Re: defrag

[" Raymond A. Ingles" <inglesra@frc.com>]

On Mon, 22 Mar 1999, Sami Dalouche wrote:

> I just want to know how to use defrag on a system. I don't want to make floppy disk or something else.
> Is it possible to remount / in ro mode without rebooting ?
> Thanks

<preach>

 Why do you want to use defrag? Linux's standard filesystem (ext2) does
not get fragmented very easily - typically, unless you regularly go beyond
80% occupied, you'll never see significant fragmentation. Are you really
sure that you need to defragment?

 Even then, you *really* *really* should back up your system before you do
anything so potentially catastrophic as this. And in that case, all you
need to do is back up, reformat, and restore. Presto, instant defrag,
without risk! (Well, as long as you trust your backup.)

 </preach>

 That being said, yes, if you really want to use defrag, you can remount
read-only. To do so, try something like:

 mount -o remount,ro /dev/somthing /mountpoint

 I think you may be able to leave off the /dev/something part. Check the
man page for mount.

 Sincerely,

 Ray Ingles          (248) 377-7735      ray.ingles@fanucrobotics.com

              Anagrams of "FANUC Robotics North America":

 bun of characteristic maroon             omaha reconstruction fabric
 a cubic transformation chore             cherub fractionation macros
                      cube of anachronistic mortar