Linux in a Nutshell, Fifth Edition

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Chapter 3: Linux Commands

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fdformat

fdformat [option] device

Low-level format of a floppy disk. The device for a standard format

is usually /dev/fd0 or /dev/fd1.

Option

-n Do not verify format after completion.

fdisk

fdisk [options] [device]

System administration command. fdisk displays information about

disk partitions, creates and deletes disk partitions, and changes the

active partition. It is possible to assign a different operating system

to each of the four possible primary partitions, though only one

partition is active at any given time. You can also divide a physical

partition into several logical partitions. The minimum recom-

mended size for a Linux system partition is 40 MB. Normally, each

device will be /dev/hda, /dev/hdb, /dev/sda, /dev/sdb, /dev/hdc, /dev/

hdd, and so on. An interactive, menu-driven mode is also available.

Note that this command can be destructive if used improperly.

Options

-b sectorsize

Set the size of individual disk sectors. May be 512, 1024, or

2048. Most systems now recognize sector sizes, so this is not

necessary.

-l List partition tables and exit.

-u Report partition sizes in sectors instead of cylinders.

-s partition

Display the size of partition, unless it is a DOS partition.

-v Print version number, then exit.

-C cylinders

Specify the number of cylinders ...