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.TH MKFS 8 "Jun 1995" "Version 1.9"
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.TH MKFS 8 "June 2011" "util-linux" "System Administration"
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mkfs \- build a Linux file system
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mkfs \- build a Linux filesystem
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.IR "type fs-options" ] " device " [ size ]
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is used to build a Linux file system on a device, usually
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a hard disk partition.
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is either the device name (e.g.
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is used to build a Linux filesystem on a device, usually
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a hard disk partition. The
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argument is either the device name (e.g.
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or a regular file that shall contain the file system.
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is the number of blocks to be used for the file system.
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or a regular file that shall contain the filesystem. The
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argument is the number of blocks to be used for the filesystem.
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The exit code returned by
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is simply a front-end for the various file system builders
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is simply a front-end for the various filesystem builders
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(\fBmkfs.\fIfstype\fR)
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available under Linux.
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The file system-specific builder is searched for in a number
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of directories like perhaps
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The filesystem-specific builder is searched for in a number
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of directories, like perhaps
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and finally in the directories
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listed in the PATH environment variable.
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Please see the file system-specific builder manual pages for
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Please see the filesystem-specific builder manual pages for
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Produce verbose output, including all file system-specific commands
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.BR \-t , " \-\-type " \fItype\fR
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Specify the \fItype\fR of filesystem to be built.
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If not specified, the default filesystem type
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(currently ext2) is used.
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Filesystem-specific options to be passed to the real filesystem builder.
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Although not guaranteed, the following options are supported
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by most filesystem builders.
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.BR \-V , " \-\-verbose"
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Produce verbose output, including all filesystem-specific commands
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Specifying this option more than once inhibits execution of any
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file system-specific commands.
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filesystem-specific commands.
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This is really only useful for testing.
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Specifies the type of file system to be built.
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If not specified, the default file system type
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(currently ext2) is used.
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File system-specific options to be passed to the real file
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Although not guaranteed, the following options are supported
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by most file system builders.
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Check the device for bad blocks before building the file system.
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Read the bad blocks list from
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Produce verbose output.
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.BR \-V , " \-\-version"
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Display version information and exit. (Option \fB\-V\fR will display
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version information only when it is the only parameter, otherwise it
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will work as \fB\-\-verbose\fR.)
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Display help and exit.
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All generic options must precede and not be combined with
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file system-specific options.
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Some file system-specific programs do not support the
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filesystem-specific options.
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Some filesystem-specific programs do not support the
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(verbose) option, nor return meaningful exit codes.
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Also, some file system-specific programs do not automatically
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Also, some filesystem-specific programs do not automatically
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detect the device size and require the
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parameter to be specified.
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David Engel (david@ods.com)