It is possible to read and write non-native floppy formats (such as Amiga disks on a PC floppy drive) using special hardware adapters that works on the magnetic level (commonly referred to as 'flux images'). Mount # mount -t vfat /dev/fd0 /media/floppy Supported formats can be listed using ufiformat -i /dev/sd xįor classical floppy controllers on the motherboard fdformat could perform this, which used to be part of util-linux, but is no longer included in the package by default and you would have to rebuild it yourself. Note that USB floppy drives in general only support very few formats (unlike traditional floppy controllers). This is performed on a level below file systems.įor USB based floppy drives use ufiformat AUR:Īdditional flags can be used to adjust which format to use, by default it uses the same as is already on the disk. This would create various markers on the disk for sectors and tracks. When it comes to floppies (and some very early hard drives) it was possible to perform a 'low level format'. Note that USB based floppy drives will show up as /dev/sd x for some varying value of x. By default, all these tasks need to be performed as root. In all examples is assumed that /dev/fd0 is the Linux device for the floppy drive. Here are the commands needed to perform the most common tasks. In addition, for low level formatting on USB attached floppy drives you will need ufiformat AUR. There are two packages in the Arch package repository related with floppy disks: In such case, it could be loaded with the following command: The floppy module might not be loaded by default. USB floppy drives do not need this as they appear as standard USB mass storage devices. The module floppy is used as a driver for floppy drives (for classical floppy controllers). Most of the floppy drives should be supported by stock kernel. Floppy disks are read and written by a floppy disk drive (FDD).Ĭommon tasks with floppy disks are described bellow, with available tools to accomplish them. (Discuss in Talk:Floppy disks)Ī floppy disk, also called a diskette, is a disk storage medium composed of a disk of thin and flexible magnetic storage medium, sealed in a rectangular plastic carrier lined with fabric that removes dust particles. Reason: Cover fdformat(8) and recovering a 'dead' floppy.

How to format a floppy disk