MKDOSFS(8)                                                          MKDOSFS(8)



NAME
mkdosfs - create an MS-DOS file system under Linux

SYNOPSIS
mkdosfs  [ -A ] [ -b sector-of-backup ] [ -c ] [ -l filename ] [ -C ] [
-f number-of-FATs ] [ -F FAT-size ] [ -h number-of-hidden-sectors  ]  [
-i volume-id ] [ -I ] [ -m message-file ] [ -n volume-name ] [ -r root-
dir-entries ] [ -R number-of-reserved-sectors ] [ -s  sectors-per-clus-
ter ] [ -S logical-sector-size ] [ -v ] device [ block-count ]

DESCRIPTION
mkdosfs is used to create an MS-DOS file system under Linux on a device
(usually a disk partition).  device is the special  file  corresponding
to  the device (e.g /dev/hdXX).  block-count is the number of blocks on
the device.  If omitted, mkdosfs  automatically  determiness  the  file
system size.

OPTIONS
-A     Use Atari variation of the MS-DOS filesystem. This is default if
mkdosfs is run on an Atari, then this  option  turns  off  Atari
format.  There  are some differences when using Atari format: If
not directed otherwise by the user, mkdosfs will  always  use  2
sectors per cluster, since GEMDOS doesnât like other values very
much.  It will also obey the maximum number  of  sectors  GEMDOS
can handle.  Larger filesystems are managed by raising the logi-
cal sector size.  Under Atari format, an Atari-compatible serial
number for the filesystem is generated, and a 12 bit FAT is used
only for filesystems that have one of  the  usual  floppy  sizes
(720k,  1.2M, 1.44M, 2.88M), a 16 bit FAT otherwise. This can be
overridden with the -F  option.  Some  PC-specific  boot  sector
fields  arenât  written,  and  a  boot  message  (option  -m) is
ignored.

-b sector-of-backup
Selects the location  of  the  backup  boot  sector  for  FAT32.
Default  depends  on  number of reserved sectors, but usually is
sector 6. The backup must be within the range of  reserved  sec-
tors.

-c     Check the device for bad blocks before creating the file system.

-C     Create the file given as device on the command line,  and  write
the  to-be-created file system to it. This can be used to create
the new file system in a file instead of on a real  device,  and
to  avoid  using  dd  in advance to create a file of appropriate
size. With this option, the block-count must be  given,  because
otherwise  the  intended  size  of  the  file system wouldnât be
known. The file created is a sparse file,  which  actually  only
contains the meta-data areas (boot sector, FATs, and root direc-
tory). The data portions wonât be stored on the  disk,  but  the
file nevertheless will have the correct size. The resulting file
can be copied later to a floppy disk or other device, or mounted
through a loop device.

-f number-of-FATs
Specify the number of file allocation tables in the file system.
The default is 2.  Currently the Linux MS-DOS file  system  does
not support more than 2 FATs.

-F FAT-size
Specifies  the type of file allocation tables used (12, 16 or 32
bit).  If  nothing  is  specified,  mkdosfs  will  automatically
select  between  12  and  16  bit,  whatever fits better for the
filesystem size.  32 bit FAT  (FAT32  format)  must  (still)  be
selected explicitly if you want it.

-h number-of-hidden-sectors
Select  the  number  of hidden sectors in the volume. Apparently
some digital cameras get indigestion if you feed them a CF  card
without  such  hidden sectors, this option allows you to satisfy
them. Assumes ´0´ if no value is given on the command line.

-i  volume-id
Sets the volume ID of the newly created filesystem; volume-id is
a  32-bit  hexadecimal  number  (for  example,  2e24ec82).   The
default is a number which depends  on  the  filesystem  creation
time.

-I     Normally  you  are  not  allowed  to  use  any âfullâ fixed disk
devices.  mkdosfs will complain and tell you that it refuses  to
work.   This  is  different  when  usind  MO disks.  One doesnât
always need partitions  on  MO  disks.   The  filesytem  can  go
directly  to  the whole disk.  Under other OSes this is known as
the âsuperfloppyâ format.

This switch will force mkdosfs to work properly.

-l filename
Read the bad blocks list from filename.

-m message-file
Sets the message the user receives  on  attempts  to  boot  this
filesystem  without  having properly installed an operating sys-
tem.  The message file must not exceed 418 bytes once line feeds
have  been  converted to carriage return-line feed combinations,
and tabs have been expanded.  If the filename is a  hyphen  (-),
the text is taken from standard input.

-n volume-name
Sets the volume name (label) of the filesystem.  The volume name
can be up to 11 characters long.  The default is no label.

-r root-dir-entries
Select the number of entries available in  the  root  directory.
The default is 112 or 224 for floppies and 512 for hard disks.

-R number-of-reserved-sectors
Select the number of reserved sectos. With FAT32 format at least
2 reserved sectors are needed, the default is 32. Otherwise  the
default is 1 (only the boot sector).

-s sectors-per-cluster
Specify the number of disk sectors per cluster.  Must be a power
of 2, i.e. 1, 2, 4, 8, ... 128.

-S logical-sector-size
Specify the number of bytes per logical sector.  Must be a power
of  2  and  greater  than or equal to 512, i.e. 512, 1024, 2048,
4096, 8192, 16384, or 32768.

-v     Verbose execution.

BUGS
mkdosfs can not create bootable filesystems. This isnât as easy as  you
might  think at first glance for various reasons and has been discussed
a lot already.  mkdosfs simply will not support it ;)

AUTHOR
Dave  Hudson  -  <Cette adresse e-mail est protégée contre les robots spammeurs. Vous devez activer le JavaScript pour la visualiser.>;  modified  by  Peter  Anvin
<Cette adresse e-mail est protégée contre les robots spammeurs. Vous devez activer le JavaScript pour la visualiser.>.    Fixes    and    additions    by   Roman   Hodek
<Cette adresse e-mail est protégée contre les robots spammeurs. Vous devez activer le JavaScript pour la visualiser.> for Debian/GNU Linux.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
mkdosfs  is  based  on  code  from  mke2fs  (written  by  Remy  Card  -
<Cette adresse e-mail est protégée contre les robots spammeurs. Vous devez activer le JavaScript pour la visualiser.>)  which  is  itself  based on mkfs (written by Linus
Torvalds - <Cette adresse e-mail est protégée contre les robots spammeurs. Vous devez activer le JavaScript pour la visualiser.>).

SEE ALSO
dosfsck(8), mkfs(8)

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