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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 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 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  wouldn't  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 won't 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  'full'  fixed  disk
	      devices.	 mkdosfs will complain and tell you that it refuses to
	      work.  This is different	when  usind  MO	 disks.	  One  doesn't
	      always  need  partitions	on  MO	disks.	 The  filesytem can go
	      directly to the whole disk.  Under other OSes this is  known  as
	      the 'superfloppy' 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 isn't 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  -	<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.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
       mkdosfs	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
       dosfsck(8), mkfs(8)

Version 2.x			  5 May 1995			    MKDOSFS(8)
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