.\" -*- nroff -*- .\" Copyright 1993, 1994, 1995 by Theodore Ts'o. All Rights Reserved. .\" This file may be copied under the terms of the GNU Public License. .\" .TH E2FSCK 8 "@E2FSPROGS_MONTH@ @E2FSPROGS_YEAR@" "E2fsprogs version @E2FSPROGS_VERSION@" .SH NAME e2fsck \- check a Linux second extended file system .SH SYNOPSIS .B e2fsck [ .B \-pacnyrdfvstFSV ] [ .B \-b .I superblock ] [ .B \-B .I blocksize ] [ .BR \-l | \-L .I bad_blocks_file ] [ .B \-C .I fd ] @JDEV@[ @JDEV@.B \-j @JDEV@.I external-journal @JDEV@] @JDEV@[ .I device .SH DESCRIPTION .B e2fsck is used to check a Linux second extended file system (e2fs). E2fsck also supports ext2 filesystems countaining a journal, which are also sometimes known as ext3 filesystems. .TP .I device is the special file corresponding to the device (e.g .IR /dev/hdc1 ). .SH OPTIONS .TP .B \-a This option does the same thing as the .B \-p option. It is provided for backwards compatibility only; it is suggested that people use .B \-p option whenever possible. .TP .BI \-b " superblock" Instead of using the normal superblock, use an alternative superblock specified by .IR superblock . This option is normally used when the primary superblock has been corrupted. The location of the backup superblock is dependent on the filesystem's blocksize. For filesystems with 1k blocksizes, a backup superblock can be found at block 8193; for filesystems with 2k blocksizes, at block 16384; and for 4k blocksizes, at block 32768. .IP Additional backup superblocks can be determined by using the .B mke2fs program using the .B \-n option to print out where the superblocks were created. The .B \-b option to .BR mke2fs , which specifies blocksize of the filesystem must be specified in order for the superblock locations that are printed out to be accurate. .IP If an alternative superblock is specified and the filesystem is not opened read-only, e2fsck will make sure that the primary superblock is updated appropriately upon completion of the filesystem check. .TP .BI \-B " blocksize" Normally, .B e2fsck will search for the superblock at various different block sizes in an attempt to find the appropriate block size. This search can be fooled in some cases. This option forces .B e2fsck to only try locating the superblock at a particular blocksize. If the superblock is not found, .B e2fsck will terminate with a fatal error. .TP .B \-c This option causes .B e2fsck to run the .BR 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. .TP .B \-C This option causes .B e2fsck to 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 running .BR e2fsck . If the file descriptor specified is 0, .B e2fsck will print a completion bar as it goes about its business. This requires that e2fsck is running on a video console or terminal. .TP .B \-d Print debugging output (useless unless you are debugging .BR e2fsck ). .TP .B \-f Force checking even if the file system seems clean. .TP .B \-F Flush the filesystem device's buffer caches before beginning. Only really useful for doing .B e2fsck time trials. @JDEV@.TP @JDEV@.BI \-j " external-journal" @JDEV@Set the pathname where the external-journal for this filesystem can be @JDEV@found. .TP .BI \-l " filename" Add the blocks listed in the file specified by .I filename to the list of bad blocks. The format of this file is the same as the one generated by the .BR badblocks (8) program. .TP .BI \-L " filename" Set the bad blocks list to be the list of blocks specified by .IR filename . (This option is the same as the .B \-l option, except the bad blocks list is cleared before the blocks listed in the file are added to the bad blocks list.) .TP .B \-n Open the filesystem read-only, and assume an answer of `no' to all questions. Allows .B e2fsck to be used non-interactively. (Note: if the .BR \-c , .BR \-l , or .B \-L options are specified in addition to the .B \-n option, then the filesystem will be opened read-write, to permit the bad-blocks list to be updated. However, no other changes will be made to the filesystem.) .TP .B \-p Automatically repair ("preen") the file system without any questions. .TP .B \-r This option does nothing at all; it is provided only for backwards compatibility. .TP .B \-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 is already in the standard byte-order, .B e2fsck will take no action. .TP .B \-S This option will byte-swap the filesystem, regardless of its current byte-order. .TP .B \-t Print timing statistics for .BR e2fsck . If this option is used twice, additional timing statistics are printed on a pass by pass basis. .TP .B \-v Verbose mode. .TP .B \-V Print version information and exit. .TP .B \-y Assume an answer of `yes' to all questions; allows .B e2fsck to be used non-interactively. .SH EXIT CODE The exit code returned by .B e2fsck is the sum of the following conditions: .br \ 0\ \-\ No errors .br \ 1\ \-\ File system errors corrected .br \ 2\ \-\ File system errors corrected, system should .br \ \ \ \ be rebooted if file system was mounted .br \ 4\ \-\ File system errors left uncorrected .br \ 8\ \-\ Operational error .br \ 16\ \-\ Usage or syntax error .br \ 128\ \-\ Shared library error .br .SH SIGNALS The following signals have the following effect when sent to .BR e2fsck . .TP .B SIGUSR1 This signal causes .B e2fsck to start displaying a completion bar. (See discussion of the .B \-C option.) .TP .B SIGUSR2 This signal causes .B e2fsck to stop displaying a completion bar. .SH REPORTING BUGS Almost any piece of software will have bugs. If you manage to find a filesystem which causes .B e2fsck to crash, or which .B e2fsck is unable to repair, please report it to the author. .PP Please include as much information as possible in your bug report. Ideally, include a complete transcript of the .B e2fsck run, so I can see exactly what error messages are displayed. If you have a writeable filesystem where the transcript can be stored, the .BR script (1) program is a handy way to save the output of .B e2fsck to a file. .PP It is also useful to send the output of .BR dumpe2fs (8). If a specific inode or inodes seems to be giving .B e2fsck trouble, try running the .BR debugfs (8) command and send the output of the .BR stat (1u) command run on the relevant inode(s). If the inode is a directory, the .B debugfs .I dump command will allow you to extract the contents of the directory inode, which can sent to me after being first run through .BR uuencode (1). .PP Always include the full version string which .B e2fsck displays when it is run, so I know which version you are running. .SH AUTHOR This version of .B e2fsck was written by Theodore Ts'o . .SH SEE ALSO .BR mke2fs (8), .BR tune2fs (8), .BR dumpe2fs (8), .BR debugfs (8)