RE: [TCLUG:3215] fdformat

["Carl Patten" <cpatte@trimodalinc.com>]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: rtp@daddy.static.iaxs.net [mailto:rtp@daddy.static.iaxs.net]On
> Behalf Of rtp
>
> I've tried several disks all with the same result.

Check your BIOS and make sure the floppy drive is configured as 1.44MB.
Have you successfully installed anything else on this PC using the floppy?

> I formated the disk
> useing fdformat
> /dev/fd0. The format read and verified without any error. Now, I am
> haveing trouble
> mounting the disk.

Don't need to.  Your mount is failing because a low-level format is
different from a DOS format.  After a low-level format the disk is
completely blank.  That's why you can't mount it; it's missing a filesystem.
However, dd doesn't need a filesystem because it overwrites the disk
block-by-block.

>
> I recall having read that you can't format a floppy as ext2. I assume
> I've created an
> msdos format.

A low-level format only sets up the disk parameters; it doesn't create a
filesystem.  You would need to use mkfs to create a filesystem, which will
make the disk mountable.  I haven't heard of any problems creating an ext2
filesystem on a floppy.

> I hope I am not becoming a pain with my ignorance.

Not at all.  Unix/Linux filesystem tools are ugly, and it can take some time
to get the hang of them.

--
Carl Patten
Systems Administrator
Trimodal Inc.