Sun Microsystems, Inc.
spacerspacer
spacer www.sun.com docs.sun.com |
spacer
black dot
 
 
35.  The format Utility (Reference) Format Menu and Command Descriptions The partition Menu  Previous   Contents   Next 
   
 

IA: The fdisk Menu

The fdisk menu appears on IA based systems only and looks similar to the following.

format> fdisk
             Total disk size is 1855 cylinders
             Cylinder size is 553 (512 byte) blocks
                                           Cylinders
      Partition   Status    Type      Start   End   Length    %
      =========   ======    ========  =====   ===   ======   ===
          1                 DOS-BIG       0   370     371     20
          2       Active    SOLARIS     370  1851    1482     80
 
SELECT ONE OF THE FOLLOWING:
     1.   Create a partition
     2.   Change Active (Boot from) partition
     3.   Delete a partition
     4.   Exit (Update disk configuration and exit)
     5.   Cancel (Exit without updating disk configuration)
Enter Selection: 

The following table describes the fdisk menu items.

Table 35-3 IA: Descriptions for fdisk Menu Items

Menu Item

Description

Create a partition

Creates an fdisk partition. You must create a separate partition for each operating environment such as Solaris or DOS. There is a maximum of 4 partitions per disk. You are prompted for the size of the fdisk partition as a percentage of the disk.

Change Active partition

Lets you specify the partition to be used for booting. This menu item identifies where the first stage boot program looks for the second stage boot program.

Delete a partition

Deletes a previously created partition. This command destroys all the data in the partition.

Exit

Writes a new version of the partition table and exits the fdisk menu.

Cancel

Exits the fdisk menu without modifying the partition table.

The analyze Menu

The analyze menu looks similar to the following.

format> analyze
 
ANALYZE MENU:
    read     - read only test   (doesn't harm SunOS)
    refresh  - read then write  (doesn't harm data)
    test     - pattern testing  (doesn't harm data)
    write    - write then read      (corrupts data)
    compare  - write, read, compare (corrupts data)
    purge    - write, read, write   (corrupts data)
    verify   - write entire disk, then verify (corrupts data)
    print    - display data buffer
    setup    - set analysis parameters
    config   - show analysis parameters
    quit
analyze> 

The following table describes the analyze menu items.

Table 35-4 Descriptions for analyze Menu Item

Sub-Command

Description

read

Reads each sector on the current disk. Repairs defective blocks as a default.

refresh

Reads then writes data on the current disk without harming the data. Repairs defective blocks as a default.

test

Writes a set of patterns to the disk without harming the data. Repairs defective blocks as a default.

write

Writes a set of patterns to the disk then reads the data on the disk back. Destroys existing data on the disk. Repairs defective blocks as a default.

compare

Writes a set of patterns to the disk, reads the data back, and then compares it to the data in the write buffer. Destroys existing data on the disk. Repairs defective blocks as a default.

purge

Removes all data from the disk so that the data can't be retrieved by any means. Data is removed by writing three distinct patterns over the entire disk (or a section of the disk). If the verification passes, a hex-bit pattern is written over the entire disk (or a section of the disk).

Repairs defective blocks as a default.

verify

Writes unique data to each block on the entire disk in the first pass. Reads and verifies the data in the next pass. Destroys existing data on the disk. Repairs defective blocks as a default.

print

Displays the data in the read/write buffer.

setup

Lets you specify the following analysis parameters:

Analyze entire disk? yes
Starting block number: depends on drive
Ending block number: depends on drive
Loop continuously? no
Number of passes: 2
	Repair defective blocks? yes
Stop after first error? no
Use random bit patterns? no
Number of blocks per transfer: 126 (0/n/nn)
Verify media after formatting? yes
Enable extended messages? no
Restore defect list? yes
Restore disk label? yes

Defaults are shown in bold.

config

Displays the current analysis parameters.

quit

Exits the analyze menu.

The defect Menu

The defect menu looks similar to the following:

format> defect
 
DEFECT MENU:
        primary  - extract manufacturer's defect list
        grown    - extract manufacturer's and repaired defects lists
        both     - extract both primary and grown defects lists
        print    - display working list
        dump     - dump working list to file
        quit
defect> 

The following table describes the defect menu items.

Table 35-5 The defect Menu Item Descriptions

Sub-Command

Description

primary

Reads the manufacturer's defect list from the disk drive and updates the in-memory defect list.

grown

Reads the grown defect list, which are defects that have been detected during analysis, and then updates the in-memory defect list.

both

Reads both the manufacturer's defect list and the grown defect list, and then updates the in-memory defect list.

print

Displays the in-memory defect list.

dump

Saves the in-memory defect list to a file.

quit

Exits the defect menu.

The format.dat File

The format.dat file that is shipped with the Solaris operating environment supports many standard disks. If your disk drive is not listed in the format.dat file, you can choose to add an entry for it or adding entries with the format utility by selecting the type command and choosing the other option.

Adding an entry to the format.dat file can save time if the disk drive will be used throughout your site. To use the format.dat file on other systems, copy the file to each system that will use the specific disk drive that you added to the format.dat file.

You should modify the /etc/format.dat file for your system if you have one of the following:

  • A disk that is not supported by the Solaris operating environment

  • A disk with a slice table that is different from the Solaris operating environment default configuration


Note - Do not alter default entries in the /etc/format.dat file. If you want to alter the default entries, copy the entry, give it a different name, and make the appropriate changes to avoid confusion.


 
 
 
  Previous   Contents   Next