MKDOSFS(8)						      System Manager's Manual							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 ] [ -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 ] [ -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 correspond-
       ing 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 for-
	      mat. 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 logical 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 sectors.

       -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  cre-
	      ated  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 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.

       -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 system.  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

       None  are know at the moment.  If you find any, please report it them to <hpa@yggdrasil.com>.  Please include the version number (Yggdrasil
       0.3a).

AUTHOR

       Dave  Hudson  -	<dave@humbug.demon.co.uk>;  modified  by  Peter  Anvin	<hpa@yggdrasil.com>.  Fixes   and   additions	by   Roman   Hodek
       <Roman.Hodek@informatik.uni-erlangen.de> 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)