'\"macro stdmacro
.if n .pH g1a.format @(#)format	40.6 of 10/10/89
.\" Copyright 1989 AT&T
.nr X
.if \nX=0 .ds x} format 1M "Essential Utilities" "\&"
.if \nX=1 .ds x} format 1M "Essential Utilities"
.if \nX=2 .ds x} format 1M "" "\&"
.if \nX=3 .ds x} format "" "" "\&"
.TH \*(x}
.SH NAME
\f4format\f1 \- physically format a SCSI hard disk
.SH SYNOPSIS
\f4/usr/sbin/format\f1
[
\f4\-v\f1
] [
\f4\-n\f1
] \f4/dev/rdsk/\f1[\f4ct\f1]\f2?\f4d\f2?\f4s6\f1
.SH DESCRIPTION
This command physically formats a
Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) hard disk.
.PP
The super-user may use the \f4format\f1
command in single-user state to prepare SCSI hard disks for use.
The following options may be used with \f4format\f1:
.PP
.TP
\f4\-v\f1
verifies that the formatted SCSI hard disk is correct.
.TP
\f4\-n\f1
formatting is suppressed.
.PP
When a SCSI disk is formatted, a Physical Description (PD) Sector is placed at
SCSI logical block zero.
.SH "SEE ALSO"
Formatting in the SCSI \f2Operation Manual\f1.
.SH NOTES
This command destroys any data that might be on the disk.
It not be run in the background with other processes running.
It cannot format non-SCSI hard disks.
.SH DIAGNOSTICS
The format command exits with one of three values:
.TP .5i
0
means NORMAL (or TRUE)
.TP
1
means execution errors
.TP
2
means bad command usage
.Ee
