Check file system type of a partition

EmrldDrgn · 07-11-2009, 06:10 AM

I'm trying to check the type of file system (ntfs, ext2, xfs, etc.) on a partition. I cannot guarantee that the partition will be mounted when I do this. fdisk -l on the disk gets me closest of the options I have found, but it only says "Linux" for ext3, "Linux/Solaris" for swap, and various other non-specific descriptions. How can I do this?

Thanks

repo · 07-11-2009, 06:11 AM

try
mount

colucix · 07-11-2009, 06:20 AM

For unmounted linux partitions you can try

Code:

file -s <device name>

where the device name is /dev/sda1, /dev/sda2, /dev/hda1 and so on. You can determine the actual device from the output of fdisk.

For mounted partitions you can use

Code:

df -T

or the mount command without arguments, as suggested by repo above.

onebuck · 07-11-2009, 07:56 AM

Hi,

'parted' is another great utility that can be used to identify or work with partitions.