Format System (VI)

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Updated2023-02-21
6 minute(s) read

Installed With: NI System Configuration

Erases all data from the primary hard drive of a system.

Format 5.3

Erases all data from the primary hard drive of a system. If the system is not in user-directed safe mode and force safe mode is FALSE, this VI will return an error.

Format 5.3

Force Safe Mode specifies to force the target into user-defined safe mode. Not all targets support this feature. For a listing of real-time targets that the Format VI cannot force into user-defined safe mode, refer to KnowledgeBase article 5KOD9R7S .

Restart After Format restarts the system after formatting by default. Select FALSE to not restart.

Session in specifies the system being formatted.

File System formats the primary hard drive into a user-selected file system. Not all systems support all modes.

Default (0)	(default) formats the hard drive into the default format. The default is whatever format the existing target is already in.
FAT (1)	formats the hard drive in FAT format. FAT stands for file allocation table. It is a file system used by MS-DOS and Windows to manage files stored on hard disks, floppy disks, and other disk media.
Reliance (2)	formats the hard drive in Reliance format. Reliance is a transactional file system, developed by Datalight, which is tolerant to crashes and power interruptions.
UBIFS (16834)	formats the hard drive in UBIFS (Unsorted Block Image) format. UBIFS is a flash file system that supports raw flash devices.
Ext4 (32768)	formats the hard drive in Ext4 (Fourth Extended) format. Ext4 is a high-performance journaling file system used on Linux.

Network Settings specifies the network settings you want to apply to the target.

reset all network adapters (0)	(default) resets all network adapters to the factory default.
preserve primary, reset others (1)	preserves the existing settings on the primary network adapter and resets all other network adapters to the factory default. This option may not be supported for targets on a remote subnet.
preserve all network adapters (2)	preserves the settings for all network adapters. This option may not be supported for targets on a remote subnet.

error in (no error) describes error conditions that occur before this node runs. This input provides standard error in functionality.

Timeout specifies the time in milliseconds that the VI waits for the format to time out. This timeout is optional. The default is 5 minutes.

Session out returns the refnum for the system being formatted.

error out returns error information. This output provides standard error out functionality.

Format With Base System Image

Erases all data from the primary hard drive of a system. If the system is not in user-directed safe mode and restart automatically is FALSE, this VI will return an error.

Format With Base System Image

Restart Automatically restarts the system into install mode by default before the operation is performed, and restarts back to a running state after the operation is complete. If you choose not to restart automatically, the operation will fail if the system is not already in install mode.

Session in specifies the system being formatted.

File System formats the primary hard drive into a user-selected file system. Not all systems support all modes.

Default (0)	(default) formats the hard drive into the default format. The default is whatever format the existing target is already in.
FAT (1)	formats the hard drive in FAT format. FAT stands for file allocation table. It is a file system used by MS-DOS and Windows to manage files stored on hard disks, floppy disks, and other disk media.
Reliance (2)	formats the hard drive in Reliance format. Reliance is a transactional file system, developed by Datalight, which is tolerant to crashes and power interruptions.
UBIFS (16834)	formats the hard drive in UBIFS (Unsorted Block Image) format. UBIFS is a flash file system that supports raw flash devices.
Ext4 (32768)	formats the hard drive in Ext4 (Fourth Extended) format. Ext4 is a high-performance journaling file system used on Linux.

Network Settings specifies the network settings you want to apply to the target.

reset all network adapters (0)	(default) resets all network adapters to the factory default.
preserve primary, reset others (1)	preserves the existing settings on the primary network adapter and resets all other network adapters to the factory default. This option may not be supported for targets on a remote subnet.
preserve all network adapters (2)	preserves the settings for all network adapters. This option may not be supported for targets on a remote subnet.

error in (no error) describes error conditions that occur before this node runs. This input provides standard error in functionality.

Timeout specifies the time in milliseconds that the VI waits for the format to time out. This timeout is optional. The default is 5 minutes.

Base System Image specifies the base system image with which to format the target. Specifying an image with an empty ID is the same as calling the Format VI.

title is the title of the software component.

description is a short description of the software component.

ID is the unique identifier for the software component.

version is the version of the software component.

component type is the type of the component.

standard (0)	Specifies the component is a standard visible software component.
hidden (1)	Specifies the component is a hidden software component.
system (2)	Specifies the component is a required system component.
unknown (3)	Specifies the component type is unknown.
startup (4)	Specifies the component is a startup application.
image (5)	Specifies the component is a user-defined system image.
essential (6)	Specifies the component is a required visible software component.

Session out returns the refnum for the system being formatted.

error out returns error information. This output provides standard error out functionality.

NI System Configuration API Reference

Table of Contents

Format System (VI)

Format 5.3

Format With Base System Image

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