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MKFS.FAT(8)			  dosfstools			   MKFS.FAT(8)

NAME
       mkfs.fat - create an MS-DOS filesystem under Linux

SYNOPSIS
       mkfs.fat [ -a ] [ -A ] [ -b sector-of-backup ] [ -c ] [ -l filename ] [
       -C ] [ -f number-of-FATs ] [ -F FAT-size ] [  -h	 number-of-hidden-sec‐
       tors ] [ -i volume-id ] [ -I ] [ -m message-file ] [ -n volume-name ] [
       -r root-dir-entries ] [ -R number-of-reserved-sectors ] [  -s  sectors-
       per-cluster  ] [ -S logical-sector-size ] [ -D drive-number ] [ -M FAT-
       media-type ] [ -v ] device [ block-count ]

DESCRIPTION
       mkfs.fat is used to create an MS-DOS filesystem 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, mkfs.fat automatically determines the filesys‐
       tem size.

OPTIONS
       -a     Normally, for any filesystem except very	small  ones,  mkfs.fat
	      will align all the data structures to cluster size, to make sure
	      that as long as the partition is properly aligned, so  will  all
	      the  data	 structures  in	 the filesystem.  This option disables
	      alignment; this may provide a handful of additional clusters  of
	      storage  at the expense of a significant performance degradation
	      on RAIDs, flash media or large-sector hard disks.

       -A     Use Atari variation of the MS-DOS filesystem. This is default if
	      mkfs.fat	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, mkfs.fat will always use 2
	      sectors per cluster, since GEMDOS doesn't 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 aren't  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 filesystem.

       -C     Create the file given as device on the command line,  and	 write
	      the  to-be-created  filesystem to it. This can be used to create
	      the new filesystem 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	other‐
	      wise  the intended size of the filesystem wouldn't be known. The
	      file created is a sparse file, which actually only contains  the
	      meta-data	 areas	(boot  sector,	FATs, and root directory). The
	      data portions won't be stored on the disk, but the  file	never‐
	      theless  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.

       -D drive-number
	      Specify  the BIOS drive number to be stored in the FAT boot sec‐
	      tor.  This value is usually 0x80 for hard	 disks	and  0x00  for
	      floppy devices or partitions to be used for floppy emulation.

       -f number-of-FATs
	      Specify  the number of file allocation tables in the filesystem.
	      The default is 2.	 Currently the Linux  MS-DOS  filesystem  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,	 mkfs.fat  will	 automatically
	      select  between  12, 16 and 32 bit, whatever fits better for the
	      filesystem size.

       -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.

       -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     It is typical for fixed disk devices to be  partitioned  so,  by
	      default, you are not permitted to create a filesystem across the
	      entire device.  mkfs.fat will complain  and  tell	 you  that  it
	      refuses  to  work.   This is different when using MO disks.  One
	      doesn't always need partitions on MO disks.  The filesystem  can
	      go  directly  to the whole disk.	Under other OSes this is known
	      as the 'superfloppy' format.

	      This switch will force mkfs.fat 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.

       -M FAT-media-type
	      Specify  the  media  type	 to  be stored in the FAT boot sector.
	      This value is usually 0xF8 for hard disks and has a  value  from
	      0xF9  to	0xFF  for floppies or partitions to be used for floppy
	      emulation.

       -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  sectors.  With  FAT32  format  at
	      least  2	reserved sectors are needed, the default is 32. Other‐
	      wise 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
       mkfs.fat	 can  not  create boot-able filesystems. This isn't as easy as
       you might think at first glance for various reasons and has  been  dis‐
       cussed a lot already.  mkfs.fat simply will not support it ;)

AUTHOR
       Dave  Hudson  -	<dave@humbug.demon.co.uk>;  modified  by  Peter	 Anvin
       <hpa@yggdrasil.com>.   Fixes   and    additions	  by	Roman	 Hodek
       <roman@hodek.net> for Debian GNU/Linux.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
       mkfs.fat	 is  based  on	code  from  mke2fs  (written  by  Remy	Card -
       <card@masi.ibp.fr>) which is itself based on  mkfs  (written  by	 Linus
       Torvalds - <torvalds@cs.helsinki.fi>).

SEE ALSO
       fsck.fat(8), fatlabel(8), mkfs(8)

3.0.22				  2013-07-19			   MKFS.FAT(8)
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