ext3 filesystem check

[jankushka]

suggestion.

with filesystem getting bigger and bigger (500gb, 1tb, ...)
a filesystem check may take a very long time to complete.

if developers want to keep this "feature", i'd suggest they
at least background the checks where/when possible.

so that systems can at least boot up without people having
to wait 15 minutes or more in front of a progress bar...

cheers

ps:
i know i can tune my ext3.
i also know how to do it.
but most of the windoze refugees don't.

[txHarleyMan]

Re: ext3 filesystem check

Or folks could use reiserfs. It doesn't require this check.

I personally use Ext3 and have changed mine to check every 50 boots. I think for a normal home user, 50-100 is fine.

[Rog131]

Re: ext3 filesystem check

There is AutoFsck , with it you can easily modify diskchecks. Here fsck is done at shutdown:

Topic: Fsck on Shutdown
http://kubuntuforums.net/forums/inde...opic=3088866.0

[jankushka]

Re: ext3 filesystem check

thanks folks.
as i posted earlier...i know i can tune things.

but the users i'm talking about:
a) don't know (and don't want to know) about filesystems
b) don't know (and don't want to know) about other filesystems
c) don't know (and don't want to know) what a fsck is

and they ask me questions such as:
a) if this other filesystem doesn't need to be checked, why then this one does?
b) if this other filesystem doesn't need to be checked, then it must be better, isn't it?
c) and if this other filesystem is better, then why does *ubuntu use this crap one?
d) and what is a filesystem anyway?

the bottom line is:
why does ext3 need to be checked at all?
technically, i mean, why is that?

cheers

[Snowhog]

Re: ext3 filesystem check

why does ext3 need to be checked at all?
technically, i mean, why is that?

This is an old post from Red Hat, but it has an explanation of the move from the ext2 to ext3 filesystem. It states that "...ext3 does not require a file system check, even after an unclean system shutdown, except for certain rare hardware failure cases (e.g. hard drive failures)." Interesting. Unless their statement is totally out in left field, my guess would be that the reason filesystem checks are still performed on ext3 filesystems (at least in *ubuntu) is due to inertia (it was being done prior to ext3 and the practice was continued), that, or the analyzed risk in not doing it was deemed to be greater than not doing it.

I'm sure that someone with more knowledge on the subject will add to or correct me on this.

[jankushka]

Re: ext3 filesystem check

ok, folks...
i asked on the ext3-users mailing list what is the technical rationale behind periodic fsck.
i got this very enlighting reply from larry mcvoy:

disks rot

[raijinsetsu]

Re: ext3 filesystem check

You're not checking the filesystem so much as your checking the physical volume the filesystem is on. If you didn't go through the check, and some bits were missing, each additional write could compound the error. By the time you knew you had an issue, every means of recovering any data will have been over-written.
By checking the filesystem periodically, you can know when it's starting to go, and replace it.

[dibl]

Re: ext3 filesystem check

disks rot

Aha! Just as I always suspected!