Linux mkfs.msdos Command with Practical Examples

Introduction

In this lab, we will explore the Linux mkfs.msdos command, which is used to create a FAT32 file system on a storage device. We will start by understanding the purpose of the mkfs.msdos command and then learn how to create a FAT32 file system using it. Additionally, we will cover customizing the FAT32 file system parameters to suit our specific needs.

The mkfs.msdos command is part of the util-linux package, which provides a collection of essential Linux utilities. It is a widely used tool for creating FAT32 file systems, which are compatible with a variety of operating systems, including Windows, Linux, and macOS. This makes it a valuable tool for managing external storage devices, such as USB drives and memory cards.

Linux Commands Cheat Sheet

Skills Graph

Understand the Purpose of mkfs.msdos Command

In this step, we will explore the purpose and usage of the mkfs.msdos command in Linux. The mkfs.msdos command is used to create a FAT32 file system on a storage device, such as a USB drive or a partition.

The FAT32 file system is a widely used file system format that is compatible with a variety of operating systems, including Windows, Linux, and macOS. It is commonly used for external storage devices, such as USB drives and memory cards, due to its broad compatibility.

Let's start by checking the version of the mkfs.msdos command installed on our system:

mkfs.msdos --version

Example output:

mkfs.msdos from util-linux 2.38

The mkfs.msdos command is part of the util-linux package, which provides a collection of essential Linux utilities.

Create a FAT32 File System Using mkfs.msdos

In this step, we will learn how to create a FAT32 file system on a storage device using the mkfs.msdos command.

First, let's create a 100MB file to simulate a storage device:

dd if=/dev/zero of=fat32_disk.img bs=1M count=100

This will create a 100MB file named fat32_disk.img in the current directory.

Now, we can use the mkfs.msdos command to create a FAT32 file system on the simulated storage device:

sudo mkfs.msdos -F 32 fat32_disk.img

The -F 32 option specifies that we want to create a FAT32 file system.

Example output:

mkfs.msdos 6.1 (2023-01-11)
fat32_disk.img has 204800 sectors and a sector size of 512 bytes
Creating a FAT32 filesystem [65536 clusters] with 32768 sectors per cluster and 8192 reserved sectors
File system label=
Volume ID=0e1d4a1b
Filesystem is FAT32

This command will create a FAT32 file system on the fat32_disk.img file.

Customize FAT32 File System Parameters with mkfs.msdos

In this step, we will learn how to customize the FAT32 file system parameters using the mkfs.msdos command.

The mkfs.msdos command provides several options to customize the file system parameters, such as the cluster size, volume label, and volume ID.

Let's create a FAT32 file system with a custom cluster size of 16 sectors per cluster:

sudo mkfs.msdos -F 32 -s 16 fat32_disk.img

The -s 16 option sets the number of sectors per cluster to 16.

Example output:

mkfs.msdos 6.1 (2023-01-11)
fat32_disk.img has 204800 sectors and a sector size of 512 bytes
Creating a FAT32 filesystem [102400 clusters] with 16 sectors per cluster and 8192 reserved sectors
File system label=
Volume ID=0e1d4a1b
Filesystem is FAT32

You can also set a custom volume label and volume ID using the -n and -i options, respectively:

sudo mkfs.msdos -F 32 -n "My FAT32 Volume" -i 0xdeadbeef fat32_disk.img

The -n "My FAT32 Volume" option sets the volume label to "My FAT32 Volume", and the -i 0xdeadbeef option sets the volume ID to 0xdeadbeef.

Example output:

mkfs.msdos 6.1 (2023-01-11)
fat32_disk.img has 204800 sectors and a sector size of 512 bytes
Creating a FAT32 filesystem [65536 clusters] with 32768 sectors per cluster and 8192 reserved sectors
File system label=My FAT32 Volume
Volume ID=deadbeef
Filesystem is FAT32

Summary

In this lab, we first explored the purpose and usage of the mkfs.msdos command, which is used to create a FAT32 file system on a storage device. We learned that the FAT32 file system is widely compatible with various operating systems, making it a popular choice for external storage devices. We then proceeded to create a FAT32 file system on a simulated storage device using the mkfs.msdos command, specifying the -F 32 option to create a FAT32 file system. Finally, we discovered that the mkfs.msdos command provides several options to customize the FAT32 file system parameters, allowing users to tailor the file system to their specific needs.

Linux Commands Cheat Sheet