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FORMAT(2)

FORMAT /Q- Quick format takes less than 10 seconds; this command removes  the files allocation table and root directory; it does not scan the disk for bad areas. The /Q switch cannot be used if you change the capacity of the disk, i.e., format a 1.44MB diskette as 720K.

FORMAT /V: labelname-Lets you assign a volume label. Otherwise, you are prompted to enter one of the following operation. Volume labels are uo to 11 characters long.

FORMAT /F:size-Specify the size of the disk belong formatted. Sizes are entered as follows.

         Disk Size                   Use
         5.25 160K                 160, 160k, 160KB
         180K                         180, 180k, 180KB
         320K                         320, 320k, 320KB
         360K                         360, 360k, 360KB 
         3.5 720K                   720, 720k, 720KB
         1.44M                       1440 , 1440K, 1440KB, 1.44, 1.44M, 1.44MB
         2.88M                       2880 , 2880K, 2880KB, 2.88, 2.88M, 2.88MB

FORMAT Command Dialogue: When the FORMAT command is used, there is a build-in dialogue that keep you informed about the formatting progress. A summary of what has been accomplished is displayed when formatting is completed. The precise dialogue varies slightly with different versions of DOS. The FORMAT command activity provides an example of what you might see.

FIXED Disk Formatting: You can use the FORMAT command to format a fixed (hard) disk. A factory-fresh fix disk must undergo a low-level format before the FORMAT command is used. Low level formatting, which organizes tracks and sectors, is accomplished using special disk manager utilities supplied by the drive manufacturer.  These utilities also perform other operations including disk partitioning, high-level formatting, and the installation of the DOS system files.

The DOS DEBUG command is something used to perform low-level formatting. After the low-level process is completed using DEBUG, the DOS FDISK command is used to partition a fixed disk. Low-level formatting and partitioning is beyond the scope of this book. Here, you should just know that these operations must be performed. For details, refer to Illustrated MS-DOS 5.00 or Illustrated  MS/PC-DOS from Wordware Publishing, Inc.
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