Floppy Formatter Manual
1. Introduction
GFloppy formats floppy disks for Linux. New floppy disks might need to be formatted before they can be used.
To run GFloppy, select from the submenu of the , or type gfloppy on the command line.
This document describes version 2.4 of GFloppy.
2. Use of GFloppy
When you start GFloppy, the Main window opens, shown in Figure 1.
Insert a floppy disk that is not write-protected.
GFloppy will destroy all files on your floppy disk. Do not format floppies containing files you wish to keep.
GFloppy needs to know the density of your floppy disk, the amount of data it can hold. Most disks today are High Density, 1.44MB 3.5".
Select your file system type. If you need to use your floppy under DOS or Windows, choose . Otherwise, choose . Linux Native cannot be read on most non-Linux machines.
You can also give to your newly formatted floppies. To do this type your label in the text box under .
Finally, you should select the mode of your formatting.
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Quick format is fastest but does not check your floppy for bad "blocks". It just deletes the file table so your data is theoretically recoverable.
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Standard format is a low-level format, but it does not check bad blocks. Thus if you have a faulty floppy it will fail to format.
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Thorough format checks floppy for bad blocks and low-level format it.
Click on the button to start formatting your floppy disk, as shown in these figures.
You will see a series of dialogs informing you that Gfloppy is formatting, verifying and making a filesystem on your disk.
Unless you select or , GFloppy checks for bad "blocks" on your floppy. If Gfloppy finds any, your floppy is wearing out.
GFloppy will let you know if it was successful and it will return you to the main window.
3. Troubleshooting
When no floppy disk is inserted, GFloppy displays a dialog informing you that there's no media to be formated.
If your disk is write protected, GFloppy will warn you as well. To un-write protect your floppy, eject it and turn it over. Standard 3.5 inch floppies have a small black tab in the upper-left corner. Slide it down so it covers the hole. If the floppy does not have a black tab, it is permanently write protected.
5. Authors
GFloppy was written by Jonathan Blandford (<jrb@redhat.com>). Please send all comments, suggestions, and bug reports to the GNOME bug tracking database. If you are using GNOME 1.1 or later, you can also use Bug Report Tool (bug-buddy), available in the submenu of , for submitting bug reports.
This manual was written by Baris Cicek (<bcicek@phreaker.net>). Please send all comments and suggestions regarding this manual to the GNOME Documentation Project by sending an email to <docs@gnome.org>. You can also add your comments online by using the GNOME Documentation Status Table.
6. License
This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.
A copy of the GNU General Public License is included as an appendix to the GNOME Users Guide. You may also obtain a copy of the GNU General Public License from the Free Software Foundation by visiting their Web site or by writing to