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mediainit(1)

mediainit(1)

NAME

mediainit - initialize disk or partition DDS tape

SYNOPSIS

mediainit [-vr][-ffmt_optn ] [-iinterleave ] [-psize ] pathname

DESCRIPTION

mediainit initializes mass storage media by formatting the media, writing and reading test patterns to verify media integrity, then sparing any defective blocks found. This process prepares the disk or tape for error-free operation. Initialization destroys all existing user data in the area being initialized.

mediainit can also used for partitioning DDS tape media. See the -poption below for further details.

Options

The following command options are recognized. They can be speci®ed in any order, but all must precede the pathname. Options without parameters can be listed individually or grouped together. Options with parameters must be listed individually, but white space between the option and its parameter is discretion- ary.

-v

Normally, mediainit provides only fatal error messages which are directed to

 

standard error. The

-v(verbose) option sends device-speci®c information related to

 

low-level operation of

mediainit to standard output (stdout). This option is most

 

useful to trained service personnel because it usually requires detailed knowledge of

 

device operation before the information can be interpreted correctly.

-r

(re-certify) This option forces a complete tape certi®cation whether or not the tape has

 

been certi®ed previously. All record of any previously spared blocks is discarded, so

 

any bad blocks will have to be rediscovered. This option should be used only if:

 

∙ It is suspected that numerous blocks on the tape have been spared which

 

should not have been, or

 

 

∙ It is necessary to destroy (overwrite) all previous data on the tape.

-ffmt_optn

The format option is a device-speci®c number in the range 0 through 239. It is

 

intended solely for use with certain SS/80 devices that support multiple media formats

 

(independent from interleave factor). For example, certain micro¯oppy drives support

 

256-, 512-, and 1024-byte sectors.

mediainit passes any supplied format option

 

directly through to the device. The device then either accepts the format option if it is

 

supported, or rejects it if it is not supported. Refer to device operating manuals for

 

additional information. The default format option is 0.

-iinterleave

The interleave factor, interleave, refers to the relationship between sequential logical

 

records and sequential physical records. It de®nes the number of physical records on

 

the media that lie between the beginning points of two consecutively numbered logical

 

records. The choice of interleave factor can have a substantial impact on disk perfor-

 

mance.

 

 

-psize

Partition DDS cartridge media into two logical separate volumes: partition 0 and par-

 

tition 1:

 

 

 

∙ size speci®es the minimum size of partition 1 (in Mbytes). The maximum

 

allowed value is 1200.

 

 

∙ Partition 0 is the remainder of the tape (partition 0 physically follows parti-

 

tion 1 on the tape).

 

 

The actual size of partition 1 is somewhat larger than the requested size to allow for

 

tape media errors during writing. Thus, a size of 400 formats the DDS tape into two

 

partitions where partition 1 holds at least 400 Megabytes of data, and the remainder

 

of the tape is used for partition 0 (for a 1300 Mbyte DDS cartridge, this means that

 

partition 0 has a size somewhat less than 900 Mbytes).

 

Note that it is unnecessary to format a DDS tape before use unless the tape is being

 

partitioned. Unformatted DDS media does not require initialization when used as a

 

single partition tape. Accessing partition 1 on a single-partition tape produces an

 

error. To change a two-partition tape to single-partition, use mediainit with 0

 

speci®ed as the size.

 

 

Section 1−524

 

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HP-UX Release 11i: December 2000