how to create image file and format it

First we will use traditional ways to make image file. eg dd.

1. use dd to dump a data file 

sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=./test.img bs=4K count=1K

2. use file to check test.img:

alloc@alloc-Rev-1-0:~/test/tmp$ file ./test.img
./test.img: data

3. use losetup to bind a loop device

sudo losetup /dev/loop0 ./test.img

4. format a filesystem eg. ext3

sudo mkfs.ext3 /dev/loop0

5. unbind loop device

sudo losetup -d /dev/loop0

6. check file system type with file:file test.img
test.img: Linux rev 1.0 ext3 filesystem data, UUID=c0b78b50-a7a4-4bde-80fd-a950d90a0af7 (needs journal recovery)

another way to create image file:

1. use qemu-img tool to create a virtual disk

 qemu-img create -f raw ./another.img 4M