@node Device numbers, Media description, Basic usage, Top
@chapter Device numbers
@pindex MAKEFLOPPIES (making floppy devices)
@cindex device numbers
@cindex making floppy devices

The floppy device nodes are usually made using the @code{MAKEFLOPPIES}
shell script (@xref{makefloppies}.).

The major device number for the floppy drives is 2.  The minor device
number contains describes which drive it represents, and may in addition
describe the kind of media which is currently in the drive.

There are two kind of floppy devices:
@itemize @bullet
@item
Variable geometry device nodes. Their minor number doesn't depend on the
media in the drive, and is calculated as follows:
@example
@var{minor_device} = 128 * @var{fdc_nr} + @var{unit_nr}
@end example

@item
Fixed geometry device nodes. Their minor number not only depends on the
drive which they represent, but also the type of media currently in the
drive.  It is computed as follows:

@example
@var{minor_device} = 128 * @var{fdc_nr} + @var{unit_nr} + 4 * @var{format_nr}
@end example

@end itemize

In this formula, @var{fdc_nr} is the number of the floppy disk
controller (0 or 1, usually 0), and @var{unit_nr} is the Unit number (0
to 3, 0 for Dos drive @code{A:}, and 1 for Dos drive @code{B:}).
@var{Format_nr} is only meaningful for the fixed format devices. It
describes the disk geometry that is used.  It is an index into the
@emph{geometry list} @ref{geometry list}.  Using all available
controller numbers and all available drive numbers, you may thus connect
up to 8 floppy drives to a single Linux box.

@menu
* Variable format devices::
* Fixed format devices::
* geometry list::
* Adding new formats::
@end menu

@node Variable format devices, Fixed format devices, Device numbers, Device numbers
@section Variable format devices
@cindex Variable format devices

Variable format devices don't have an intrinsic geometry.  When using
these devices, the geometry has to be set either by using autodetection
(@pxref{Autodetection}), or by using the @code{FDSETPRM} or
@code{FDGETPRM} ioctl.  The latter ioctl can be issued using the
@code{setfdprm} (@pxref{setfdprm}) and @code{getfdrpm}
(@pxref{getfdprm}) programs. With the default settings, common formats
are detected transparently, and you can access any disk transparently
using the variable format devices.

The geometry information is kept as long as the disk is in the drive,
and is discarded as soon as the disk is removed, unless the geometry has
been declared @emph{permanent} by using setfdprm's @code{-p} flag
(@pxref{setfdprm}).

@node Fixed format devices, geometry list, Variable format devices, Device numbers
@section Fixed format devices
@cindex Fixed format devices

Fixed format devices should not be used under normal circumstances.  


Fixed format devices have an intrinsic geometry.  They are useful for
the @code{fdformat} program (which is now considered obsolete), and for
booting off floppies which have formats that are different from the
default format (because during booting, there is no application that can
issue the otherwise needed @code{FDSETPRM} ioctl).

@node geometry list, Adding new formats, Fixed format devices, Device numbers
@section The geometry list
@cindex Geometry List
@cindex Format List
@cindex Available Formats
@cindex Formats
@cindex Geometries
@cindex Default Formats
@cindex Builtin Formats

The floppy driver contains a builtin list of 32 formats.  This list is used
for two purposes:
@itemize @bullet
@item
It says which geometry is used for the @emph{fixed format} devices.
@item
It is used for @emph{autodetection}
@end itemize

The following formats (geometries) are known:

@table @asis
@item @strong{format_nr}
@strong{Format}
@item 0
autodetect
@item 1
360KB, 5.25" DD drive
@item 2
1200KB, 5.25" HD drive
@item 3
360KB, 3.5" DD drive
@item 4
720KB, 3.5" DD drive
@item 5
360KB, 5.25" DD disk in HD drive
@item 6
720KB, 5.25" DD disk in HD drive
@item 7
1440KB, 3.5" HD drive
@item 8
2880KB, 3.5" ED drive
@item 9
3120KB, 3.5" ED drive
@item 10
1440KB, 5.25" HD drive
@item 11
1680KB, 3.5" HD drive
@item 12
410KB, 5.25" DD disk in HD drive
@item 13
820KB, 3.5" DD drive
@item 14
1476KB, 5.25" HD drive
@item 15
1722KB, 3.5" HD drive
@item 16
420KB, 5.25" DD disk in HD drive
@item 17
830KB, 3.5" DD drive
@item 18
1494KB, 5.25" HD drive
@item 19
1743KB, 3.5" HD drive
@item 20
880KB, 5.25" DD drive
@item 21
1040KB, 3.5" DD drive
@item 22
1120KB, 3.5" DD drive
@item 23
1600KB, 5.25" HD drive
@item 24
1760KB, 3.5" HD drive
@item 25
1920KB, 3.5" HD drive
@item 26
3200KB, 3.5" ED drive
@item 27
3520KB, 3.5" ED drive
@item 28
3840KB, 3.5" ED drive
@item 29
1840KB, 3.5" HD drive
@item 30
800KB, 3.5" DD drive
@item 31
1600KB, 3.5" HD drive
@end table

This table lists first the format_nr (0-31) used to compute the minor
number, then the capacity of the format (360KB - 3200KB), and then the
type of the drive in which this format is used.

The formats 0..8 are the standard PC formats.  The remaining formats are
extended capacity formats. Some of them have been taken from Heiko
Schroeder's fdpatches (after correcting some minor bugs).  Others have
been added by David Niemi and me (Alain Knaff).  Formats 9, 12, 13, 16,
17, 30 and 31 are non-interleaved formats with normal sized sectors, and
have the highest capacity that can be achieved without resorting to
interleaving or bigger sectors (@ref{More sectors}).  Formats 10, 11,
14, 15, 18, 19 use interleaving interleaving to achieve a higher
capacity (@ref{Interleave}).  Formats 20 and 22 to 29 use bigger sectors
than usual (@ref{Larger sectors} and @ref{Mixed size sectors}).

In addition to these techniques, formats 13-19 use more cylinders than
usual (@ref{More cylinders}).  @strong{USE THESE FORMATS (13-19) ONLY IF
YOUR DRIVE SUPPORTS THE NECESSARY NUMBER OF TRACKS}

@node Adding new formats,, geometry list, Device numbers
@section Adding new formats
@pindex setfdprm (Adding formats)
@cindex Redefining formats
@cindex Adding formats

You can redefine the default formats using the setfdprm program
(@ref{setfdprm}) @footnote{In that case, the @code{MAKEFLOPPIES} program
(@ref{makefloppies}) no longer works to generate a correct name for
these formats, and you have to make them manually.}.  The following
example illustrates how to add a new 19 sector format, and make a device
entry for it.  First, we pick an entry for it, which we want to reuse.
I recommend to redefine an entry which is only rarely used.  For
instance, if you have no 5 1/4 drive on your system, you can redefine
any 5 1/4 entry without a loss.  In our example, we pick 10.

First we make the device node:
@example
mknod /dev/fd0H1520 b 2 40
         ^          ^ ^  ^
         |          | |  Minor device number (format number * 4 +
         |          | |                       drive + controller*128)
         |          | Major device number (always 2!)           
         |          Blockdevice
    A name that you choose for the format. I
    recommend to base the name on the capacity,
    but you may choose any name you want.
@end example

Then we redefine the geometry of the new device:
@example
setfdprm /dev/fd0H1520 1520 19 2 80 0 0x1b 0 0xcf 0x6c
@end example

@strong{NB:} This redefines the geometry for any device node with the
same format number, not just the new node.

The new geometry is only valid until the next reboot (or removal of the
floppy module).  In order to make it permanent, you have to execute the
@code{setfdprm} command from your @file{/etc/rc} file or whenever you
insert the floppy module.