Superformatting
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Superformatting is the process of formatting a floppy disk at a capacity higher than it was originally designed or rated for. While it carries a risk of data corruption or wearing out the disk, it was historically used in some floppy-based operating systems (such as specialized Linux distributions) to maximize storage and squeeze in more applications and utilities. muLinux is a notable example of a distribution that utilized this technique. Another common use was to format low-density 3.5-inch or 5.25-inch floppies as high-density, or even extra-high density (such as HD-36) in the case of 3.5-inch disks. Superformatting is usually done via a low-level formatting process using tools like FORMAT /U in MS-DOS, fdformat , or the more advanced superformat tool in Linux.
Superformatting is the process of formatting a floppy disk at a capacity higher than it was originally designed or rated for. While it carries a risk of data corruption or wearing out the disk, it was historically used in some floppy-based operating systems (such as specialized Linux distributions) to maximize storage and squeeze in more applications and utilities. muLinux is a notable example of a distribution that utilized this technique. Another common use was to format low-density 3.5-inch or 5.25-inch floppies as high-density, or even extra-high density (such as HD-36) in the case of 3.5-inch disks. Superformatting is usually done via a low-level formatting process using tools like FORMAT /U in MS-DOS, fdformat , or the more advanced superformat tool in Linux.
Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1366819046 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.