I can't format disk in USB floppy drive

I need to low-level format floppies with an external usb floppy drive in ubuntu 10.04 (or later) server.

I have tried the tools that come with util-linux-ng, and contain (specifically) fdformat.

Unfortunately these tools are written to use /dev/fd* devices, and not /dev/sd* that is used with the usb floppy drives I have on hand.

Alternatives to using the tools would be appreciated (note, the computers I have at my disposal do not have floppy connectors on the main board, so please don't recommend using a "real" floppy drive).

for example, I know dd works to zero the drive, but I suspect I need a copy of a working, blank formatted floppy as the if= parameter. I have my doubts this would be a robust, ongoing solution for actually writing out the tracks on the floppy.

the answers are not at:
How can I get a USB floppy drive to work?
How to format a USB or external drive?
...and lots of others

Try mtools.
apt-get install mtools

Edit the /etc/mtools.conf file to have one of the drive letters point at your usb floppy drive. For me the usb floppy was /dev/sdg (Use dmesg to determine this.)

# # Linux floppy drives
#drive a: file="/dev/fd0" exclusive
drive a: file="/dev/sdg" exclusive

Then mformat a:

mformat a: