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E2FSCK

Section: Maintenance Commands (8)
Updated: July 1999
Index

NAME

e2fsck - check a Linux second extended file system

SYNOPSIS

e2fsck[-pacnyrdfvstFSV][-bsuperblock][-Bblocksize][-l|-Lbad_blocks_file][-Cfd]device

DESCRIPTION

e2fsckis used to check a Linux second extended file system.

device: is the special file corresponding to the device (e.g /dev/hdXX).

OPTIONS

-a: This option does the same thing as the -poption. It is provided for backwards compatibility only; it issuggested that people use -p option whenever possible.
-b superblock: Instead of using the normal superblock, use an alternative superblockspecified by superblock.Thisoptionisnormallyusedwhentheprimarysuperblockhas been corrupted; most filesystems have primary superblocks located at blocks 8193, 16385, etc. If an alternative superblock is specified and the filesystem is not opened read-only, e2fsck will make sure that theprimary superblock is updated appropriately upon completion of the filesystem check.
-B blocksize: Normally, e2fsckwill search for the superblock at various differentblock sizes in an attempt to find the appropriate block size.This search can be fooled in some cases. This option forces e2fsckto only try locating the superblock at a particular blocksize.If the superblock is not found, e2fsck will terminate with a fatal error.
-c: This option causes e2fsck to run the badblocks(8)program to find any blocks which are bad on the filesystem, and then marks them as bad by adding them to the bad block inode.
-C: This option causese2fsckto write completion information to the specified file descriptor so that the progress of the filesystem check can be monitored. This option is typically used by programs which are runninge2fsck.If the file descriptor specified is 0, e2fsckwill print a completion bar as it goes about its business. This requiresthat e2fsck is running on a video console or terminal.
-d: Print debugging output (useless unless you are debugginge2fsck).
-f: Force checking even if the file system seems clean.
-F: Flush the filesystem device's buffer caches before beginning. Onlyreally useful for doing e2fsck time trials.
-l filename: Add the blocks listed in the file specified by filenameto the list of bad blocks. The format of this file is the same as theone generated by the badblocks(8)program.
-L filename: Set the bad blocks list to be the list of blocks specified by filename.(This option is the same as the -loption, except the bad blocks list is cleared before the blocks listedin the file are added to the bad blocks list.)
-n: Open the filesystem read-only, and assume an answer of ``no'' to allquestions. Allowse2fsckto be used non-interactively. (Note: if the -c,-l,or-Loptions are specified in addition to the -noption, then the filesystem will be opened read-write, to permit thebad-blocks list to be updated. However, no other changes will be madeto the filesystem.)
-p: Automatically repair ("preen") the file system without any questions.
-r: This option does nothing at all; it is provided only for backwardscompatibility.
-s: This option will byte-swap the filesystem so that it is using the normalized, standard byte-order (which is i386 or little endian). If the filesystem isalready in the standard byte-order, e2fsck will take no action.
-S: This option will byte-swap the filesystem, regardless of its current byte-order.
-t: Print timing statistics fore2fsck.If this option is used twice, additional timing statistics are printedon a pass by pass basis.
-v: Verbose mode.
-V: Print version information and exit.
-y: Assume an answer of ``yes'' to all questions; allows e2fsckto be used non-interactively.

EXIT CODE

The exit code returned bye2fsckis the sum of the following conditions:
0 - No errors
1 - File system errors corrected
2 - File system errors corrected, system should
be rebooted if file system was mounted
4 - File system errors left uncorrected
8 - Operational error
16 - Usage or syntax error
128 - Shared library error

SIGNALS

The following signals have the following effect when sent to e2fsck.

SIGUSR1: This signal causese2fsckto start displaying a completion bar. (See discussion of the -Coption.)
SIGUSR2: This signal causese2fsck to stop displaying a completion bar.

REPORTING BUGS

Almost any piece of software will have bugs. If you manage to find afilesystem which causes e2fsckto crash, or which e2fsckis unable to repair, please report it to the author.

Please include as much information as possible in your bug report.Ideally, include a complete transcript of thee2fsckrun, so I can see exactly what error messages are displayed. If youhave a writeable filesystem where the transcript can be stored, the script(1)program is a handy way to save the output ofe2fsckto a file.

It is also useful to send the output of dumpe2fs(8).If a specific inode or inodes seems to be giving e2fsck trouble, try running thedebugfs(8)command and send the output of the stat(1u)command run on the relevant inode(s). If the inode is a directory, the debugfsdumpcommand will allow you to extract the contents of the directory inode,which can sent to me after being first run throughuuencode(1).

Always include the full version string which e2fsckdisplays when it is run, so I know which version you are running.

AUTHOR

This version of e2fsckwas written by Theodore Ts'o <tytsoAATTmit.edu>.

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