fdformat

Low-level format a floppy disk

Syntax
      fdformat [ -n ] device

Options
       -n   No verify. This will disable the verification that is performed after the format.

fdformat does a low level format on a floppy disk.

device is usually one of the following (for floppy devices, the major =2, and the minor is shown for informational purposes only):

              /dev/fd0d360  (minor = 4)
              /dev/fd0h1200 (minor = 8)
              /dev/fd0D360  (minor = 12)
              /dev/fd0H360  (minor = 12)
              /dev/fd0D720  (minor = 16)
              /dev/fd0H720  (minor = 16)
              /dev/fd0h360  (minor = 20)
              /dev/fd0h720  (minor = 24)
              /dev/fd0H1440 (minor = 28)

              /dev/fd1d360  (minor = 5)
              /dev/fd1h1200 (minor = 9)
              /dev/fd1D360  (minor = 13)
              /dev/fd1H360  (minor = 13)
              /dev/fd1D720  (minor = 17)
              /dev/fd1H720  (minor = 17)
              /dev/fd1h360  (minor = 21)
              /dev/fd1h720  (minor = 25)
              /dev/fd1H1440 (minor = 29)

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 format has not been autodetected earlier. In this case, use setfdprm(8) to load the disk parameters.

“Meetings are a symptom of bad organization. The fewer meetings the better” ~ Peter F. Drucker

Related Linux commands

format - Format disks or tapes.
mtools - Manipulate MS-DOS files.
fd(4), setfdprm(8), mkfs(8), emkfs(8).
Equivalent Windows commands: FORMAT - Format a disk.