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fsck_ffs(8)

NAME

     fsck_ffs, fsck_ufs -- file system consistency check and interactive
     repair

SYNOPSIS

     fsck_ffs [-BFpfny] [-b block#] [-c level] [-m mode] filesystem ...

DESCRIPTION

     The specified disk partitions and/or file systems are checked.  In
     "preen" mode the clean flag of each file system's superblock is examined
     and only those file systems that are not marked clean are checked.  File
     systems are marked clean when they are unmounted, when they have been
     mounted read-only, or when fsck_ffs runs on them successfully.  If the -f
     option is specified, the file systems will be checked regardless of the
     state of their clean flag.

     The kernel takes care that only a restricted class of innocuous file sys-
     tem inconsistencies can happen unless hardware or software failures
     intervene.  These are limited to the following:

	   Unreferenced inodes
	   Link counts in inodes too large
	   Missing blocks in the free map
	   Blocks in the free map also in files
	   Counts in the super-block wrong

     These are the only inconsistencies that fsck_ffs with the -p option will
     correct; if it encounters other inconsistencies, it exits with an abnor-
     mal return status and an automatic reboot will then fail.	For each cor-
     rected inconsistency one or more lines will be printed identifying the
     file system on which the correction will take place, and the nature of
     the correction.  After successfully correcting a file system, fsck_ffs
     will print the number of files on that file system, the number of used
     and free blocks, and the percentage of fragmentation.

     If sent a QUIT signal, fsck_ffs will finish the file system checks, then
     exit with an abnormal return status that causes an automatic reboot to
     fail.  This is useful when you want to finish the file system checks dur-
     ing an automatic reboot, but do not want the machine to come up multiuser
     after the checks complete.

     If fsck_ffs receives a SIGINFO (see the ``status'' argument for stty(1))
     signal, a line will be written to the standard output indicating the name
     of the device currently being checked, the current phase number and
     phase-specific progress information.

     Without the -p option, fsck_ffs audits and interactively repairs incon-
     sistent conditions for file systems.  If the file system is inconsistent
     the operator is prompted for concurrence before each correction is
     attempted.  It should be noted that some of the corrective actions which
     are not correctable under the -p option will result in some loss of data.
     The amount and severity of data lost may be determined from the diagnos-
     tic output.  The default action for each consistency correction is to
     wait for the operator to respond yes or no.  If the operator does not
     have write permission on the file system fsck_ffs will default to a -n
     action.

	     with a zero exit status.  Otherwise it exits with a non-zero exit
	     status.  If the file system is clean, it will exit with a non-
	     zero exit status so that the clean status of the file system can
	     be verified and reported during the foreground checks.  Note that
	     when invoked with the -F flag, no cleanups are done.  The only
	     thing that fsck_ffs does is to determine whether a foreground or
	     background check is needed and exit with an appropriate status
	     code.

     -B      A check is done on the specified and possibly active file system.
	     The set of corrections that can be done is limited to those done
	     when running in preen mode (see the -p flag).  If unexpected
	     errors are found, the file system is marked as needing a fore-
	     ground check and fsck_ffs exits without attempting any further
	     cleaning.

     -b      Use the block specified immediately after the flag as the super
	     block for the file system.  Block 32 is usually an alternate
	     super block.

     -c      Convert the file system to the specified level.  Note that the
	     level of a file system can only be raised.  There are currently
	     four levels defined:

	     0	     The file system is in the old (static table) format.

	     1	     The file system is in the new (dynamic table) format.

	     2	     The file system supports 32-bit uid's and gid's, short
		     symbolic links are stored in the inode, and directories
		     have an added field showing the file type.

	     3	     If maxcontig is greater than one, build the free segment
		     maps to aid in finding contiguous sets of blocks.	If
		     maxcontig is equal to one, delete any existing segment
		     maps.

	     In interactive mode, fsck_ffs will list the conversion to be made
	     and ask whether the conversion should be done.  If a negative
	     answer is given, no further operations are done on the file sys-
	     tem.  In preen mode, the conversion is listed and done if possi-
	     ble without user interaction.  Conversion in preen mode is best
	     used when all the file systems are being converted at once.  The
	     format of a file system can be determined from the first line of
	     output from dumpfs(8).

     -f      Force fsck_ffs to check `clean' file systems when preening.

     -m      Use the mode specified in octal immediately after the flag as the
	     permission bits to use when creating the lost+found directory
	     rather than the default 1777.  In particular, systems that do not
	     wish to have lost files accessible by all users on the system
	     should use a more restrictive set of permissions such as 700.

     -n      Assume a no response to all questions asked by fsck_ffs except
	     for `CONTINUE?', which is assumed to be affirmative; do not open
	     the file system for writing.


     1.   Blocks claimed by more than one inode or the free map.
     2.   Blocks claimed by an inode outside the range of the file system.
     3.   Incorrect link counts.
     4.   Size checks:
		Directory size not a multiple of DIRBLKSIZ.
		Partially truncated file.
     5.   Bad inode format.
     6.   Blocks not accounted for anywhere.
     7.   Directory checks:
		File pointing to unallocated inode.
		Inode number out of range.
		Directories with unallocated blocks (holes).
		Dot or dot-dot not the first two entries of a directory or
		having the wrong inode number.
     8.   Super Block checks:
		More blocks for inodes than there are in the file system.
		Bad free block map format.
		Total free block and/or free inode count incorrect.

     Orphaned files and directories (allocated but unreferenced) are, with the
     operator's concurrence, reconnected by placing them in the lost+found
     directory.  The name assigned is the inode number.  If the lost+found
     directory does not exist, it is created.  If there is insufficient space
     its size is increased.

FILES

     /etc/fstab  contains default list of file systems to check.

DIAGNOSTICS

     The fsck_ffs utility exits 0 on success, and >0 if an error occurs.

     The diagnostics produced by fsck_ffs are fully enumerated and explained
     in Appendix A of Fsck - The UNIX File System Check Program.

SEE ALSO

     fs(5), fstab(5), fsck(8), fsdb(8), newfs(8), reboot(8)

FreeBSD 5.4			April 24, 2001			   FreeBSD 5.4

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