hmm, on Fri, Oct 02, 2009 at 07:31:39PM +0200, Otto Moerbeek said that
quoted text
> > fsck -y
> > 
> > after a power or other type of failure,
> > in cases the automatic file system check fails?
> 
> If that was a wisething to do, we would have already done so. In other
> words, it is not wise. It's foolish.

as usually, i absolutely agree with you Otto.

however.

please all the people in the room raise their hands who have the
faintest idea about what 95% of the questions that fsck is going to ask
them on a seriously borked fs mean.  my hat goes off to them.

here's the thing: even though every single diagnostic message
fsck may produce is documented in /usr/share/doc/smm/03.fsck_ffs
i dont see how these questions help at all.  what i mean is,
there is nothing to compare the diagnostic data to anyway, so
what is the answer going to be based on?  so far i have always
only took the leap of faith and pressed yes or always..  what
else is there to do?

a couple of months ago, after a certain incident on my notebook
i was presented with a borked suberblock and after i have
figured out that the backup superblock were usable, i just
crossed my fingers and after a dry run i started fsck.

i got some 7700 'UNKNOWN FILE TYPE's, an unallocated root inode,
bad magic numbers for CGs and fsck messages i have never had the
luck meeting with before... (should read 03.fsck_ffs one of
these days probably -- but even then, i would just say yes
on every question)

unfortunately i dont have a transcript of that fsck session,
i do however have a "screenshot" of the last phase:

** Phase 5 - Check Cyl groups
CG 0: BAD MAGIC NUMBER
FREE BLK COUNT(S) WRONG IN SUPERBLK
SALVAGE? yes

SUMMARY INFORMATION BAD
SALVAGE? yes

BLK(S) MISSING IN BIT MAPS
SALVAGE? yes

118774 files, 4966785 used, 2542705 free (17073 frags, 315704 blocks, 0.2% fragmentation)

UPDATE STANDARD SUPERBLOCK? yes


MARK FILE SYSTEM CLEAN? yes


***** FILE SYSTEM WAS MODIFIED *****

(for the curious: all my files survived under lost+found.  i was
as happy as it can be)

if fsck thinks there is a problem, there is nothing left but to press y
anyway.  although i'd very much like to read stories of other admins
doing otherwise.

-f
-- 
atheism is a non-prophet organization.