FMT, the disk volume formatter utility, allows DB:-, DK:-, DL:-, DM:-, DP:-, DR:-, and DY:-type devices to be formatted and/or verified on an RSX-11M/M-PLUS system that supports diagnostic functions. The disk volumes may be completely formatted, or formatted on an individual sector or (for DM: disks) individual track basis by means of the manual mode option. Last-track bad block information on DL:, DM:, and DR: disks is also taken into account. On RX02 floppy disks, the density can be set to either single or double without diagnostic support. The general form of the command line is: MCR>FMT ddn:[/switch(es)] DCL>MCR FMT ddn:[/switch(es)] where ddn: is the device and unit number of the disk to be formatted and /switch(es) is one or more of the following: /BAD - After the volume is formatted, runs the Bad Block Locator Utility (BAD) if it is installed. /DENS - Sets RX02 floppy disk density. /ERL - Sets maximum number of errors allowed on volume. /MAN - Enters manual mode. /NOVE - Inhibits the default volume verification. /OVR - Overrides manufacturer's bad sector file. /VE - Verifies that the volume was successfully formatted (the default switch). /WLT - Rewrites the manufacturer's bad sector file. /@Y - Uses input from an indirect command file. Type HELP FMT switch for the description of a particular switch. If an error is encountered, FMT normally retries the operation once before issuing an error message. You can use FMT with other utilities and CLI commands to introduce a disk (in this case, DK1:) to a system as shown below. The example uses MCR commands, but DCL equivalents will work as well. ALL DK1: FMT DK1:[/sw] BAD DK1:[/sw] INI DK1:[label][/sw] MOU DK1:[label][/sw] 2 VE VERIFY The /VE switch verifies that the format operation was successful by reading back the headers and determining that they were written correctly. This switch is the default. FMT>DR1:/VE !Formats and verifies DR1: 2 MAN MANUAL The /MAN switch enters manual mode. This mode permits individual sectors or (for DM: disks) individual tracks to be formatted. The parameters entered are decimal unless prefixed with a pound sign ("#"). FMT>DR1:/MAN/VE !Manually formats and verifies DR1: ** WARNING - Data will be lost on DR1: ** Continue [Y OR N]? Y Entering manual mode Cylinder = 12 Track = 2 Sector = 1 Operation complete Note that /MAN cannot be used with DY:-type devices. 2 OVR The /OVR switch overrides the Manufacturer's Bad Sector File on DM:- and DR:-type disk volumes. Usually, when writing the headers on such disks, any header marked bad in the MDBSF will have bad sector flags set. Then when the verification process discovers a bad sector, a message is printed. The /OVR switch inhibits this reporting operation. FMT>DR1:/VE/OVR !Overrides the MDBSF on DR1: 2 @Y The /@Y switch uses input from an indirect command file. No operational messages or warnings are printed, and no user intervention is possible until FMT completes. FMT must be installed before you can use /@Y. You are cautioned against using this switch because volumes can be destroyed by an incorrect command line. FMT>DR1:/@Y !Uses command lines from indirect command file FMT>@FMTIND !Invokes the indirect command file 2 BAD The /BAD switch spawns the Bad Block Locator Utility (BAD) after the format operation is complete. If BAD is not installed, a warning message is printed. Note that /BAD can only be used on systems that support spawned tasks. FMT>DR1:/BAD !Spawns the BAD utility 2 WLT The /WLT switch rewrites the manufacturer's bad sector file after the format operation has completed. The MDBSF will contain entries for each new sector that is found to be bad. The header of each bad sector is also rewritten to flag the sector as bad. The /WLT switch must be specified when using FMT on DL: disks. The switch takes as an argument a decimal value that is used as the pack serial number. FMT>DR1:/WLT=12345 !Rewrites the MDBSF on DR1: 2 ERL The /ERL switch sets the maximum error limit for the volume. When this error limit is reached, a message is printed and the format operation is terminated. The default limit is 256(10) errors. Any value greater than 0 or less than or equal to 256 is valid. FMT>DR1:/ERL=150. !Sets the maximum error count for DR1: !to 150(10) 2 DENS DENSITY The /DENS switch sets the RX02 floppy disk density to either low (single) or high (double). The default density is low. The switch can also use SINGLE and DOUBLE as options. The following command lines are acceptable: FMT>DYn:/DENS=LOW !Sets to low (single) density FMT>DYn:/DENS=SINGLE !Sets to single (low) density FMT>DYn:/DENS=HIGH !Sets to high (double) density FMT>DYn:/DENS=DOUBLE !Sets to double (high) density 2 NOVE -VE NOVERIFY -VERIFY The /NOVE switch inhibits the operation perfomed by the default /VERIFY switch. FMT>DR1:/NOVE !Inhibits verification of DR1: after !it has been formatted