Re: 2GB FAT16

Andy Civil <[email protected]>
Newsgroups gmane.user-groups.linux.ottawa.general
Message-ID <[email protected]>
James wrote:
> Is 2 GB too big for FAT16?
> I am trying to get 2 GB SD to work in my camcorder.
> 
> $ mkfs.msdos -F 16 /dev/sdd1
> mkfs.msdos 3.0.1 (23 Nov 2008)
> 
> $ fsck /dev/sdd1
> fsck 1.41.3 (12-Oct-2008)
> dosfsck 3.0.1, 23 Nov 2008, FAT32, LFN
> /dev/sdd1: 0 files, 0/62181 clusters
> 

I have a spare 2Gb drive, so I played with it; according to wikipedia, 2Gb is 
the limit for FAT16 with 32k clusters, although 4Gb is possible with 64k 
clusters "not widely supported".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File_Allocation_Table

I specifically said 32k clusters, by using the -s 64 option. I got 62292 - more 
than your 62181, but my cfdisk said there was a fatal error, as the partition 
ends "in the final partial cylinder". However, the interesting thing is that 
fdisk confirmed that it was indeed FAT16, but fsck, just like yours, claimed 
that it was FAT32.

I suspect that you succeeded in making a FAT16 filesystem, and that the fsck 
output is mistaken. Why don't you try fdisk, and see what type it gives you when 
you list the partitions with the "p" command?

-- 
Andy
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