Re: Low Level Format of 1.4 Mb Floppy Isn't Happening
On Sun, 15 Jan 2017, Martin McCormick wrote:
> The generic floppy devices, /dev/fd0 and /dev/fd1, will fail to work
> with fdformat when a non-standard format is being used, or if the for-
> mat has not been autodetected earlier. In this case, use setfdprm(8)
> to load the disk parameters.
> ________________________________________
>
> Where I am confused is whether or not setfdprm must be
> manually stuffed with the number of tracks, number of sectors,
> etc or whether /etc/mediaprm can be made to fill in all those
Interestingly enough, I don't seem to have either setfdprm(8) or
setfdprm itself in my amd64 Debian Jessie system, so I can't check this
for you. /etc/mediaprm should be enough, but...
> data. I am not modifying the format so any list of normal
> parameters for a 1.44 Mb floppy will do.
In that case, unless the kernel driver is having trouble, it should be
sufficient to:
fdformat /dev/fd0H1440 (for fd0).
Don't expect this to work on anything but a real FDD, connected directly
to a FDD controller in your motherboard (i.e. no USB). And don't do it
from a VM, it is unlikely to work.
If it fails to format (but does try, i.e. it turns the FDD on, spins the
floppy, and tries to write a track), please ensure the FDD heads are
clean[1]. Formatting a disk scrambled by too strong a magnet could take
quite a lot more magnetic flux from the FDD head to "sit".
[1] and don't get the cleaning procedure wrong, or you will kill the
FDD, the diskette, or both. Remeber to give enough time for the
cleaning solution to evaporate completely from the heads before
attempting to use the FDD.
--
Henrique Holschuh
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