Re: Ext3fs and fsck
On 20 Nov 2001, Alan Shutko wrote:
> Paolo Falcone <fallenlordx@edsamail.com.ph> writes:
>
> >>blaubaer:~# e2fsck /dev/hdb1
> >>e2fsck 1.25 (20-Sep-2001)
> >>/dev/hdb1 is mounted.
> >>WARNING!!! Running e2fsck on a mounted filesystem may cause
> >>SEVERE filesystem damage.
> >
> > This is default behavior. But you need to delete the journal
> > file first, else you wreck your ext3fs partition, before committing
> > to fsck.
>
> No, e2fsck works fine on ext3 partitions. It just doesn't want to
> work on mounted partitions. Remount root as read-only (mount / -o
> ro,remount) and try it again.
>
> > The second one is to tweak your ext3fs partition. issue:
> >
> > tune2fs -c0 -i0 /dev/hdb1
>
> Bad idea. From the tune2fs man page
>
> You should strongly consider the consequences of
> disabling mount-count-dependent checking entirely.
> Bad disk drives, cables, memory, and kernel bugs
> could all corrupt a filesystem without marking the
> filesystem dirty or in error. If you are using
> journaling on your filesystem, your filesystem will
> never be marked dirty, so it will not normally be
> checked. A filesystem error detected by the kernel
> will still force an fsck on the next reboot, but it
> may already be too late to prevent data loss at
> that point.
>
> and
>
> It is strongly recommended that either -c (mount-
> count-dependent) or -i (time-dependent) checking be
> enabled to force periodic full e2fsck(8) checking
> of the filesystem. Failure to do so may lead to
> filesystem corruption due to bad disks, cables,
> memory, or kernel bugs to go unnoticed until they
> cause data loss or corruption.
>
> > You won't really need fsck unless you screw up big time (playing
> > around as root most of the time does that...).
>
> Untrue.
>
> --
It's precisely the above warnings that make me rather nervous of using
ext3 (though I have it on all my filesystems at the moment, mainly to
cope with the frequent lockups I am experiencing, for unknown reasons).
The available documentation on ext3 doesn't seem to make things very
clear, at least to me.
If I leave /etc/fstab as it is, will all the file systems continue to be
checked as normal when I reboot? Or should I issue tune2fs commands
(with appropriate time or mount switches) and change /etc/fstab in some
way? If so, how?
What is the purpose of the /forcefsck file that is suggested, and what
commands is it supposed to contain?
My current /etc/fstab:
# /etc/fstab: static file system information.
#
# <file system> <mount point> <type> <options> <dump> <pass>
#
/dev/hdb1 / auto defaults,errors=remount-ro 0 1
/dev/hdb5 /usr auto defaults 0 2
/dev/hdb6 /var auto defaults 0 2
/dev/hdb7 /usr/local auto defaults 0 2
/dev/hdb8 /home auto defaults 0 2
/dev/hda1 /msdos msdos rw,noauto,user 0 0
/dev/hda3 /backup auto rw,noauto,user 0 2
/dev/hda5 none swap sw 0 0
#
proc /proc proc defaults 0 0
/dev/fd0 /floppy auto defaults,user,noauto 0 0
/dev/cdrom /cdrom iso9660 defaults,ro,user,noauto 0 0
#
Any illumination gratefully received.
Anthony
--
Anthony Campbell - running Linux GNU/Debian (Windows-free zone)
For an electronic book (The Assassins of Alamut), skeptical
essays, and over 140 book reviews, go to: http://www.acampbell.org.uk/
Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our
obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come
from elsewhere to save us from ourselves. [Carl Sagan]
Reply to: