LinuxQuestions.org - mke2fs what is the command to format a FAT23 or SWAP hd?

Hi,

Code:

excerpt from 'man mkfs';



NAME

      mkfs - build a Linux file system



SYNOPSIS

      mkfs [ -V ] [ -t fstype ] [ fs-options ] filesys [ blocks ]



DESCRIPTION

      mkfs  is  used to build a Linux file system on a device, usually a hard

      disk partition.  filesys is either the device  name  (e.g.  /dev/hda1,

      /dev/sdb2).  blocks  is  the  number of blocks to be used for the file

      system.



      The exit code returned by mkfs is 0 on success and 1 on failure.



      In actuality, mkfs is simply a front-end for the  various  file  system

      builders (mkfs.fstype) available under Linux.  The file system-specific

      builder is searched for in a number of directories like perhaps  /sbin,

      /sbin/fs,  /sbin/fs.d,  /etc/fs,  /etc  (the precise list is defined at

      compile time but at least contains /sbin and /sbin/fs), and finally  in

      the  directories  listed  in the PATH environment variable.  Please see

      the file system-specific builder manual pages for further details.

Code:

excerpt from 'man mkswap';



 mkswap - set up a Linux swap area



SYNOPSIS

      mkswap [-c] [-vN] [-f] [-p PSZ] [-L label] device [size]



DESCRIPTION

      mkswap sets up a Linux swap area on a device or in a file.



      (After  creating  the  swap  area, you need the swapon command to start

      using it. Usually swap areas are listed in /etc/fstab so that they  can

      be  taken  into  use  at  boot time by a swapon -a command in some boot

      script.)



      The device argument will usually be a disk  partition  (something  like

      /dev/hda4  or /dev/sdb7) but can also be a file.  The Linux kernel does

      not look at partition Id's, but many installation scripts  will  assume

      that partitions of hex type 82 (LINUX_SWAP) are meant to be swap parti-

      tions.  (Warning: Solaris also uses this type. Be careful not  to  kill

      your Solaris partitions.)

The 'man command' is available to you online or from the command line if you have 'man' installed.