FSCK.MINIX
Section: System Administration (8)
Updated: June 2015
Page Index
NAME
fsck.minix - check consistency of Minix filesystem
SYNOPSIS
fsck.minix
[options]
device
DESCRIPTION
fsck.minix
performs a consistency check for the Linux MINIX filesystem.
The program assumes the filesystem is quiescent.
fsck.minix
should not be used on a mounted device unless you can be sure nobody is
writing to it. Remember that the kernel can write to device when it
searches for files.
The device name will usually have the following form:
-
| /dev/hda[1-63] | IDE disk 1
|
| /dev/hdb[1-63] | IDE disk 2
|
| /dev/sda[1-15] | SCSI disk 1
|
| /dev/sdb[1-15] | SCSI disk 2
|
If the filesystem was changed, i.e., repaired, then
fsck.minix
will print "FILE SYSTEM HAS CHANGED" and will
sync(2)
three times before exiting. There is
no
need to reboot after check.
WARNING
fsck.minix
should
not
be used on a mounted filesystem. Using
fsck.minix
on a mounted filesystem is very dangerous, due to the possibility that
deleted files are still in use, and can seriously damage a perfectly good
filesystem! If you absolutely have to run
fsck.minix
on a mounted filesystem, such as the root filesystem, make sure nothing
is writing to the disk, and that no files are "zombies" waiting for
deletion.
OPTIONS
- -l, --list
-
List all filenames.
- -r, --repair
-
Perform interactive repairs.
- -a, --auto
-
Perform automatic repairs. This option implies
--repair
and serves to answer all of the questions asked with the default. Note
that this can be extremely dangerous in the case of extensive filesystem
damage.
- -v, --verbose
-
Be verbose.
- -s, --super
-
Output super-block information.
- -m, --uncleared
-
Activate MINIX-like "mode not cleared" warnings.
- -f, --force
-
Force a filesystem check even if the filesystem was marked as valid.
Marking is done by the kernel when the filesystem is unmounted.
- -V, --version
-
Display version information and exit.
- -h, --help
-
Display help text and exit.
DIAGNOSTICS
There are numerous diagnostic messages. The ones mentioned here are the
most commonly seen in normal usage.
If the device does not exist,
fsck.minix
will print "unable to read super block". If the device exists, but is not
a MINIX filesystem,
fsck.minix
will print "bad magic number in super-block".
EXIT STATUS
The exit status returned by
fsck.minix
is the sum of the following:
-
- 0
-
No errors
- 3
-
Filesystem errors corrected, system should be rebooted if filesystem was
mounted
- 4
-
Filesystem errors left uncorrected
- 7
-
Combination of exit statuses 3 and 4
- 8
-
Operational error
- 16
-
Usage or syntax error
AUTHORS
Linus Torvalds
Exit status values by
Rik Faith
Added support for filesystem valid flag:
Dr. Wettstein
Check to prevent fsck of mounted filesystem added by
Daniel Quinlan
Minix v2 fs support by
Andreas Schwab
updated by
Nicolai Langfeldt
Portability patch by
Russell King
SEE ALSO
fsck(8),
fsck.ext2(8),
mkfs(8),
mkfs.ext2(8),
mkfs.minix(8),
reboot(8)
AVAILABILITY
The fsck.minix command is part of the util-linux package and is available from
Linux Kernel Archive