Commodore PC - Page 131

MS-DOS Commands 59
The /4 switch formats a double-sided disk in a high-capacity disk
drive. Note, however, that if you are using a single- or double-
/0m^ sided drive, you may not be able to reliably read disks formatted
( ) with this switch.
The /8 switch formats a disk for 8 sectors per track. If you do not
-*■*. specify this switch, format defaults to either 9 or 15 sectors per
( ' track (depending on the type of drive being used). Note that
format always creates either 9 or 15 sectors per track; when you
specify this switch, though, it tells ms-dos to use only 8 sectors per
f) track.
The /b switch formats a disk with 8 sectors per track and allocates
^<fc^^ space for the hidden system files. If you use this switch with the
\] format command, you can place any version of ms-dos on the disk
by using that version's sys command. If you don't use this /b
switch, you can place only ms-dos 32 on the disk by using the sys
/*""^ command. You cannot use the /s or the /v switch with the /b
switch.
The /n-jcx option specifies the number of sectors per track that
//-"s\ format uses to format a floppy disk.
The Ityy option specifies the number of tracks that format places
on a floppy disk.
( ) The /v switch prompts for a volume label after the disk is format
ted. A volume label identifies the disk and can be up to 11 charac
ters in length. An example of a volume label is PROGRAMS. BSSBSSSaBSS^^
' * If you use the /s switch, it must be the last switch that you type. Copying the operating
This switch copies the operating system files from the disk in the system
^>s^ default drive to the newly formatted disk. The files are copied in
(; the following order:
io.sys
r—N msdos.sys
command.com
{] If the operating system is not on the default drive, format
prompts you to insert a system disk in the default drive (or in
drive A if the default drive is non-removable).
f) When formatting is complete, format displays a message showing
the total disk space, any space marked as defective, the total space
used by the operating system (when you use the /s switch), and
f00*} the space available for your files.