<p>It's not obvious which, if either, the question is asking:</p>
<ul>
<li>How does this Microsoft gobbledygook translate into a normal Linux command.</li>
<li>This is how I'd normally do it, but what would it be if I have to do it on Linux?</li>
</ul>
<p><code>format /q H:/fs:fat32/a:4096</code> is a lazy way of saying
<code>format  H:  /q  /fs:fat32  /a:4096</code>.</p>
<p>The documentation says:</p>
<pre><code>&gt;format /?
Formats a disk for use with Windows.

FORMAT volume [/FS:file-system] [/V:label] [/Q] [/L[:state]] [/A:size]
              [/C] [/I:state] [/X] [/P:passes] [/S:state]
…
  volume          Specifies the drive letter (followed by a colon),
                  mount point, or volume name.
  /FS:filesystem  Specifies the type of the file system (FAT, FAT32, exFAT,
                  NTFS, UDF, ReFS).
  /A:size         Overrides the default allocation unit size. Default settings
                  are strongly recommended for general use.
                  …
  /Q              Performs a quick format. Note that this switch overrides /P.
  …
</code></pre>
<p>Linux has formatting commands named mkfs.*</p>
<pre><code>$ mkfs.fat -help
mkfs.fat 4.1 (2017-01-24)
Usage: mkfs.fat [-a][-A][-c][-C][-v][-I][-l bad-block-file]
   [-b backup-boot-sector]
   [-m boot-msg-file][-n volume-name][-i volume-id]
   [-s sectors-per-cluster][-S logical-sector-size][-f number-of-FATs]
   [-h hidden-sectors][-F fat-size][-r root-dir-entries][-R reserved-sectors]
   [-M FAT-media-byte][-D drive_number]
   [--invariant]
   [--help]
   /dev/name [blocks]
</code></pre>
<p><code>man mkfs.fat</code> gives details about the individual options.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-11-11T17:42:25.233Z
2022-11-11T17:42:25.233Z
Ray Butterworth
<p>I have the following command:</p>
<p><code>format /q H:/fs:fat32/a:4096</code></p>
<p>that will then allow me to upload a .bin file that will update the ender's firmware.  How do I do this same format on linux?</p>
<p>(It seems the Ender does not respond to firmware update now, even if I leave it as the only file on the drive.  What is the Ender really looking for?)</p>
<p>I have a stock board.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-11-01T20:31:33.817Z
Someone else might correct me if I am wrong, but that command only formats the SD card for use with the 3D printer. It has nothing to do with the firmware itself.
agarza
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-11-02T03:08:00.930Z
I know that.  But strangely, without it the Ender seems to ignore the firmware.
user1833028
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-11-02T03:22:11.740Z
Correct. If the SD card is not formatted in the way the printer requires then it won't be able to read the information on the SD card. Please [edit] your question to explain what exactly you are having problems with.
agarza
<creality-ender-3><firmware>
Updating the firmware an Ender 3 With Linux
user1833028
# Updating the firmware an Ender 3 With Linux

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-11-01)

I have the following command:

`format /q H:/fs:fat32/a:4096`

that will then allow me to upload a .bin file that will update the ender's firmware. How do I do this same format on linux?

(It seems the Ender does not respond to firmware update now, even if I leave it as the only file on the drive. What is the Ender really looking for?)

I have a stock board.

**Tags:** creality-ender-3, firmware

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Someone else might correct me if I am wrong, but that command only formats the SD card for use with the 3D printer. It has nothing to do with the firmware itself.  
> **username_0**: I know that.  But strangely, without it the Ender seems to ignore the firmware.  
> **username_1**: Correct. If the SD card is not formatted in the way the printer requires then it won't be able to read the information on the SD card. Please [edit] your question to explain what exactly you are having problems with.  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2022-11-11. Score: 1

It's not obvious which, if either, the question is asking:

* How does this Microsoft gobbledygook translate into a normal Linux command.
* This is how I'd normally do it, but what would it be if I have to do it on Linux?

`format /q H:/fs:fat32/a:4096` is a lazy way of saying
`format  H:  /q  /fs:fat32  /a:4096`.

The documentation says:

```
>format /?
Formats a disk for use with Windows.

FORMAT volume [/FS:file-system] [/V:label] [/Q] [/L[:state]] [/A:size]
              [/C] [/I:state] [/X] [/P:passes] [/S:state]
…
  volume          Specifies the drive letter (followed by a colon),
                  mount point, or volume name.
  /FS:filesystem  Specifies the type of the file system (FAT, FAT32, exFAT,
                  NTFS, UDF, ReFS).
  /A:size         Overrides the default allocation unit size. Default settings
                  are strongly recommended for general use.
                  …
  /Q              Performs a quick format. Note that this switch overrides /P.
  …

```

Linux has formatting commands named mkfs.\*

```
$ mkfs.fat -help
mkfs.fat 4.1 (2017-01-24)
Usage: mkfs.fat [-a][-A][-c][-C][-v][-I][-l bad-block-file]
   [-b backup-boot-sector]
   [-m boot-msg-file][-n volume-name][-i volume-id]
   [-s sectors-per-cluster][-S logical-sector-size][-f number-of-FATs]
   [-h hidden-sectors][-F fat-size][-r root-dir-entries][-R reserved-sectors]
   [-M FAT-media-byte][-D drive_number]
   [--invariant]
   [--help]
   /dev/name [blocks]

```

`man mkfs.fat` gives details about the individual options.


---

