iommu@f,e0000000/sbus@f,e0001000/espdma@f,400000/esp@f,800000/sd@1,0
  1. c0t3d0 <SUN1.05 cyl 2036 alt 2 hd 14 sec 72>
     /iommu@f,e0000000/sbus@f,e0001000/espdma@f,400000/esp@f,800000/sd@3,0
Specify disk (enter its number): 

The format output associates a disk's physical and local device name to the disk's marketing name which appears in angle brackets <>. This is an easy way to identify which local device names represent the disks connected to your system. See Chapter 26, Accessing Devices (Overview) for a description of local and physical device names.

The following example uses a wildcard to display the disks connected to a second controller.

# format /dev/rdsk/c2*
AVAILABLE DISK SELECTIONS:
  0. /dev/rdsk/c2t0d0s0 <SUN2.1G cyl 2733 alt 2 hd 19 sec 80>
     /io-unit@f,e0200000/sbi@0,0/QLGC,isp@2,10000/sd@0,0
  1. /dev/rdsk/c2t1d0s0 <SUN2.1G cyl 2733 alt 2 hd 19 sec 80>
     /io-unit@f,e0200000/sbi@0,0/QLGC,isp@2,10000/sd@1,0
  2. /dev/rdsk/c2t2d0s0 <SUN2.1G cyl 2733 alt 2 hd 19 sec 80>
     /io-unit@f,e0200000/sbi@0,0/QLGC,isp@2,10000/sd@2,0
  3. /dev/rdsk/c2t3d0s0 <SUN2.1G cyl 2733 alt 2 hd 19 sec 80>
     /io-unit@f,e0200000/sbi@0,0/QLGC,isp@2,10000/sd@3,0
  4. /dev/rdsk/c2t5d0s0 <SUN2.1G cyl 2733 alt 2 hd 19 sec 80>
     /io-unit@f,e0200000/sbi@0,0/QLGC,isp@2,10000/sd@5,0
Specify disk (enter its number): 

The following example identifies the disks on a SPARC based system.

# format
AVAILABLE DISK SELECTIONS:
  0. c0t3d0 <SUN2.1G cyl 2733 alt 2 hd 19 sec 80>
     /iommu@0,10000000/sbus@0,10001000/espdma@5,8400000/esp@5,8800000/sd@3,0
Specify disk (enter its number): 

The format output identifies that disk 0 (target 3) is connected to the first SCSI host adapter (espdma@...), which is connected to the first SBus device (sbus@0...). The output also associates both the physical and logical device name to the disk's marketing name, SUN02.1G.

The following example identifies the disks on an IA based system.

# format
AVAILABLE DISK SELECTIONS:
  0. c0d0 <DEFAULT cyl 615 alt 2 hd 64 sec 63>
     /pci@0,0/pci-ide@7,1/ata@0/cmdk@0,0
  1. c0d1 <DEFAULT cyl 522 alt 2 hd 32 sec 63>
     /pci@0,0/pci-ide@7,1/ata@0/cmdk@1,0
  2. c1d0 <DEFAULT cyl 817 alt 2 hd 256 sec 63>
     /pci@0,0/pci-ide@7,1/ata@1/cmdk@0,0
Specify disk (enter its number):  

The format output identifies that disk 0 is connected to the first PCI host adapter (pci-ide@7...), which is connected to the ATA device (ata...). The format output on an IA based system does not identify disks by their marketing names.

Where to Go From Here

Check the following table if the format utility did not recognize the disk.

Formatting a Disk

Disks are formatted by the manufacturer or reseller and usually do not need to be reformatted when you install the drive.

A disk must be formatted before:

• You can write data to it. However, most disks are already formatted.

• You can use the Solaris installation program to install the system.

Formatting is a destructive process--it overwrites data on the disk. For this reason, disks are usually formatted only by the manufacturer or reseller. If you think disk defects are causing recurring problems, you can use the format utility to do a surface analysis, but be careful to use only the commands that do not destroy data.

How to Determine if a Disk is Formatted

1. Become superuser.

2. Enter the format utility.

   # format

3. Enter the number of the disk that you want to check from the list displayed on your screen.

   Specify disk (enter its number): 0

4. Verify that the disk you chose is formatted by identifying the following message.

   [disk formatted]

Example--Determining if a Disk Is Formatted

The following example shows that disk c0t3d0 is formatted.

# format
AVAILABLE DISK SELECTIONS:
  0. c0t1d0 <SUN1.05 cyl 2036 alt 2 hd 14 sec 72> 
     /iommu@f,e0000000/sbus@f,e0001000/espdma@f,400000/esp@f,800000/sd@1,0
  1. c0t3d0 <SUN1.05 cyl 2036 alt 2 hd 14 sec 72>
     /iommu@f,e0000000/sbus@f,e0001000/espdma@f,400000/esp@f,800000/sd@3,0
Specify disk (enter its number): 0
selecting c0t1d0
[disk formatted]

How to Format a Disk

1. Become superuser.

2. Enter the format utility.

   # format

3. Enter the number of the disk that you want to format from the list displayed on your screen.

   Specify disk (enter its number): 0

   ---

   Caution -

   Do not select the system disk. Formatting your system disk deletes your operating system and any data that you might have on this disk.

   ---

4. To begin formatting the disk, enter format at the format> prompt. Confirm the command by typing y.

   format> format Ready to format. Formatting cannot be interrupted and takes 23 minutes (estimated). Continue? yes

5. Verify that the disk format is successful by identifying the following messages.

   Beginning format. The current time Tue ABC xx xx:xx:xx xxxx Formatting... done Verifying media... pass 0 - pattern = 0xc6dec6de 2035/12/18 pass 1 - pattern = 0x6db6db6d 2035/12/18 Total of 0 defective blocks repaired.

Example--Formatting a Disk

The following example formats the disk c0t3d0.

# format
Searching for disks...done
AVAILABLE DISK SELECTIONS:
  0. c0t1d0 <SUN1.05 cyl 2036 alt 2 hd 14 sec 72>
     /iommu@f,e0000000/sbus@f,e0001000/espdma@f,400000/esp@f,800000/sd@1,0
  1. c0t3d0 <SUN1.05 cyl 2036 alt 2 hd 14 sec 72>
     /iommu@f,e0000000/sbus@f,e0001000/espdma@f,400000/esp@f,800000/sd@3,0
Specify disk (enter its number):1
Selecting c0t3d0
[disk formatted]
format> format
Ready to format. Formatting cannot be interrupted
and takes 23 minutes (estimated). Continue? yes
Beginning format. The current time is Wed Jul 14 10:03:34 1999
Formatting ...
done
Verifying media...
        pass 0 - pattern = 0xc6dec6de
   2035/12/18  

        pass 1 - pattern = 0x6db6db6d
   2035/12/18  

Total of 0 defective blocks repaired.
format>

Displaying Disk Slices

You can use the format utility to check whether or not a disk has the appropriate disk slices. If you determine that a disk does not contain the slices you want to use, use the format utility to re-create them and label the disk. See "SPARC: How to Create Disk Slices and Label a Disk" or "IA: How to Create Disk Slices and Label a Disk" for information on creating disk slices.

The format utility uses the term partition in place of slice.

How to Display Disk Slice Information

1. Become superuser.

2. Enter the format utility.

   # format

3. Identify the disk for which you want to display slice information by selecting a disk listed under AVAILABLE DISK SELECTIONS.

   Specify disk (enter its number):1

4. Enter the partition menu by typing partition at the format> prompt.

   format> partition

5. Display the slice information for the current disk drive by typing print at the partition> prompt.

   partition> print

6. Exit the format utility by typing q at the partition> prompt and typing q at the format> prompt.

   partition> q format> q #

7. Verify displayed slice information by identifying specific slice tags and slices.

   If the screen output shows that no slice sizes are assigned, the disk probably does not have slices.

Examples--Displaying Disk Slice Information

The following example displays slice information for disk /dev/dsk/c0t3d0.

# format
Searching for disks...done
Specify disk (enter its number):1
Selecting c0t3d0
format> partition
partition> print
Current partition table (original):
Total disk cylinders available: 2036 + 2 (reserved cylinders)

Part      Tag    Flag     Cylinders        Size            Blocks
  0       root    wm       0 -  300      148.15MB    (301/0/0)   303408
  1       swap    wu     301 -  524      110.25MB    (224/0/0)   225792
  2     backup    wm       0 - 2035     1002.09MB    (2036/0/0) 2052288
  3 unassigned    wm       0               0         (0/0/0)          0
  4 unassigned    wm       0               0         (0/0/0)          0
  5 unassigned    wm       0               0         (0/0/0)          0
  6        usr    wm     525 - 2035      743.70MB    (1511/0/0) 1523088
  7 unassigned    wm       0               0         (0/0/0)          0
partition> q
format> q
#

See Chapter 28, Disk Management (Overview) for a detailed description of the slice information displayed in these examples.

The following example displays the slice information on disk /dev/dsk/c0t0d0.

# format
Searching for disks...done
Specify disk (enter its number): 0
selecting c0t0d0
[disk formatted]
format> partition
partition> print
Current partition table (original):
Total disk cylinders available: 817 + 2 (reserved cylinders)

Part      Tag    Flag     Cylinders       Size            Blocks
  0 unassigned    wm       3 - 816        6.26GB    (814/0/0) 13128192
  1 unassigned    wm       0              0         (0/0/0)          0
  2     backup    wm       0 - 816        6.28GB    (817/0/0) 13176576
  3 unassigned    wm       0              0         (0/0/0)          0
  4 unassigned    wm       0              0         (0/0/0)          0
  5 unassigned    wm       0              0         (0/0/0)          0
  6 unassigned    wm       0              0         (0/0/0)          0
  7 unassigned    wm       0              0         (0/0/0)          0
  8       boot    wu       0 -   0        7.88MB    (1/0/0)      16128
  9 alternates    wu       1 -   2       15.75MB    (2/0/0)      32256
partition> q
format> q

Creating and Examining a Disk Label

Labeling a disk is usually done during system installation or when you are creating new disk slices. You might need to relabel a disk if the disk label is corrupted (for example, from a power failure).

The format utility will attempt to automatically configure any unlabeled SCSI disk. If format is able to automatically configure an unlabeled disk, it will display a message like the following:

	c1t0d0:configured with capacity of 404.65MB

How to Label a Disk

1. Become superuser.

2. Enter the format utility.

   # format

3. Enter the number of the disk that you want to label from the list displayed on your screen.

   Specify disk (enter its number):1

4. Use the table below to determine how to label the disk.

   If the Disk Is Unlabeled and Was Successfully Configured ...	If the Disk Was Labeled and You Want to Change the Type, or Format Was Not Able to Automatically Configure the Disk ...
   Format will ask if you want to label the disk. Go to step 5 to label the disk.	You must specify the disk type. Go to steps 6-7 to set the disk type and label the disk.

5. Label the disk by typing y at the Label it now? prompt.

   Disk not labeled. Label it now? y

   The disk is now labeled. Go to step 10 to exit the format utility.

6. Enter type at the format> prompt.

   format> type

   Format displays the Available Drive Types menu.

7. Select a disk type from the list of possible disk types.

   Specify disk type (enter its number)[12]: 12

8. Label the disk. If the disk is not labeled, the following message is displayed.

   Disk not labeled. Label it now? y

   Otherwise you are prompted with this message:

   Ready to label disk, continue? y

9. Use the verify command from the format main menu to verify the disk label.

   format> verify

10. Exit the format utility by typing q at the format> prompt.

    partition> q format> q #

Example--Labeling a Disk

The following example automatically configures and labels a 1.05-Gbyte disk.

# format
	c1t0d0: configured with capacity of 1002.09MB
 
AVAILABLE DISK SELECTIONS:
	  0. c0t3d0 <SUN1.05 cyl 2036 alt 2 hd 14 sec 72>
     /iommu@f,e0000000/sbus@f,e0001000/espdma@f,400000/esp@f,800000/sd@1,0
	  1. c1t0d0 <SUN1.05 cyl 2036 alt 2 hd 14 sec 72>
     /iommu@f,e0000000/sbus@f,e0001000/espdma@f,400000/esp@f,800000/sd@1,0
Specify disk (enter its number): 1
Disk not labeled.  Label it now?  yes
format> verify
#

How to Examine a Disk Label

Examine disk label information by using the prtvtoc(1M) command. See Chapter 28, Disk Management (Overview) for a detailed description of the disk label and the information displayed by the prtvtoc command.

1. Become superuser.

2. Display the disk label information by using the prtvtoc command.

   # prtvtoc /dev/rdsk/device-name

   device-name

   Raw disk device you want to examine.

Example--Examining a Disk Label

The following example shows the disk label information for disk /dev/rdsk/c0t1d0s0.

# prtvtoc /dev/rdsk/c0t1d0s0
* /dev/rdsk/c0t1d0s0 partition map
*
* Dimensions:
*     512 bytes/sector
*      72 sectors/track
*      14 tracks/cylinder
*    1008 sectors/cylinder
*    2038 cylinders
*    2036 accessible cylinders
*
* Flags:
*   1: unmountable
*  10: read-only
*
*                          First     Sector    Last
* Partition  Tag  Flags    Sector     Count    Sector  Mount Directory
       0      2    00          0    303408    303407   /
       1      3    01     303408    225792    529199
       2      5    00          0   2052288   2052287
       6      4    00     529200   1523088   2052287   /usr
#

Recovering a Corrupted Disk Label

Sometimes a power or system failure will cause a disk's label to become unrecognizable. This doesn't always mean that the slice information or the disk's data will have to be recreated or restored.

The first step to recovering a corrupted disk label is to label the disk with the correct geometry and disk type information. This can be done through the normal disk labeling method, either automatic configuration or manual disk type specification.

If format recognizes the disk type, the next step is to search for a backup label to label the disk. Labeling the disk with the backup label will label the disk with the correct partitioning information, the disk type, and disk geometry.

How to Recover a Corrupted Disk Label

1. Boot the system to single-user mode. If necessary, boot the system from a local CD-ROM or the network in single-user mode to access the disk.

   See Chapter 10, SPARC: Booting a System (Tasks) or Chapter 11, IA: Booting a System (Tasks) for information on booting the system.

2. Use the format utility to relabel the disk.

   # format

   At this point, format attempts to automatically configure any unlabeled SCSI disk. If format is able to configure the unlabeled and corrupted disk, it will display:

   cwtxdy: configured with capacity of abcMB

   The format utility then displays the list of disks on the system.

3. Enter the number of the disk that you need to recover from the list displayed on your screen.

   Specify disk (enter its number): 1

4. Use the table below to determine how to label the disk.

   If the Disk was Successfully Configured ...	If the Disk was not Successfully Configured ...
   Follow steps 5 and 6. Then go to step 12.	Follow steps 7-11. Then go to step 12.

5. Search for the backup label by using the verify command.

   format> verify Warning: Could not read primary label. Warning: Check the current partitioning and 'label' the disk or use the 'backup' command. Backup label contents: Volume name = < > ascii name = <SUN1.05 cyl 2036 alt 2 hd 14 sec 72> pcyl = 2038 ncyl = 2036 acyl = 2 nhead = 14 nsect = 72 Part Tag Flag Cylinders Size Blocks 0 root wm 0 - 300 148.15MB (301/0/0) 303408 1 swap wu 301 - 524 110.25MB (224/0/0) 225792 2 backup wm 0 - 2035 1002.09MB (2036/0/0) 2052288 3 unassigned wm 0 0 (0/0/0) 0 4 unassigned wm 0 0 (0/0/0) 0 5 unassigned wm 0 0 (0/0/0) 0 6 usr wm 525 - 2035 743.70MB (1511/0/0) 1523088 7 unassigned wm 0 0 (0/0/0) 0

6. If format was able to find a backup label and the backup label contents appear satisfactory, use the backup command to label the disk with the backup label.

   format> backup Disk has a primary label, still continue? y Searching for backup labels...found. Restoring primary label

   The disk label has been recovered. Go to step 12.

7. If format was not able to automatically configure the disk, specify the disk type using the type command.

   format> type

   The format utility displays the Available Drives Type menu.

8. Select 0 to automatically configure the disk, or select a disk type from the list of possible disk types.

   Specify disk type (enter its number)[12]: 12

9. If the disk was successfully configured, reply with no when format asks if you want to label the disk.

   Disk not labeled. Label it now? no

10. Use the verify command to search for backup labels.

    format> verify Warning: Could not read primary label. Warning: Check the current partitioning and 'label' the disk or use the 'backup' command. . . .

11. If format was able to find a backup label and the backup label contents appear satisfactory, use the backup command to label the disk with the backup label.

    format> backup Disk has a primary label, still continue? y Searching for backup labels...found. Restoring primary label

    The disk label has been recovered.

12. Exit the format utility by typing q.

    format> q

13. Verify the file systems on the recovered disk by using the fsck command.

    See Chapter 39, Checking File System Integrity for information about using the fsck command.

Adding a Third-Party Disk

The Solaris environment supports many third-party disks. However, you might need to supply either a device driver, a format.dat entry, or both of these.

If the third-party disk was designed to work with standard SunOS operating system-compatible device drivers, creating an appropriate format.dat entry should be enough to allow the disk to be recognized by the format utility. In other cases, you'll need to load a third-party device driver to support the disk.

Sun cannot guarantee that its format utility will work properly with all third-party disk drivers. If the disk driver is not compatible with the Solaris format utility, the disk drive vendor should supply you with a custom format program.

This section discusses what to do if some of this software support is missing. Typically, this occurs when you invoke the format utility and find that the disk type is not recognized.

Supply the missing software as described in this section, and then refer to the appropriate configuration procedure for adding system disks or secondary disks in Chapter 30, SPARC: Adding a Disk (Tasks) or Chapter 31, IA: Adding a Disk (Tasks).

Creating a format.dat Entry

Unrecognized disks cannot be formatted without precise information about the disk's geometry and operating parameters. This information is supplied in the /etc/format.dat file.

SCSI-2 drives do not require a format.dat entry. Starting with the Solaris 2.3 release, the format utility automatically configures the SCSI-2 drivers if the drives are powered on during a reconfiguration boot. See "How to Automatically Configure a SCSI Drive" for step-by-step instructions on configuring a SCSI disk drive automatically.

If your disk was not recognized, use a text editor to create an entry in format.dat for the disk. You'll need to gather all the pertinent technical specifications about the disk and its controller before you start. This information should have been provided with the disk. If not, contact the disk manufacturer or your supplier. See Chapter 32, The format Utility (Reference) for more information on adding an entry to the /etc/format.dat file.

How to Create a format.dat Entry

1. Become superuser.

2. Make a copy of the /etc/format.dat file.

   # cp /etc/format.dat /etc/format.dat.gen

3. Modify the /etc/format.dat file to include an entry for the third-party disk using the format.dat information described in Chapter 32, The format Utility (Reference).

   Use the disk's hardware product documentation to gather the required information.

Automatically Configuring SCSI Disk Drives

In Solaris 2.3 release and compatible versions, the format utility automatically configures SCSI disk drives even if that specific type of drive is not listed in the /etc/format.dat file. This feature enables you to format, slice, and label any disk driver compliant with SCSI-2 specification for disk device mode sense pages.

The following steps are involved in configuring a SCSI drive using autoconfiguration:

• Shutting down the system

• Attaching the SCSI disk drive to the system

• Turning on the disk drive

• Performing a reconfiguration boot

• Using the format utility to automatically configure the SCSI disk drive

After the reconfiguration boot, invoke the format utility. The format utility will attempt to configure the disk and, if successful, alert the user that the disk was configured. See "How to Automatically Configure a SCSI Drive" for step-by-step instructions on configuring a SCSI disk drive automatically.

Here are the default slice rules that format uses to create the partition table.

In all cases, slice 6 (for the /usr file system) gets the remainder of the space on the disk.

Here's an example of a format-generated partition table for a 1.3-Gbyte SCSI disk drive.

Part    Tag    Flag     Cylinders     Size        Blocks
   0     root    wm       0 -   96    64.41MB      (97/0/0)
   1     swap    wu      97 -  289   128.16MB     (193/0/0)
   2   backup    wu       0 - 1964     1.27GB    (1965/0/0)
   6      usr    wm     290 - 1964     1.09GB    (1675/0/0)

See Chapter 32, The format Utility (Reference) for more information about using SCSI automatic configuration.

How to Automatically Configure a SCSI Drive

1. Become superuser.

2. Create the /reconfigure file that will be read when the system is booted.

   # touch /reconfigure

3. Shut down the system.

   # shutdown -i0 -g30 -y

   -i0	Brings the system down to init state 0 (zero), the power-down state.
   -g30	Notifies logged-in users that they have n seconds before the system begins to shut down.
   -y	Specifies the command should run without user intervention.

   The ok or > prompt is displayed after the operating environment is shut down.

4. Turn off power to the system and all external peripheral devices.

5. Make sure the disk you are adding has a different target number than the other devices on the system.

   You will often find a small switch located at the back of the disk for this purpose.

6. Connect the disk to the system and check the physical connections.

   Refer to the disk's hardware installation guide for installation details.

7. Turn on the power to all external peripherals.

8. Turn on the power to the system.

   The system will boot and display the login prompt.

9. Login as superuser, invoke the format utility, and select the disk to be configured automatically.

   # format Searching for disks...done c1t0d0: configured with capacity of 1002.09MB AVAILABLE DISK SELECTIONS: 0. c0t1d0 <SUN1.05 cyl 2036 alt 2 hd 14 sec 72> /iommu@f,e0000000/sbus@f,e0001000/espdma@f,400000/esp@f,800000/sd@1,0 1. c0t3d0 <SUN1.05 cyl 2036 alt 2 hd 14 sec 72> /iommu@f,e0000000/sbus@f,e0001000/espdma@f,400000/esp@f,800000/sd@3,0 Specify disk (enter its number): 1

10. Reply yes to the prompt to label the disk.

    Replying y will cause the disk label to be generated and written to the disk by the autoconfiguration feature.

    Disk not labeled. Label it now? y

11. Verify the disk label with the verify command.

    format> verify

12. Exit the format utility.

    format> q

Repairing a Defective Sector

If a disk on your system has a defective sector, you can repair it by using the instructions in the following procedures. You might become aware of defective sectors when you:

• Run surface analysis on a disk.

  See "The analyze Menu" for more information on the analysis functionality of the format utility.

  The defective area reported while your system is running might not be accurate. Since the system does disk operations many sectors at a time, it is often hard to pinpoint exactly which sector caused a given error. Use "How to Identify a Defective Sector by Using Surface Analysis" to find the exact sector(s).

• Get multiple error messages from the disk driver concerning a particular portion of the disk while your system is running.

  Messages related to disk errors look like the following:

  WARNING: /io-unit@f,e0200000/sbi@0,0/QLGC,isp@1,10000/sd@3,0 (sd33): Error for command 'read' Error Level: Retryable Requested Block 126, Error Block: 179 Sense Key: Media Error Vendor 'name': ASC = 0x11 (unrecovered read error), ASCQ = 0x0, FRU = 0x0

  The above console message indicates that block 179 might be bad. Relocate the bad block by using the format utility's repair command or use the analyze command with the repair option enabled.

How to Identify a Defective Sector by Using Surface Analysis

1. Become superuser.

2. Unmount the file system in the slice that contains the defective sector.

   See mount(1M) for more information.

   # umount /dev/dsk/device-name

3. Enter the format utility by typing format.

   # format

4. Select the affected disk.

   Specify disk (enter its number):1 selecting c0t2d0: [disk formatted] Warning: Current Disk has mounted partitions.

5. Enter the analyze menu by typing analyze at the format> prompt.

   format> analyze

6. Set up the analysis parameters by typing setup at the analyze> prompt. Use the parameters shown here:

   analyze> setup Analyze entire disk [yes]? n Enter starting block number [0, 0/0/0]: 12330 Enter ending block number [2052287, 2035/13/71]: 12360 Loop continuously [no]? y Repair defective blocks [yes]? n Stop after first error [no]? n Use random bit patterns [no]? n Enter number of blocks per transfer [126, 0/1/54]: 1 Verify media after formatting [yes]? y Enable extended messages [no]? n Restore defect list [yes]? y Create defect label [yes]? y

7. Use the read command to find the defect.

   analyze> read Ready to analyze (won't harm SunOS). This takes a long time, but is interruptible with Control-C. Continue? y pass 0 2035/12/1825/7/24 pass 1 Block 12354 (18/4/18), Corrected media error (hard data ecc) 25/7/24 ^C Total of 1 defective blocks repaired.

How to Repair a Defective Sector

1. Become superuser.

2. Enter the format utility and select the disk that contains the defective sector.

   # format Searching for disks...done AVAILABLE DISK SELECTIONS: 0. c0t2d0 <SUN1.05 cyl 2036 alt 2 hd 14 sec 72> /iommu@f,e0000000/sbus@f,e0001000/espdma@f,400000/esp@f,800000/sd@2,0 1. c0t3d0 <SUN1.05 cyl 2036 alt 2 hd 14 sec 72> /iommu@f,e0000000/sbus@f,e0001000/espdma@f,400000/esp@f,800000/sd@3,0 Specify disk (enter its number): 1 selecting c0t3d0 [disk formatted] format>

3. Enter the repair command at the format> prompt.

   format> repair

4. Enter the defective block number.

   Enter absolute block number of defect: 12354 Ready to repair defect, continue? y Repairing block 12354 (18/4/18)...ok. format>

   If you are unsure of the format used to identify the defective sector, see "How to Identify a Defective Sector by Using Surface Analysis" for more information.

Tips and Tricks for Managing Disks

Use the following tips to help you manage disks more efficiently.

Debugging format Sessions

Invoke format -M to enable extended and diagnostic messages for using the format utility with SCSI devices only.

In this example, the series of numbers below Inquiry: represent the hexadecimal value of the inquiry data displayed to the right of the numbers.

# format -M
Searching for disks...done
AVAILABLE DISK SELECTIONS:
  0. c0t1d0 <SUN1.05 cyl 2036 alt 2 hd 14 sec 72>
     /iommu@f,e0000000/sbus@f,e0001000/espdma@f,400000/esp@f,800000/sd@1,0
  1. c0t3d0 <SUN1.05 cyl 2036 alt 2 hd 14 sec 72>
     /iommu@f,e0000000/sbus@f,e0001000/espdma@f,400000/esp@f,800000/sd@3,0
 
Specify disk (enter its number): 0
selecting c0t3d0
[disk formatted]
format> inquiry
Inquiry:
00 00 02 02 8f 00 00 12 53 45 41 47 41 54 45 20     ........NAME....
53 54 31 31 32 30 30 4e 20 53 55 4e 31 2e 30 35     ST11200N SUN1.05
38 33 35 38 30 30 30 33 30 32 30 39 00 00 00 00     835800030209....
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00     ................
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00     ................
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00     ................
00 43 6f 70 79 72 69 67 68 74 20 28 63 29 20 31     .Copyright (c) 1
39 39 32 20 53 65 61 67 61 74 65 20 41 6c 6c 20     992 NAME    All 
72 69 67 68 74 73 20 72 65 73 65 72 76 65 64 20     rights reserved 
30 30 30                                            000
Vendor:   name 
Product:  ST11200N SUN1.05
Revision: 8358
format> 

Label Multiple Disks by Using the prtvtoc and fmthard Commands

Use the prtvtoc and fmthard commands to label multiple disks with the same disk geometry.

Use this for loop in a script to copy a disk label from one disk and replicate it on multiple disks.

# for i in x y z
> do
> prtvtoc /dev/rdsk/cwtxdysz | fmthard -s - /dev/rdsk/cwt${i}d0s2
> done

Example--Labeling Multiple Disks

In this example, the disk label from c2t0d0s0 is copied to four other disks.

# for i in 1 2 3 5
> do
> prtvtoc /dev/rdsk/c2t0d0s0 | fmthard -s - /dev/rdsk/c2t${i}d0s2
> done
fmthard:  New volume table of contents now in place.
fmthard:  New volume table of contents now in place.
fmthard:  New volume table of contents now in place.
fmthard:  New volume table of contents now in place.
#