The fdformat utility allows one to low-level format a
floppy disk. I need to convince an older PC that it should boot
from one of it's usb ports and the Plop Project has a boot
manager that fits on a 1.4Mb floppy. It is called plpbt.iso
so I got a 1.4Mb disk and copied the boot manager in to it and
then decided to start from scratch after it didn't work so I used
a bulk tape eraser and completely erased the disk which is
something I used to do back in the DOS days as it makes the
medium magnetically sterile. I would then format it again and use
it.
Floppies are a relic these days but the system I want
to usb boot on is a relic so the boot manager should work when I
install it correctly.
What happened after I zapped the floppy is that fdformat will not
run because it sees no pre-existing format information. I am not
surprised at this but I seem to remember being able to do
fdformat or something similar some time ago which would lay new
tracks in the magnetic dessert.
You then use mformat if you want a MSDOS disk but nothing
else happens until the initial low-level format is done.
What am I forgetting or what has changed?
I probably haven't messed with floppy disks in a few
years but one used to be able to format from a bare floppy
without much trouble.
Thanks for any constructive suggestions.
Martin McCormick WB5AGZ
