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FORMAT

The FORMAT  command prepares a new disk for use by organizing the disk into magnetic tracks and sectors that are readable by DOS. when a disk is formatted, any files on that disk are usually lost. because of the plethora of disk types and capacities, new parameters were added to the FORMAT command in DOS  version 4.01. MS-DOS 5.00 introduction a safe FORMAT command and the ability to UNFORMAT unintentially formatted disks. These parameters and others are presented in the following paragraph and table.

FORMAT Command Form:  There are a number of FORMAT command forms. These are described in the following list.

CAUTION
 BE aware that the FORMAT command erases all files from the disk being formatted.
    Many computer users  have accidentally formatted the wrong disk. If you have programs or  
 document files  you wish to keep, do not format the disk! (DOS 5.00 lets you UNFORMAT
    disk, but even with this version of DOS, there are no guarantees that all data will be restored. 

All DOS Versions:
FORMAT- Format the disk in the default drive.

FORMAT-B:- Format the disk B.

FORMAT /S- Format the disk in the default  drive and transfer the DOS to it.(this places system files
including COMMAND.COM, BIO.COM, and DOS.COM on the disk.) If you plan to use the
disk for data only, avoid using /S. The DOS files occupy valuable space.                                 

FORMAT B:/S- Format the disk in drive B and transfer the DOS to it.

FORMAT /1-Format the disk as single sided.

FORMAT B-Format the disk and reserve space for DOS files BIO.COM and DOS.COM. However, the DOS is not transferred until the SYS command is used. The /B option creates a 320KB, eight-sector diskette rather than a 360KB, nine-sector diskette.

FORMAT B:/1/S-Format the disk in drive B as single sided and transfer the DOS to it.

DOS Versions 2.00 and later:

FORMAT /B-Format the disk with eight sectors (for compatibility with DOS versions prior to 2.00).

FORMAT /V-Display a prompt that asks for a 1 - to 11- character disk volume name.  (The/V parameter cannot be used with the /8 parameter.)

FORMAT /S/V-Format the disk, prompt for a volume name, and transfer the DOS to it.

FORMAT /3-Some DOS versions used with laptop computers or those with 3 1/2-inch disk drive use this form of the FORMAT command.

DOS Version 3.00:

FORMAT /4-Format a 360k or 180k capacity disk in a high capacity (1.2 megabyte) drive. This commands is typically used with drive A ob the IBM PC-AT.

DOS Version 3.30:

FORMAT /N:9 /T:80-Computers that use the 1.44MB 3 1/2-inch double-sided diskettes can use and format 729KB diskettes. Use this command to format a 720KB diskette in a 1.44MB drive. Tge /N:9 parameter specifies nine sectors per track. (A 1.44MB diskette has 18 sectors per track (/N:18).)  The /T:80 specifies eighty tracks.

DOS Verison 5.00:

FORMAT /U-Specifies unconditional format, which destroys all data on the target disk to prevent subsequent unformatting with the UNFORMAT command.
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