if it's damaged try this for high density low level format

fdformat /dev/fd0u1440

Well, I just tested this with another diskette and I was able to view the file after removing the floppy without umount'ing, changing directories, putting the floppy back in, and going back to /mnt/floppy.

I must be in the TwighLight Zone.

But, I didn't yank it out while the light was on. I haven't done that since my first year of college back in 1980 on an Apple IIe.

the low level format should repair it or tell you if it can't

Apparently I'm just floppy ignorant.

I pulled out the floppy diskette that I wrote a file on and put back in the floppy diskette that is suspected of being corrupt. But, when I cd to /mnt/floppy and do ls, I still see the file from the removed floppy????

I did a cd back to /home/myusername and I can't umount /mnt/floppy. I can't umount /dev/fd0. I can't view the contents of the second floppy diskette because ls still shows that file from the removed first floppy.

This is on a red hat machine where this is in fstab:
/dev/fd0 /mnt/floppy auto noauto,owner,kudzu 0 0

So, I fired up my slackware machine. Put the floppy diskette in. cd to /mnt/floppy, since the same entry appears in fstab, except for the kudzu thing. And I can't view files on either of the floppy diskettes there either.

Yes, I AM floppy ignorant, and didn't even realize it until today.

So i can't test the fdformat thing until I can at least list the files on a good floppy.

the device /dev/fd0 is hung because it's mounted

put in the proper disk, close programs like file manager that would be using the floppy, cd out of the /mnt/floppy folder if your in it. then unmount it.

Well, the weirdness continues. No matter what I do I can't umount the /mnt/floppy or /dev/fd0 on any linux system I have and I can't convince red hat that the ipl.txt file is not on every diskette I put in that drive.

I put the suspected corrupt diskette back in the floppy drive. This disk does not have an ipl.txt file on it.

[bsl1@localhost floppy]$ su -
Password:
[root@localhost root]# umount /dev/fd0
umount: /dev/fd0: not mounted
[root@localhost root]# cd /mnt/floppy
[root@localhost floppy]# ls
ipl.txt
[root@localhost floppy]# cd
[root@localhost root]# fdformat /dev/fd0u1440
Double-sided, 80 tracks, 18 sec/track. Total capacity 1440 kB.
Formatting ... done
Verifying ... done
[root@localhost root]# ls /mnt/floppy
ipl.txt
[root@localhost root]# umount /dev/fd0
umount: /dev/fd0: not mounted
[root@localhost root]# cat etc//fstab
.
.
/dev/fd0 /mnt/floppy auto noauto,owner,kudzu 0 0

I put the floppy with the ipl.txt file back into the drive and got this verify error after fdformat (this was not the diskette that was corrupted, although it might be now!):

[root@localhost root]# cd /mnt/floppy
[root@localhost floppy]# ls
ipl.txt
[root@localhost floppy]# cd
[root@localhost root]# fdformat /dev/fd0u1440
Double-sided, 80 tracks, 18 sec/track. Total capacity 1440 kB.
Formatting ... done
Verifying ... Read: : Input/output error
Problem reading cylinder 0, expected 18432, read -1
[root@localhost root]# ls /mnt/floppy
ipl.txt

Where does ls get the data that, it thinks, the ipl.txt file is on the /mnt/floppy?

Why can't I umount the thing? I can't umount /mnt/floppy on my slackware box either.

Is the key for me here, for using floppies, to figure out fstab and mtab and autofs, or something, before I can effectively use a floppy drive? Is there a HOWTO somewhere for using the floppy drives? I know it shouldn't be this much trouble.

thanks...



Maybe I should take the floppy drive out of the computer and run over it with my car.

the file is in /mnt/floppy which is on your hard drive on the / partition

you mount the floppy then put the files there, if you put the files there and then mount the floppy there the files are not accessable until you unmount the floppy

it looks like the floppy that gave errors from fdformat is bad

Ok, I did a 'cd /mnt/floppy' and rm'ed the 2 files in there.
Then I put the supposedly good fdformat'ed dikette into the drive.

Keeping in mind that this is in fstab:
/dev/fd0 /mnt/floppy auto noauto,owner,kudzu 0 0

[root@localhost floppy]# mount /dev/fd0 /mnt/floppy
mount: you must specify the filesystem type
[root@localhost floppy]# mount -t ext3 /dev/fd0 /mnt/floppy
mount: wrong fs type, bad option, bad superblock on /dev/fd0,
or too many mounted file systems
[root@localhost floppy]# mount -t vfat /dev/fd0 /mnt/floppy
mount: wrong fs type, bad option, bad superblock on /dev/fd0,
or too many mounted file systems
[root@localhost floppy]# mount -t msdos /dev/fd0 /mnt/floppy
mount: wrong fs type, bad option, bad superblock on /dev/fd0,
or too many mounted file systems
[root@localhost floppy]# crap dangit spit cuss
-bash: crap: command not found
[root@localhost floppy]# ls /mnt/floppy
[root@localhost floppy]# cp /home/bsl1/time2.txt /mnt/floppy
[root@localhost floppy]# ls /mnt/floppy
time2.txt
[root@localhost floppy]# mount -t ext3 /dev/fd0 /mnt/floppy
mount: wrong fs type, bad option, bad superblock on /dev/fd0,
or too many mounted file systems
[root@localhost floppy]# umount /dev/fd0
umount: /dev/fd0: not mounted
[root@localhost floppy]# umount /mnt/floppy
umount: /mnt/floppy: not mounted

I am really confused. Looking at the experience above, how do I get the text file out of /mnt/floppy and actually get it on the diskette. mount and umount aren't doing anything for me. I've got something hosed up somwhere, or I'm just not understanding something.

thanks for the replies.

If you formatted the floppy you will need to put a filesystem on it.

if you want dos try this..

mkfs -t msdos /dev/fd0

ext2 try this..

mkfs -t ext2 /dev/fd0

to see what you have available run this

locate bin/mkfs


/sbin/mkfs.msdos
/sbin/mkfs.vfat
/sbin/mkfs.ext2
/sbin/mkfs.ext3
/sbin/mkfs.reiserfs
/sbin/mkfs
/sbin/mkfs.bfs
/sbin/mkfs.minix
/sbin/mkfs.jfs

to get the file from /mnt/floppy you need to mount a floppy somewhere other than /mnt/floppy so you can move or copy the file to it

mkfs -t vfat /dev/fd0
mkdir /mnt/other
mount /dev/fd0 /mnt/other
mv /mnt/floppy/* /mnt/other
(it looks like you already deleted the files so they would be gone if that's true)
umount /mnt/other
rm -rf /mnt/other
mount /dev/fd0

ls /mnt/floppy

files on floppy are listed

umount /mnt/floppy

ls /mnt/floppy

nothing there



for just plain normal everyday floppy use.

insert (formated, with filesystem) floppy into drive

run this..

mount /dev/fd0
use floppy for adding or removing, copying files. etc. by accessing /mnt/floppy

umount /dev/fd0

remove floppy disk from drive

If you're driven nuts by having to remember to umount things, try autofs. It'll mount anything on demand, and once you've navigate4d away from a device, will umount it after a given timeout. A great way to avound having too many filesystems mounted at once if resources are sparse. If you set the timeout to 3 seconds or so, floppies and cdroms will behave the way windows users (enlighten them someone) expect - you wit for the light to go out and count to 5 and most of the time you get your data all on your disk.