ExfatProgs Utility

This guide will go over the numerous tools this software suite has to offer, basic and advanced filesystem and recovery options.

Information

exfatprogs is one of the preinstalled packages for our r/Techsupport Rescue Media. If you are using this live image, you can skip the installation section.

How to install exfatprogs

Refer below for installation instructions if you are not using our live image or want to install it on your own system.

Installing exfatprogs

Debian / Ubuntu / Linux Mint:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install exfatprogs

Fedora / RHEL / CentOS / AlmaLinux:

sudo dnf install exfatprogs

Arch / Manjaro / CachyOS:

sudo pacman -Syu exfatprogs

Tools

The rest of the guide will be going over the different methods and tools available. Note, it is best to have a basic understanding of what stuff like /dev/sdb and /dev/sdb1 represent. A guide to understanding it can be found here.

Basic Repair Operations

Check and Repair exFAT (fsck.exfat)

Basic check:

# Unmount first
sudo umount /dev/sdb1

# Check filesystem
sudo fsck.exfat /dev/sdb1

# Automatic repair
sudo fsck.exfat -y /dev/sdb1

Thorough check:

# Full verification
sudo fsck.exfat -a /dev/sdb1

# Verbose output
sudo fsck.exfat -v /dev/sdb1

Mount exFAT

# Standard mount
sudo mkdir -p /mnt/exfat
sudo mount -t exfat /dev/sdb1 /mnt/exfat

# With specific options
sudo mount -t exfat -o uid=1000,gid=1000 /dev/sdb1 /mnt/exfat

Advanced Operations

Create exFAT Filesystem

# Format as exFAT
sudo mkfs.exfat /dev/sdb1

# With label
sudo mkfs.exfat -n "MyUSB" /dev/sdb1

# With specific cluster size (for large files)
sudo mkfs.exfat -n "LargeFiles" -c 128 /dev/sdb1

Change exFAT Label

# Set volume label
sudo exfatlabel /dev/sdb1 "NewLabel"

# View current label
sudo exfatlabel /dev/sdb1

Dump exFAT Information

# Show filesystem information
sudo dumpexfat /dev/sdb1