@ pclab here the explanation of command m in level F3 T:
Format Partition
Availability:
Level T , 'm'
Quick Help:
Format Partition, m[Partition],[FormatOpts],[DefectListOpts],[MaxWrRetryCnt],[MaxRdRetryCnt],[MaxEccTLevel],[MaxCertifyTrkRewrites],[ValidKey],[DataPattern]
Description:
This command formats the specified partition.
Input Parameters:
0 - Partition Number.
This parameter specifies the media partition to be formatted.
0 = User Partition
1 = System Partition
99 = Set format corrupt state
Type: Unsigned 8-bit value
Range: 0 or 1
Default: 0
1 - Format Options.
This parameter is a bit significant value that selects the following options:
Bits 31-5: not used
Bit 6: Disable Track Re-write for Data Sync Time-out Errors.
If this bit is equal to 1, the the Format Partition command will
not perform track re-write operations for an unrecovered
data sync time-out error.
NOTE: This feature can be enabled or disabled at compile-time. Use
the quick help to determine whether your code supports this feature.
Bit 5: Enable SeaCOS XF Space Format.
This bit is only valid when the User Partition is selected. If this
bit is equal to 1, the the Format Partition command will only format
SeaCOS Extended File (XF) space.
NOTE: This feature can be enabled or disabled at compile-time. Use
the quick help to determine whether your code supports this feature.
Bit 4: Enable Zone Re-format Skipping.
If this bit is equal to 1, then the Format Partition command will
enable the zone re-format skipping mode during the format operation.
With this mode enabled, the format operation will not re-format
a zone if grown defects were found in the zone.
NOTE: This feature can be enabled or disabled at compile-time. Use
the quick help to determine whether your code supports this feature.
Bit 3: Enable Event-based Format Logging.
If this bit is equal to 1, then the Format Partition command will
display information about error events that occur during the format
operation. This information will be displayed as interim status as
these events occur.
NOTE: This feature can be enabled or disabled at compile-time. Use
the quick help to determine whether your code supports this feature.
Bit 2: Disable User Partition Certify.
This bit is only valid when the User Partition is selected. If this
bit is equal to 1, media certification and defect deallocation will
be disabled.
Bit 1: Disable User Partition Format.
This bit is only valid when the User Partition is selected. If this
bit is equal to 1, the User Partition sectors will not be written
with a constant data pattern.
Bit 0: Corrupt User Partition Primary Defects.
This bit is only valid when the User Partition is selected. If this
bit is equal to 1, the primary defective sectors will be corrupted.
Type: Unsigned 32-bit value
Range: 0 or 0xFFFFFFFF
Default: 0 (Enable User partition Certify,
Enable User Partition Format,
Don't Corrupt Primary Defects)
2 - Defect List Options.
This parameter is a bit significant value that selects the following options:
Bits 31-3: not used
Bit 2: Process the Active Error Log.
This bit is only valid when the User Partition is selected. If this
bit is equal to 1, the Format Client Defect List will be written with
contents of the Active Error Log and the option to process the Client
Defect List will be enabled. If there is no Active Error Log or there
are no R/W-related entries in the Active Error Log, then this bit will
be ignored.
Bit 1: Process Primary Defect Lists.
This bit is only valid when the User Partition is selected. If this
bit is equal to 1, the the Primary Defect Lists will be used when
creating the defect list to be used by the format operation.
Bit 0: Process Grown Defect Lists.
This bit is only valid when the User Partition is selected. If this
bit is equal to 1, the the Grown Defect Lists will be used when
creating the defect list to be used by the format operation.
Type: Unsigned 32-bit value
Range: 0 or 0xFFFFFFFF
Default: 0x00000003 (Process Grown Defect Lists,
Process Primary Defect Lists,
Do not process the Active Error Log)
3 - Maximum Write Retry Count.
If this parameter is entered, the maximum write retry count will be set to the
specified value. This parameter is only valid when the User Partition is being
formatted (Parameter 0 is equal to 0). If this parameter is not entered, the
maximum write retry count will not be changed.
Type: Unsigned 16-bit value
Range: 0 or 0xFFFF
Default: None.
4 - Maximum Read Retry Count.
If this paremeter is entered, the maximum read retry count will be set to the
specified value. This parameter is only valid when the User Partition is being
formatted (Parameter 0 is equal to 0). If this parameter is not entered, the
maximum read retry count will not be changed.
Type: Unsigned 16-bit value
Range: 0 or 0xFFFF
Default: None.
5 - Max iteration count
If this paremeter is entered, the iteration count will be set to the specified
value. This parameter is only valid when the User Partition is being formatted
(Parameter 0 is equal to 0). If this parameter is not entered, the iteration
count will not be changed.
5 - Maximum ECC T-Level.
If this paremeter is entered, the maximum ECC T-Level will be set to the specified
value. This parameter is only valid when the User Partition is being formatted
(Parameter 0 is equal to 0). If this parameter is not entered, the ECC T-Level
will not be changed.
Type: Unsigned 16-bit value
Range: 0 or 0xFFFF
Default: None.
6 - Track Rewrite During Certify Retry Threshold.
If this parameter is entered, it specifies the maximum number of rewrite retries
to be performed during the user partition certification pass.
Type: Unsigned 16-bit value
Range: 0 or 0xFFFF
Default: None. If this parameter is not entered, the default value recommended
by the R/W Firmware will be used.
7 - Valid Command Key.
For a User Partition format, this parameter must be equal to 22 Hex. If this
parameter is not equal to 22 Hex, the command will not be executed.
For a System Partition format, this parameter must be equal to DD Hex. If this
parameter is not equal to DD Hex, the command will not be executed.
Type: Unsigned 8-bit value
Range: 0x22 or 0xDD
Default: None
8 - Data Pattern For Format.
This parameter specifies the data pattern to be used when formatting the specified
partition. If this parameter is not entered, the specified partition will be
formatted with a 0x00000000 data pattern.
Type: Unsigned 32-bit value
Range: 0 or 0xFFFFFFFF
Default: 0x00000000.
9 - Secondary Maximum Write Retry Count.
If this parameter is entered, the secondary maximum write retry count will be set
to the specified value. This parameter is only valid if all secondary ER mode
parameters (parameter 9, 10 and 11) are entered. If any of the 3 parameters is
not entered, the secondary ER mode feature is disabled. Note that this usage is
only available if RW_FORMAT_APPLY_SECONDARY_ER_MODE is enabled.
Type: Unsigned 16-bit value
Range: 0 or 0xFFFF
Default: None.
10 - Secondary Maximum Read Retry Count.
If this paremeter is entered, the secondary maximum read retry count will be set
to the specified value. This parameter is only valid if all secondary ER mode
parameters (parameter 9, 10 and 11) are entered. If any of the 3 parameters is
not entered, the secondary ER mode feature is disabled. Note that this usage is
only available if RW_FORMAT_APPLY_SECONDARY_ER_MODE is enabled.
Type: Unsigned 16-bit value
Range: 0 or 0xFFFF
Default: None.
11 - Secondary Maximum ECC T-Level.
If this paremeter is entered, the secondary maximum ECC T-Level will be set to the
specified value. This parameter is only valid if all secondary ER mode
parameters (parameter 9, 10 and 11) are entered. If any of the 3 parameters is
not entered, the secondary ER mode feature is disabled. Note that this usage is
only available if RW_FORMAT_APPLY_SECONDARY_ER_MODE is enabled.
Type: Unsigned 16-bit value
Range: 0 or 0xFFFF
Default: None.
Output Data:
If an error occurred, the following information will be displayed.
"DiagError aaaaaaaa"
where
aaaaaaaa is the Diagnostic Error Code
If the error occurred while processing the defect lists, the following additional
information will be displayed.
"Process Defect List Error"
"R/W Sense cccccccc, R/W Error dddddddd, List Offset eeeeeeee, List Index ffffffff File Error gggggggg"
where
cccccccc is the sense status that was returned by the R/W subsystem
dddddddd is the error code that was returned by the R/W subsystem
eeeeeeee is the byte offset of the defect list entry at which the error occurred
ffffffff is the index of the defect list entry at which the error occurred
gggggggg is the error code that was returned by the system information manager (SIM)
If the error occurred during the format operation, the following additional information
will be displayed.
"User Partition Format Failed - Elapsed Time c"
"R/W Sense dddddddd, R/W Error eeeeeeee, File Error ffffffff"
"LBA gggggggg, Cyl iiiiiiii Hd jj, Phy Sec kkk, Wedge llll"
where
c is the amount of time that has elapsed since the format operation was started
dddddddd is the sense status that was returned by the R/W subsystem
eeeeeeee is the error code that was returned by the R/W subsystem
ffffffff is the error code that was returned by the system information manager (SIM)
gggggggg is the R/W block address at which the error occurred
iiiiiiii is the R/W cylinder address at which the error occurred
jj is the R/W head address at which the error occurred
kkk is the physical sector at which the error occurred
llll is the wedge no at which the error occurred
If no error occurred and the format operation is still in progress, the following
information will be displayed.
"Max Wr Retries = cc, Max Rd Retries = dd, Max ECC T-Level = ee, Max Certify Rewrite Retries = ffff"
"User Partition Format gg% complete, Zone hh, Pass ii, LBA jjjjjjjj, ErrCode kkkkkkkk, Elapsed Time l"
where
cc is the maximum write retry count to be used
dd is the maximum read retry count to be used
ee is the maximum ECC T-Level to be used
ffff is the certify rewrite rety threshold
gg is the percent of the format operation that has been completed
hh is the data zone that is currently being formatted
ii is the number of the current pass through the data zone
jjjjjjjj is the last LBA that was formatted
kkkkkkkk is the error code that was reported by the R/W subsystem
l is the amount of time that has elapsed since the format operation was started
If no error occurred and the format operation is still in progress, and the secondary ER mode feature is
enabled, the following information will be displayed.
"Secondary ER mode Enabled: 2nd Max Wr Retries = cc, 2nd Max Rd Retries = dd, 2nd Max ECC T-Level = ee"
where
cc is the secondary maximum write retry count to be used
dd is the secondary maximum read retry count to be used
ee is the secondary maximum ECC T-Level to be used
If no error occurred, the format operation is still in progress, a format event occurs,
and format event reporting is enabled, the following information will be displayed.
"Event: Media Write Start, aaa Format, Zone bb, Start Blk cccccccc, Num Sectors dddddddd"
or
"Event: Write Xfer, Start Blk cccccccc, Len eeeeeeee, Next Blk ffffffff, Erc gggggggg, Stat hh"
or
"Event: Media Certify Start, New Format, Zone bb, Start Blk cccccccc, Num Sectors dddddddd"
or
"Event: Certify Xfer, Start Blk cccccccc, Len eeeeeeee, Next Blk ffffffff, Erc gggggggg, Stat hh"
or
"Event: Unrec Err, LBA iiiiiiii, PBA jjjjjjjj, Erc gggggggg, Trk llll, Hd mm, Sctr nn, Wdg oo, ZnGrp pp, Zn qq, DOS: rr/ss/tt"
"Event: Unrec Err, LBA iiiiiiii, PBA jjjjjjjj, Erc gggggggg, Trk llll, Hd mm, Sctr nn, Wdg oo, Zn qq, DOS: rr/ss/tt"
"Event: Unrec Err, LBA iiiiiiii, PBA jjjjjjjj, Erc gggggggg, Trk llll, Hd mm, Sctr nn, Wdg oo, ZnGrp pp, Zn qq"
"Event: Unrec Err, LBA iiiiiiii, PBA jjjjjjjj, Erc gggggggg, Trk llll, Hd mm, Sctr nn, Wdg oo, Zn qq"
NOTES: ZnGrp information is only available on drives supporting VBAR
DOS information is only available on drives supporting Directed Offline Scan
or
"Event: Cert Trk Rewrite, Retry Blk kkkkkkkk, Len eeeeeeee, Next Blk ffffffff, Erc gggggggg, Stat hh"
or
"Event: Cert Trk Rewrite Cntr Update, Cnt 0001"
where
aaa indicates whether this is a "New Format" or a "Reformat"
bb is the zone
cccccccc is the starting block
dddddddd is the number of blocks to be formatted
eeeeeeee is the length of the transfer
ffffffff is the next starting block
gggggggg is the error code that was reported by the R/W subsystem
hh is the read/write status
iiiiiiii is the logical block address (LBA)
jjjjjjjj is the physical block address (PBA)
kkkkkkkk is the block which causes the rewrite retry
llll is the track on which the error occurred
mm is the head on which the error occurred
nn is the sector on which the error occurred
oo is the wedge on which the error occurred
pp is the zone group in which the error occurred
qq is the zone in which the error occurred
rr is the DOS scan unit associated with the error
ss is the DOS relative cylinder in scan unit associated with the error
tt is the DOS surface cylinder unit associated with the error
If no error occurred, the format operation is still in progress, a format event occurs,
and brief format event reporting is enabled, the following information will be displayed.
"Ev LBA/Soft XferLen Zn Trk Hd Sct Wdg PBA ErrCode"
NOTES: This is the header for the tabulated output below.
"ZW iiiiiii eeeeeeee qq"
NOTES: This is zone write start message.
"ZR iiiiiii eeeeeeee qq"
NOTES: This is zone read start message.
"WX iiiiiii eeeeeeee"
NOTES: This is write transfer message.
"RX iiiiiii eeeeeeee"
NOTES: This is read transfer message.
"ER iiiiiii eeeeeeee qq llll mm nn oo jjjjjjjj gggggggg"
NOTES: This is error details message.
"SE uuuuuuu"
NOTES: This is soft error message when a read is recovered by track-rewrite.
"HE"
NOTES: This is hard error message when a sector is deallocated.
where
iiiiiiii is the logical block address (LBA)
eeeeeeee is the length of the transfer
qq is the zone number
gggggggg is the error code that was reported by the R/W subsystem
jjjjjjjj is the physical block address (PBA)
llll is the track on which the error occurred
mm is the head on which the error occurred
nn is the sector on which the error occurred
oo is the wedge on which the error occurred
uuuuuuuu is the total number of soft errors recovered by track-rewrite
If no error occurred and the format operation has successfully completed, the following
information will be displayed.
" User Partition Format Successful - Elapsed Time m"
where
m is the amount of time that has elapsed since the format operation was started
If at least one zone re-format was skipped then the following will also be
displayed upon successful completion of the format:
"Zone re-format was skipped."
Examples:
Example #1:
Perform a "quick format" (process defect lists, clear format corrupt, do not write
or certify the drive)
F3 T>m0,6,,,,,,22
Example #2:
Perform a "quick format" (don't process defect lists i.e. unslip and unalt, do not
write or certify the drive)
F3 T>m0,6,0,,,,,22
Example #3:
Perform a format with the default data pattern 0x00000000 and certify with event
reporting enabled:
F3 T>m0,8,,,,,,22
Example #4:
Perform a format and certify with event reporting enabled, set max write retries
to 16, set max read retry count to 8, max ECC T-Level to 0, and track rewrite
during certify retry threshold to 20:
F3 T>m0,8,,10,8,0,14,22
Example #5:
Perform a format with user input data pattern 0xFFFFFFFF and certify with event
reporting enabled:
F3 T>m0,8,,,,,,22,ffffffff
Example #6:
Perform a format with secondary ER mode feature. Two sets of ER mode parameters are
entered. First set is used in the first pass of format/certify, set max write retry
to 15, max read retry to 5 and max ECC T-Level to 6. Second set is used in the rest
passes, set max write retry to 17, max read retry to 7 and max ECC T-Level to 14.
Note that this usage is only available if RW_FORMAT_APPLY_SECONDARY_ER_MODE is enabled.
F3 T>m0,1,2,15,5,6,,22,,17,7,14
Example #7:
Determine the current format state and set format corrupt:
F3 T>m99
Revision History:
0001.0000 Initial revision.
0001.000X Added ability to enable and display event-based output.
0011.000X Combined the PSG Diagnostic Error Codes (PSGDEC) and the Diagnostic External
Test Service Error Codes (DETSEC) into a single set of Diagnostic Error Codes
(DiagError).
0012.000X Added additional parameter 8 for users to input data pattern for format. The
default data pattern is 0x00000000 instead of the 0x77777777 for the User
Partition and 0xFFFFFFFF for the System Partition.
0012.001X Added option to process the Active Error Log.
0012.01XX Added brief event reporting (see bit 4 of the minor revision history below).
0012.02XX Added support for reporting the index of the defect list entry at which defect
list processing error occurred.
0012.03XX Added support for skipping track re-write operation on data sync time-out errors.
0012.04XX Added support for displaying error location for failing LBA ( wedge no and physical sector no )
0012.05XX Corrected output for iterative channels
Note on Minor Rev:
----.ZZXX ZZ represents the minor rev base value.
XX represents set of conditional feature supported by the command.
- If bit 0 of X is set, then the ability to enable and display
event-based output is supported.
- If bit 1 of X is set, then the ability to enable zone re-format
skipping and output command result information if at least one
zone re-format was skipped is supported.
- If bit 2 of X is set, then the ability to format only SeaCOS
Extended File (XF) space is supported.
- If bit 3 of X is set, then the ability to use secondary ER mode
to format/certify is supported.
- If bit 4 of X is set, then the command supports brief event
reporting.
- If bit 5 of X is set, then the command supports skipping of
track re-write operation on data sync time-out errors.
There's this terminal commands tutorial at HDDGuru that might make an interesting primer, but I fall asleep before I get very far into it: