mkfs_pcfs(1M) System Administration Commands mkfs_pcfs(1M)NAMEmkfs_pcfs - construct a FAT file system
SYNOPSIS
mkfs -F pcfs [generic_options] [-o FSType_specific_options]
raw_device_file
DESCRIPTION
The pcfs-specific module of mkfs constructs a File Allocation Table
(FAT) on removable media (diskette, JAZ disk, ZIP disk, PCMCIA card), a
hard disk, or a file (see NOTES). FATs are the standard MS-DOS and Win‐
dows file system format. Note that you can use fdformat(1) to construct
a FAT file system only on a diskette or PCMCIA card.
mkfs for pcfs determines an appropriate FAT size for the medium, then
it installs an initial boot sector and an empty FAT. A sector size of
512 bytes is used. mkfs for pcfs can also install the initial file in
the file system (see the pcfs-specific -o i option). This first file
can optionally be marked as read-only, system, and/or hidden.
If you want to construct a FAT with mkfs for pcfs on a medium that is
not formatted, you must first perform a low-level format on the medium
with fdformat(1) or format(1M). Non-diskette media must also be parti‐
tioned with the fdisk(1M) utility. Note that all existing data on the
diskette or disk partition, if any, is destroyed when a new FAT is con‐
structed.
generic_options are supported by the generic mkfs command. See mkfs(1M)
for a description of these options.
raw_device_file indicates the device on which to write unless the -o N
option has been specified, or if the -V or -m generic options are
passed from the generic mkfs module.
OPTIONS
See mkfs(1M) for the list of supported generic options.
The following options are supported:
-o FSType_specific_options
Specify pcfs file system-specific options in a comma-separated list
with no intervening spaces. If invalid options are specified, a
warning message is printed and the invalid options are ignored.
b=label Label the media with volume label. The volume label
is restricted to 11 uppercase characters.
B=filename Install filename as the boot loader in the file
system's boot sector. If you don't specify a boot
loader, an MS-DOS boot loader is installed. The MS-
DOS boot loader requires specific MS-DOS system
files to make the diskette bootable. See NOTES for
more information.
fat=n The size of a FAT entry. Currently, 12, 16, and 32
are valid values. The default is 12 for diskettes,
16 for larger media.
h Mark the first file installed as a hidden file. The
-i option must also be specified.
hidden=n Set the number of hidden sectors to n. This is the
number of sectors on the physical disk preceding
the start of the volume (which is the boot sector
itself). This defaults to 0 for diskettes or a com‐
puted valued (based on the fdisk table) for disks.
This option may be used only in conjunction with
the nofdisk option.
i=filename Install filename as the initial file in the new
file system. The initial file's contents are guar‐
anteed to occupy consecutive clusters at the start
of the files area. When creating bootable media, a
boot program should be specified as the initial
file.
nofdisk Do not attempt to find an fdisk table on the
medium. Instead rely on the size option for deter‐
mining the partition size. By default, the created
FAT is 16 bits and begins at the first sector of
the device. This origination sector can be modified
with the hidden option (-h).
nsect=n The number of sectors per track on the disk. If not
specified, the value is determined by using a
dkio(7I) ioctl to get the disk geometry, or (for
diskette) from the results of an FDIOGCHAR ioctl.
ntrack=n The number of tracks per cylinder on the disk. If
not specified, the value is determined by using a
dkio(7I) ioctl to get the disk geometry, or (for
diskette) from the results of an FDIOGCHAR ioctl.
N No execution mode. Print normal output, but do not
actually write the file system to the medium. This
is most useful when used in conjunction with the
verbose option.
r Mark the first file installed as read-only. The -i
option must also be specified.
reserve=n Set the number of reserved sectors to n. This is
the number of sectors in the volume, preceding the
start of the first FAT, including the boot sector.
The value should always be at least 1, and the
default value is exactly 1.
s Mark the first file installed as a system file. The
-i option must also be specified.
size=n The number of sectors in the file system. If not
specified, the value is determined from the size of
the partition given in the fdisk table or (for
diskette) by way of computation using the FDIOGCHAR
ioctl.
spc=n The size of the allocation unit for space within
the file system, expressed as a number of sectors.
The default value depends on the FAT entry size and
the size of the file system.
v Verbose output. Describe, in detail, operations
being performed.
FILES
raw_device_file The device on which to build the FAT. The
device name for a diskette must be specified as
/dev/rdiskette0 for the first diskette drive,
or /dev/rdiskette1 for a second diskette drive.
For non-diskette media, a disk device name must
be qualified with a suffix to indicate the
proper partition. For example, in the name
/dev/rdsk/c0t0d0p0:c, the :c suffix indicates
that the first partition on the disk should
receive the new FAT.
For a file, raw_device_file is the block device
name returned by lofiadm(1M).
EXAMPLES
The media in these examples must be formatted before running mkfs for
pcfs. See DESCRIPTION for more details.
Example 1: Creating a FAT File System on a Diskette
The following command creates a FAT file system on a diskette:
mkfs -F pcfs /dev/rdiskette
Example 2: Creating a FAT File System on a Disk
The following command creates a FAT file system on the second fdisk
partition of a disk attached to an x86 based system:
mkfs -F pcfs /dev/rdsk/c0d0p0:d
Example 3: Creating a FAT File System on a ZIP Disk
The following command creates a FAT file system on a ZIP disk located
on a SPARC based system:
mkfs -F pcfs /dev/rdsk/c0t4d0s2:c
Example 4: Creating a FAT File System on a JAZ Disk
The following command creates a FAT file system on a JAZ disk located
on a SPARC based system and overrides the sectors/track and
tracks/cylinder values obtained from the device's controller:
mkfs -F pcfs -o nsect=32,ntrack=64 /dev/rdsk/c0t3d0s2:c
ATTRIBUTES
See attributes(5) for descriptions of the following attributes:
┌─────────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────┐
│ ATTRIBUTE TYPE │ ATTRIBUTE VALUE │
├─────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┤
│Availability │SUNWesu │
├─────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┤
│Interface Stability │Stable │
└─────────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────────┘
SEE ALSOfdformat(1), fdisk(1M), format(1M), lofiadm(1M), mkfs(1M),
attributes(5), fd(7D), dkio(7I), fdio(7I)NOTES
The default MS-DOS boot loader, which is installed by default if -o B
is not specified, requires specific MS-DOS system files to make the
diskette bootable. These MS-DOS files are not installed when you format
a diskette with mkfs for pcfs, which makes a diskette formatted this
way not bootable. Trying to boot from it on an x86 based system will
result in the following message:
Non-System disk or disk error
Replace and strike any key when ready
You must format a diskette with the DOS format command to install the
specific MS-DOS system files required by the default boot loader.
You can use lofiadm to create a file that appears to a mkfs command
(for example, mkfs_pcfs or mkfs_ufs) as a raw device. You can then use
a mkfs command to create a file system on that device. See lofiadm(1M)
for examples of creating a UFS and a PC (FAT) file system on a device
created by lofiadm.
SunOS 5.10 1 Dec 2003 mkfs_pcfs(1M)
