LOW LEVEL(PHYSICAL) FORMATTING TOOL ON USB-FDD (LINUX)

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LOW LEVEL(PHYSICAL) FORMATTING TOOL ON USB-FDD (LINUX)

NEWS:

2009-Nov-04: Version 0.9.6 is released.

bug fix of the method of usb floppy detection with sysfs

2009-Oct-03: Version 0.9.5 is released.

use sysfs for the device detection (if not exist, use procfs)

2007-Nov-17: Ufiformat's spec file for rpm package was contributed by Kabe.

2007-Nov-10: Version 0.9.4 is released.

add path info in a error message when /dev/sg* is unavailable suggested by Kabe
add manpage contributed by Kabe
store ufiformat binary to (prefix)/bin instead of sbin

2006-Nov-25: Version 0.9.3 is released. Patch contributed by Martin.

bug fix of device detection

2006-Mar-08: As a result of co-work with John Floyd, new version 0.9.2 is released.
New features:

format in various capacities
show device information
pre-format safety checks
details in ChangeLog

This is formatting disk utility for USB floppy devices.

Usage: ufiformat [OPTION]... [DEVICE]
Format a floppy disk in a USB floppy disk DEVICE.

  -f, --format [SIZE]  specify format capacity SIZE in KB
                       without -f option, the format of the current media will be used.
  -F, --force          do not perform any safety checks
  -i, --inquire        show device information, instead of performing format
                       without DEVICE argument, list USB floppy disk devices
  -v, --verbose        show detailed output
  -q, --quiet          suppress minor output
  -h, --help           show this message
Examples:

         To format a media keeping its current geometry:   ufiformat /dev/sda

         To format a media for 2hd(1.44MB): ufiformat -f 1440 /dev/sda

         To list USB floppy devices: ufiformat -i

         To show USB floppy device information: ufiformat -i /dev/sda

To use this program, both /dev/sd* and /dev/sg* need to be accessible.
High-level formatting is usually needed after using this program(ex. mkfs.vfat -I /dev/sda).

This program is based around the following document:

"Universal Serial Bus Mass Storage Class - UFI Command Specification" Revision 1.0 December 14 1998

Sources:

ufiformat-0.9.6.tar.gz(sources)
ufiformat-0.9.6.tgz(x86 binaries)
ufiformat.spec.gz(spec file for rpm package) - contributed by Kabe

Old sources:

This program is under GPL.

	To format a media keeping its current geometry:	`ufiformat /dev/sda`
	To format a media for 2hd(1.44MB):	`ufiformat -f 1440 /dev/sda`
	To list USB floppy devices:	`ufiformat -i`
	To show USB floppy device information:	`ufiformat -i /dev/sda`