The Floppy Confidence test requires a scratch floppy, that is, a floppy that can be written to. The Confidence tests for the floppy drive supports the 3.5-in. low-density 720-KB format, the 3.5-in. high-density 1.44-MB format, and the 3.5-in. floptical disk with 21 MB. The floppy test formats the disk and writes data to the disk, thereby overwriting the existing data on the floppy. Verify that the floppy you are using is writable and does not contain any valuable data. The Floppy Confidence test performs the following tests to determine whether the tests are passed or failed:
Verifies the existence of the floppy device file.
Verifies the status of the floppy device. (Is it in use?)
Verifies that a floppy is in the floppy drive.
Verifies the status of the floppy in the floppy drive. (Can the floppy be written to?)
Verifies the permissions of the floppy device file. (Does the device file have write permission?)
Verifies the size of the floppy device (720-KB, 1.44-MB, or 21-MB floptical disk).
Attempts to format the floppy based on the size that was selected. If the selected density of the floppy is incorrect, the test formats the floppy according to the specifications displayed in the output text window.
Attempts to write 1K of data to the floppy.
Attempts to read the data that was written to the floppy.
Checks to see if the data that was written to the floppy was the same data that was read from the floppy.
For additional information, see Personal System Administration Guide and IRIX Admin: Peripheral Devices. For additional questions or assistance, contact your system administrator or your local support provider.