Reference

newfs_msdos(8)

construct a new MS-DOS (FAT) file system

NAME

newfs_msdos – construct a new MS-DOS (FAT) file system

SYNOPSIS

newfs_msdos [-N] [-B boot] [-F FAT-type] [-I volid] [-O OEM] [-S sector-size] [-a FAT-size] [-b block-size] [-c cluster-size] [-e dirents] [-f format] [-h heads] [-i info] [-k backup] [-m media] [-n FATs] [-o hidden] [-r reserved] [-s total] [-u track-size] [-v volume-name] special [disktype]

DESCRIPTION

The newfs_msdos utility creates a FAT12, FAT16, or FAT32 file system on device special, using disktab(5) entry disktype to determine geometry, if required.

The options are as follows:

-N

Don't create a file system: just print out parameters.

-B boot

Get bootstrap from file.

-F FAT-type

FAT type (one of 12, 16, or 32).

-I volid

Volume ID.

-O OEM

OEM string (up to 8 characters). The default is "BSD 4.4" (with two spaces).

-S sector-size

Number of bytes per sector. Acceptable values are powers of 2 in the range 128 through 32768.

-a FAT-size

Number of sectors per FAT.

-b block-size

File system block size (bytes per cluster). This should resolve to an acceptable number of sectors per cluster (see below).

-c cluster-size

Sectors per cluster. Acceptable values are powers of 2 in the range 1 through 128.

-e dirents

Number of root directory entries (FAT12 and FAT16 only).

-f format

Specify a standard (floppy disk) format. The eight standard formats are (capacities in kilobytes): 160, 180, 320, 360, 640, 720, 1200, 1232, 1440, 2880.

-h heads

Number of drive heads.

-i info

Location of the file system info sector (FAT32 only). A value of 0xffff signifies no info sector.

-k backup

Location of the backup boot sector (FAT32 only). A value of 0xffff signifies no backup sector.

-m media

Media descriptor (acceptable range 0xf0 to 0xff).

-n FATs

Number of FATs. Acceptable values are 1 to 16 inclusive. The default is 2.

-o hidden

Number of hidden sectors.

-r reserved

Number of reserved sectors.

-s total

File system size, in sectors.

-u track-size

Number of sectors per track.

-v volume-name

Volume name (filesystem name), up to 11 characters. The name should consist of only those characters permitted in regular DOS (8+3) filenames.

NOTES

FAT file system parameters occupy a "Boot Sector BPB (BIOS Parameter Block)" in the first of the "reserved" sectors which precede the actual file system. For reference purposes, this structure is presented below.

struct bsbpb {
    u_int16_t	bps;		/* [-S] bytes per sector */
    u_int8_t	spc;		/* [-c] sectors per cluster */
    u_int16_t	res;		/* [-r] reserved sectors */
    u_int8_t	nft;		/* [-n] number of FATs */
    u_int16_t	rde;		/* [-e] root directory entries */
    u_int16_t	sec;		/* [-s] total sectors */
    u_int8_t	mid;		/* [-m] media descriptor */
    u_int16_t	spf;		/* [-a] sectors per FAT */
    u_int16_t	spt;		/* [-u] sectors per track */
    u_int16_t	hds;		/* [-h] drive heads */
    u_int32_t	hid;		/* [-o] hidden sectors */
    u_int32_t	bsec;		/* [-s] big total sectors */
};
/* FAT32 extensions */
struct bsxbpb {
    u_int32_t	bspf;		/* [-a] big sectors per FAT */
    u_int16_t	xflg;		/* control flags */
    u_int16_t	vers;		/* file system version */
    u_int32_t	rdcl;		/* root directory start cluster */
    u_int16_t	infs;		/* [-i] file system info sector */
    u_int16_t	bkbs;		/* [-k] backup boot sector */
};

EXAMPLES

newfs_msdos /dev/disk0s1

Create a file system, using default parameters, on /dev/disk0s1.

newfs_msdos -f 1440 -v foo fd0

Create a standard 1.44M file system, with volume name "foo", on /dev/fd0.

SEE ALSO

fdisk(8), mount(8)

DIAGNOSTICS

Exit status is 0 on success and 1 on error.

HISTORY

The newfs_msdos command appeared in FreeBSD 3.0.

AUTHORS

Robert Nordier ⟨[email protected]⟩.

History