I would like to format a USB Stick, but can't tell if the proper command ismkfs.vfat [device] or mkfs.fat -F32 -I [device].

I've seen both, but what is the difference between vfatand fat? they're even separate files under which vfat/which fat

3

1 Answer

mkfs.fat is the current name of the tool. The older name mkfs.vfat is a symlink to it. However, it's still the same tool and takes the same options (such as -F).

Previously, the FAT tool names mirrored the Linux kernel driver names:

• vfat for all versions of FAT with LFN (long filename) support;
• msdos for all versions of FAT without LFN support (8.3-only).

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