| '\" t |
| .TH mformat 1 "28Nov20" mtools-4.0.26 |
| .SH Name |
| mformat - add an MSDOS filesystem to a low-level formatted floppy disk |
| '\" t |
| .de TQ |
| .br |
| .ns |
| .TP \\$1 |
| .. |
| |
| .tr \(is' |
| .tr \(if` |
| .tr \(pd" |
| |
| .SH Note\ of\ warning |
| This manpage has been automatically generated from mtools's texinfo |
| documentation, and may not be entirely accurate or complete. See the |
| end of this man page for details. |
| .PP |
| .SH Description |
| .PP |
| The \fR\&\f(CWmformat\fR command is used to add an MS-DOS file system to a |
| low-level formatted diskette. Its syntax is: |
| .PP |
| .ft I |
| .nf |
| \&\fR\&\f(CWmformat\fR [\fR\&\f(CW-t\fR \fIcylinders\fR|\fR\&\f(CW-T\fR \fItot_sectors\fR] [\fR\&\f(CW-h\fR \fIheads\fR] [\fR\&\f(CW-s\fR \fIsectors\fR] |
| [\fR\&\f(CW-f\fR \fIsize\fR] [\fR\&\f(CW-1\fR] [\fR\&\f(CW-4\fR] [\fR\&\f(CW-8\fR] |
| [\fR\&\f(CW-v\fR \fIvolume_label\fR] |
| [\fR\&\f(CW-F\fR] [\fR\&\f(CW-S\fR \fIsizecode\fR] |
| [\fR\&\f(CW-M\fR \fIsoftware_sector_size\fR] |
| [\fR\&\f(CW-N\fR \fIserial_number\fR] [\fR\&\f(CW-a\fR] |
| [\fR\&\f(CW-C\fR] [\fR\&\f(CW-H\fR \fIhidden_sectors\fR] [\fR\&\f(CW-I\fR \fIfsVersion\fR] |
| [\fR\&\f(CW-r\fR \fIroot_sectors\fR] [\fR\&\f(CW-L\fR \fIfat_len\fR] |
| [\fR\&\f(CW-B\fR \fIboot_sector\fR] [\fR\&\f(CW-k\fR] |
| [\fR\&\f(CW-m\fR \fImedia_descriptor\fR] |
| [\fR\&\f(CW-K\fR \fIbackup_boot\fR] |
| [\fR\&\f(CW-R\fR \fInb_reserved_sectors\fR] |
| [\fR\&\f(CW-c\fR \fIclusters_per_sector\fR] |
| [\fR\&\f(CW-d\fR \fIfat_copies\fR] |
| [\fR\&\f(CW-X\fR] [\fR\&\f(CW-2\fR \fIsectors_on_track_0\fR] [\fR\&\f(CW-3\fR] |
| [\fR\&\f(CW-0\fR \fIrate_on_track_0\fR] [\fR\&\f(CW-A\fR \fIrate_on_other_tracks\fR] |
| \fIdrive:\fR |
| .fi |
| .ft R |
| |
| .PP |
| \&\fR\&\f(CWMformat\fR adds a minimal MS-DOS file system (boot sector, FAT, and |
| root directory) to a diskette that has already been formatted by a Unix |
| low-level format. |
| .PP |
| The following options are supported: (The S, 2, 1 and M options may not |
| exist if this copy of mtools has been compiled without the USE_2M |
| option) |
| .PP |
| The following options are the same as for MS-DOS's format command: |
| .PP |
| .SH Options |
| .TP |
| \&\fR\&\f(CWv\fR\ |
| Specifies the volume label. A volume label identifies the disk and can |
| be a maximum of 11 characters. If you omit the -v switch, mformat will |
| assign no label to the disk. |
| .TP |
| \&\fR\&\f(CWf\fR\ |
| Specifies the size of the DOS file system to format. Only a certain |
| number of predefined sizes are supported by this flag; for others use |
| the -h/-t/-s flags. The following sizes are supported: |
| .RS |
| .TP |
| 160\ |
| 160K, single-sided, 8 sectors per track, 40 cylinders (for 5 1/4 DD) |
| .TP |
| 180\ |
| 160K, single-sided, 9 sectors per track, 40 cylinders (for 5 1/4 DD) |
| .TP |
| 320\ |
| 320K, double-sided, 8 sectors per track, 40 cylinders (for 5 1/4 DD) |
| .TP |
| 360\ |
| 360K, double-sided, 9 sectors per track, 40 cylinders (for 5 1/4 DD) |
| .TP |
| 720\ |
| 720K, double-sided, 9 sectors per track, 80 cylinders (for 3 1/2 DD) |
| .TP |
| 1200\ |
| 1200K, double-sided, 15 sectors per track, 80 cylinders (for 5 1/4 HD) |
| .TP |
| 1440\ |
| 1440K, double-sided, 18 sectors per track, 80 cylinders (for 3 1/2 HD) |
| .TP |
| 2880\ |
| 2880K, double-sided, 36 sectors per track, 80 cylinders (for 3 1/2 ED) |
| .RE |
| .TP |
| \&\fR\&\f(CWt\fR\ |
| Specifies the number of tracks on the disk. |
| .TP |
| \&\fR\&\f(CWT\fR\ |
| Specifies the number of total sectors on the disk. Only one of these 2 |
| options may be specified (tracks or total sectors) |
| .TP |
| \&\fR\&\f(CWh\fR\ |
| The number of heads (sides). |
| .TP |
| \&\fR\&\f(CWs\fR\ |
| Specifies the number of sectors per track. If the 2m option is given, |
| number of 512-byte sector equivalents on generic tracks (i.e. not head 0 |
| track 0). If the 2m option is not given, number of physical sectors per |
| track (which may be bigger than 512 bytes). |
| .TP |
| \&\fR\&\f(CW1\fR\ |
| Formats a single side (equivalent to -h 1) |
| .TP |
| \&\fR\&\f(CW4\fR\ |
| Formats a 360K double-sided disk (equivalent to -f 360). When used |
| together with -the 1 switch, this switch formats a 180K disk |
| .TP |
| \&\fR\&\f(CW8\fR\ |
| Formats a disk with 8 sectors per track. |
| .PP |
| MS-DOS format's \fR\&\f(CWq\fR, \fR\&\f(CWu\fR and \fR\&\f(CWb\fR options are not |
| supported, and \fR\&\f(CWs\fR has a different meaning. |
| .PP |
| The following options are specific to mtools: |
| .IP |
| .TP |
| \&\fR\&\f(CWF\fR\ |
| Format the partition as FAT32. |
| .TP |
| \&\fR\&\f(CWS\fR\ |
| The size code. The size of the sector is 2 ^ (sizecode + 7). |
| .TP |
| \&\fR\&\f(CWX\fR\ |
| formats the disk as an XDF disk. See section XDF, for more details. The disk |
| has first to be low-level formatted using the xdfcopy utility included |
| in the fdutils package. XDF disks are used for instance for OS/2 install |
| disks. |
| .TP |
| \&\fR\&\f(CW2\fR\ |
| 2m format. The parameter to this option describes the number of |
| sectors on track 0, head 0. This option is recommended for sectors |
| bigger than normal. |
| .TP |
| \&\fR\&\f(CW3\fR\ |
| don't use a 2m format, even if the current geometry of the disk is a 2m |
| geometry. |
| .TP |
| \&\fR\&\f(CW0\fR\ |
| Data transfer rate on track 0 |
| .TP |
| \&\fR\&\f(CWA\fR\ |
| Data transfer rate on tracks other than 0 |
| .TP |
| \&\fR\&\f(CWM\fR\ |
| software sector size. This parameter describes the sector size in bytes used |
| by the MS-DOS file system. By default it is the physical sector size. |
| .TP |
| \&\fR\&\f(CWN\fR\ |
| Uses the requested serial number, instead of generating one |
| automatically |
| .TP |
| \&\fR\&\f(CWa\fR\ |
| If this option is given, an Atari style serial number is generated. |
| Ataris store their serial number in the OEM label. |
| .TP |
| \&\fR\&\f(CWC\fR\ |
| creates the disk image file to install the MS-DOS file system on |
| it. Obviously, this is useless on physical devices such as floppies |
| and hard disk partitions, but is interesting for image files. |
| .TP |
| \&\fR\&\f(CWH\fR\ |
| number of hidden sectors. This parameter is useful for formatting hard |
| disk partition, which are not aligned on track boundaries (i.e. first |
| head of first track doesn't belong to the partition, but contains a |
| partition table). In that case the number of hidden sectors is in |
| general the number of sectors per cylinder. This is untested. |
| .TP |
| \&\fR\&\f(CWI\fR\ |
| Sets the fsVersion id when formatting a FAT32 drive. In order to find |
| this out, run minfo on an existing FAT32 drive, and mail me about it, so |
| I can include the correct value in future versions of mtools. |
| .TP |
| \&\fR\&\f(CWc\fR\ |
| Sets the size of a cluster (in sectors). If this cluster size would |
| generate a FAT that too big for its number of bits, mtools automatically |
| increases the cluster size, until the FAT is small enough. If no |
| cluster size is specified explicitly, mtools uses a default value as |
| described in section ``Number of sectors per cluster'' below. |
| .TP |
| \&\fR\&\f(CWd\fR\ |
| Sets the number of FAT copies. Default is 2. This setting can also be |
| specified using the \fR\&\f(CWMTOOLS_NFATS\fR environment variable. |
| .TP |
| \&\fR\&\f(CWr\fR\ |
| Sets the size of the root directory (in sectors). Only applicable to 12 |
| and 16 bit FATs. This setting can also be specified using the |
| \&\fR\&\f(CWMTOOLS_DIR_LEN\fR environment variable. |
| .TP |
| \&\fR\&\f(CWL\fR\ |
| Sets the length of the FAT. |
| .TP |
| \&\fR\&\f(CWB\fR\ |
| Use the boot sector stored in the given file or device, instead of using |
| its own. Only the geometry fields are updated to match the target disks |
| parameters. |
| .TP |
| \&\fR\&\f(CWk\fR\ |
| Keep the existing boot sector as much as possible. Only the geometry |
| fields and other similar file system data are updated to match the target |
| disks parameters. |
| .TP |
| \&\fR\&\f(CWK\fR\ |
| Sets the sector number where the backup of the boot sector should be |
| stored (only relevant on FAT32). |
| .TP |
| \&\fR\&\f(CWR\fR\ |
| Sets the number of reserved sectors for this filesystem. This must be |
| at least 1 for non-FAT32 disks, and at least 3 for FAT disks (in order |
| to accommodate the boot sector, the info sector and the backup boot |
| sector). |
| .TP |
| \&\fR\&\f(CWm\fR\ |
| Use a non-standard media descriptor byte for this disk. The media |
| descriptor is stored at position 21 of the boot sector, and as first |
| byte in each FAT copy. Using this option may confuse DOS or older mtools |
| version, and may make the disk unreadable. Only use if you know what you |
| are doing. |
| .PP |
| To format a diskette at a density other than the default, you must supply |
| (at least) those command line parameters that are different from the |
| default. |
| .PP |
| \&\fR\&\f(CWMformat\fR returns 0 on success or 1 on failure. |
| .PP |
| It doesn't record bad block information to the Fat, use |
| \&\fR\&\f(CWmbadblocks\fR for that. |
| .PP |
| .SH Number\ of\ sectors\ per\ cluster |
| .PP |
| If the user indicates no cluster size, mformat figures out a default |
| value for it. |
| .PP |
| For FAT32 it uses the following table to determine the number of |
| sectors per cluster, depending on the total number of sectors on the |
| filesystem. |
| .PP |
| more than 32*1024*1024*2: 64 sectors |
| .br |
| between 16*1024*1024*2 and 32*1024*1024*2: 32 sectors |
| .br |
| between 8*1024*1024*2 and 16*1024*1024*2: 16 sectors |
| .br |
| between 260*1024*2 and 81024*1024*2: 1 sectors |
| .br |
| .PP |
| This is derived from information on page 20 of Microsoft's |
| \&\fR\&\f(CWfatgen103\fR document, which currently can be found at the |
| following address: |
| .PP |
| \&\fR\&\f(CWhttps://staff.washington.edu/dittrich/misc/fatgen103.pdf\fR |
| .PP |
| For FAT12 and FAT16, mformat uses an iterative approach, where it |
| starts with a set value, which it doubles until it is able to fill up |
| the disk using that cluster size and a number of cluster less than the |
| maximum allowed. |
| .PP |
| The starting value is 1 for disks with one head or less than 2000 |
| sectors, and 2 for disks with more than one head, and more than 2000 |
| sectors. |
| .PP |
| The number of sectors per cluster cannot go beyond 128. |
| .PP |
| .SH See\ Also |
| Mtools' texinfo doc |
| .SH Viewing\ the\ texi\ doc |
| This manpage has been automatically generated from mtools's texinfo |
| documentation. However, this process is only approximative, and some |
| items, such as crossreferences, footnotes and indices are lost in this |
| translation process. Indeed, these items have no appropriate |
| representation in the manpage format. Moreover, not all information has |
| been translated into the manpage version. Thus I strongly advise you to |
| use the original texinfo doc. See the end of this manpage for |
| instructions how to view the texinfo doc. |
| .TP |
| * \ \ |
| To generate a printable copy from the texinfo doc, run the following |
| commands: |
| |
| .nf |
| .ft 3 |
| .in +0.3i |
| ./configure; make dvi; dvips mtools.dvi |
| .fi |
| .in -0.3i |
| .ft R |
| .PP |
| |
| \&\fR |
| .TP |
| * \ \ |
| To generate a html copy, run: |
| |
| .nf |
| .ft 3 |
| .in +0.3i |
| ./configure; make html |
| .fi |
| .in -0.3i |
| .ft R |
| .PP |
| |
| \&\fRA premade html can be found at |
| \&\fR\&\f(CW\(ifhttp://www.gnu.org/software/mtools/manual/mtools.html\(is\fR |
| .TP |
| * \ \ |
| To generate an info copy (browsable using emacs' info mode), run: |
| |
| .nf |
| .ft 3 |
| .in +0.3i |
| ./configure; make info |
| .fi |
| .in -0.3i |
| .ft R |
| .PP |
| |
| \&\fR |
| .PP |
| The texinfo doc looks most pretty when printed or as html. Indeed, in |
| the info version certain examples are difficult to read due to the |
| quoting conventions used in info. |
| .PP |