Red Hat ENTERPRISE LINUX 4 - STEP BY STEP GUIDE Manual page 128

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2. Select Unmount Volume from the menu.
Once the diskette has been unmounted, you can safely eject it from the drive.
Note
If you do not unmount a diskette before ejecting it, the files you meant to transfer to it will not actually
be written on the diskette. You may also be unable to mount a new diskette, or the old data may be
written over the new diskette. Be certain to unmount your diskettes before removing them.
13.1.2. Putting Linux Files on an MS-DOS Diskette
To copy files from a Red Hat Enterprise Linux system to an MS-DOS formatted diskette so that
a Windows machine can read it, be certain that the diskette is formatted with an MS-DOS (FAT)
file system. Diskettes that are pre-formatted by the manufacturer are generally formatted with a
FAT file system. You can also format the diskette with the Windows OS or with gfloppy. Refer to
Section 13.1.3 Formatting a Diskette for more detail on formatting.
Files may be copied to and deleted from the diskette with the same shell prompt commands or actions
in Nautilus as described in Section 4.5 Manipulating Files in Your Current Working Directory. You
can then unmount the diskette and eject it from the drive. The files on the diskette should now be
accessible from the Windows machine.
13.1.3. Formatting a Diskette
The native file system for exclusively Red Hat Enterprise Linux diskettes is ext2. Once you have
created an ext2 file system on your diskette, you can manipulate its contents the same ways that you
manipulate directories and files on your hard drive.
Warning
Formatting a diskette will permanently erase all of its contents. Be sure to backup any files that you
need before performing any of the following operations on your diskettes.
13.1.3.1. Formatting with gfloppy
To start gfloppy, choose Applications => System Tools => Floppy Formatter. From a shell prompt,
type
/usr/bin/gfloppy
Make certain that the diskette icon is not visible on your desktop before proceeding. If the diskette is
mounted, right-click on the icon and choose Unmount Volume before proceeding.
As shown in Figure 13-1, the gfloppy interface is small and has few options. The default settings
are sufficient for most users and needs; however, you can format your diskette with an MS-DOS file
system type if necessary. You can also choose the density of your diskette (if you are not using the
usual high density 3.5" 1.44MB diskette). You can also elect to quick format the diskette if it was
previously formatted as ext2.
. gfloppy will not format a diskette that is mounted to your file system.
Chapter 13. Diskettes and CD-ROMs