Formatting a Disk

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

A disk must be formatted before you can do the following:

Write data to the disk. However, most disks are already formatted.
Use the Solaris installation utility to install the system.

Caution - Formatting a disk is a destructive process because 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 the cause of recurring problems, you can use the format utility to do a surface analysis. However, be careful to use only the commands that do not destroy data.

How to Determine if a Disk Is Formatted

Become superuser or assume an equivalent role.
Invoke the format utility.
```
# format
```
A numbered list of disks is displayed.
Type the number of the disk that you want to check.
```
Specify disk (enter its number): 0
```
Verify that the disk you chose is formatted by noting the following message:
```
[disk formatted]
```

Example 11-2 Determining if a Disk Is Formatted

The following example shows that disk c1t0d0 is formatted.

# format /dev/rdsk/c1*
AVAILABLE DISK SELECTIONS:
       0. /dev/rdsk/c1t0d0s0 <SUN18G cyl 7506 alt 2 hd 19 sec 248>
          /sbus@2,0/QLGC,isp@2,10000/sd@0,0
       1. /dev/rdsk/c1t1d0s0 <SUN18G cyl 7506 alt 2 hd 19 sec 248>
          /sbus@2,0/QLGC,isp@2,10000/sd@1,0
       2. /dev/rdsk/c1t8d0s0 <SUN18G cyl 7506 alt 2 hd 19 sec 248>
          /sbus@2,0/QLGC,isp@2,10000/sd@8,0
       3. /dev/rdsk/c1t9d0s0 <SUN18G cyl 7506 alt 2 hd 19 sec 248>
          /sbus@2,0/QLGC,isp@2,10000/sd@9,0
Specify disk (enter its number): 0
selecting /dev/rdsk/c1t0d0s0
[disk formatted]

How to Format a Disk

Become superuser or assume an equivalent role.
Invoke the format utility.
```
# format
```
A numbered list of disks is displayed.
Type the number of the disk that you want to format.
```
Specify disk (enter its number): 0
```
Caution - Do not select the system disk. If you format your system disk, you delete the OS and any data on this disk.

To begin formatting the disk, type 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

Verify that the disk format was successful by noting 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.

Exit the format utility.
```
format> quit
```

Example 11-3 Formatting a Disk

The following example shows how to format the disk c0t6d0.

# format
Searching for disks...done


AVAILABLE DISK SELECTIONS:
       0. c0t0d0 <SUNW18G cyl 7506 alt 2 hd 19 sec 248
          /pci@1f,0/pci@1,1/scsi@2/sd@0,0
       1. c0t1d0 <FUJITSU  MAN3367M SUN36G  1804 43d671f>
          /pci@1f,0/pci@1,1/scsi@2/sd@1,0
       2. c0t2d0 <FUJITSU  MAN3367M SUN36G  1804 43d671f>
          /pci@1f,0/pci@1,1/scsi@2/sd@2,0
       3. c0t3d0 <FUJITSU  MAN3367M SUN36G  1804 43d671f>
          /pci@1f,0/pci@1,1/scsi@2/sd@3,0
       4. c0t4d0 <FUJITSU  MAN3367M SUN36G  1804 43d671f>
          /pci@1f,0/pci@1,1/scsi@2/sd@4,0
       5. c0t5d0 <FUJITSU  MAN3367M SUN36G  1804 43d671f>
          /pci@1f,0/pci@1,1/scsi@2/sd@5,0
       6. c0t6d0 <FUJITSU  MAN3367M SUN36G  1804 43d671f>
          /pci@1f,0/pci@1,1/scsi@2/sd@6,0
Specify disk (enter its number): 6
selecting c0t6d0
[disk formatted]
format> format
Ready to format.  Formatting cannot be interrupted
and takes 332 minutes (estimated). Continue? y
Beginning format. The current time is Wed Jan  7 16:16:05 2004

Formatting...
   99% complete (00:00:21 remaining) done

Verifying media...
        pass 0 - pattern = 0xc6dec6de
   71132922  

        pass 1 - pattern = 0x6db6db6d
   71132922  

Total of 0 defective blocks repaired.
format> quit