Grr. A linux problem that is irritating.

Post #307,183 by static 4/12/09 3:34:53 AM Reply	Grr. A linux problem that is irritating. Somewhat atypically, I have found a Linux problem that there is no straightforward fix for. I have a hard drive that is reporting lots of errors. The errors are repeatable on the same sectors, so it's likely a media failure. Unfortunately, this is the root and only partition for the Linux install on that PC. And I can't boot without it forcing a check. A check that fails and drops into a maintenance shell. Interestingly, the maintenence shell leaves the partition mounted read-write, but leaving the shell makes it reboot. So I have to make the filesystem "clean". Somehow. Unfortunataly, the ONLY way to do that is for a fsck to complete. Successfully. Did I say ONLY? Yes, I did: good. There Is No F#(%$#@ Way To Force The FileSystem To Be Marked "Clean". I just need the system to boot enough to bring the network up, then I can copy off what files I can't replace and set about replacing the drive. But I have to wait hours and hours for the disk fix tools to trundle through all the faulty sectors so it might have a chance of marking it "Clean". :-( I thought tune2fs might be able to do this, but not really. I got "Unclean shutdown" on the reboot. I'm thinking of filing a bug report on Ubuntu. I should be able to do this. Maybe I should have posted in Flame On. Wade. "Ah -- I take it the doorbell doesn't work?"
Post #307,195 by Another Scott 4/12/09 11:04:34 AM Reply	Can you boot it from a SysRescCD? CloneZilla-SysRescCD has worked well for me. It's got lots of options and recovery tools. http://clonezilla-sysresccd.hellug.gr/ Good luck! Cheers, Scott.
Post #307,233 by static 4/12/09 7:30:18 PM Reply	The optical drive has other issues... I tried booting from the CD I installed from and it won't see it. It's been dying for months; I think the laser diode has lost output. Wade. "Ah -- I take it the doorbell doesn't work?"
Post #307,235 by Another Scott 4/12/09 7:50:25 PM Reply	Will it boot from USB? There's instructions for USB booting: http://clonezilla-sy...ellug.gr/usb.html I'm having no luck in trying to find the right terms for a Google search for the error. If you can't get things going fairly easily, it might help to post more about the error and your hardware so that we can winnow things down a bit more. Good luck! Cheers, Scott.
Post #307,238 by static 4/12/09 8:03:58 PM Reply	I rather doubt it. CPU is an Athlon 1800. On-board USB is 1.1. I do have another optical drive, actually, but it's just a CD-RW drive, not a DVD-RW. I think I kinda need to start again with this PC, actually. It's had problems all it's life. There's a PCI slot that I marked as unreliable years ago, for instance, after months of fighting with a sound card. Wade. "Ah -- I take it the doorbell doesn't work?"
Post #307,246 by Another Scott 4/12/09 10:06:52 PM Reply	That's rough. I think what I'd try to do in that situation is remove the drive from that PC and use an IDE/SATA to USB converter to connect it to another PC. Then use fsck and ddrescue or similar tools to try to repair it and/or get the important information off it. Then you could take your time in deciding what to do about the temperamental hardware. Good luck! Cheers, Scott.
Post #307,247 by static 4/12/09 10:15:28 PM Reply	Step 1. Buy another PC. :-/ Well, it still boots to Windows off the other hard drive, so I'll go back to that. Wade. "Ah -- I take it the doorbell doesn't work?"
Post #307,196 by boxley 4/12/09 11:10:13 AM Reply	go in the shell to /etc/rc directory start running the network startup scripts or depending on distro /etc/init.d/$scripts
Post #307,199 by folkert 4/12/09 11:46:27 AM Reply	Re: Grr. A linux problem that is irritating. What does your `/etc/fstab` say for "/"? Also, typically there is a file that gets left on the filesystem just before a machine is rebooted, to indicate that the Filesystem was umounted cleanly.... If it ain't there, its gonna scan.
Post #307,234 by static 4/12/09 7:32:47 PM Reply	I tried looking for that file. I couldn't begin to find the scripts init runs before it starts on the rc.* ones. (Is my Linux knowledge that rusty?) I don't have the line for / to hand. Wade. "Ah -- I take it the doorbell doesn't work?"
Post #307,239 by boxley 4/12/09 8:29:12 PM Reply	well quite often the rc files are symlinks to /etc/init.d
Post #307,245 by static 4/12/09 9:52:49 PM Reply	Yes, I know that. But there's a script it runs before it gets to any of the /etc/init.d ones. I think it's buried in the initrd. Wade. "Ah -- I take it the doorbell doesn't work?"
Post #307,383 by scoenye 4/14/09 10:57:46 PM Reply	Try /etc/inittab (Weird. I thought I posted this this morning, but I guess I didn't click hard enough...) Look for the si: entry. (e.g. on Debian, it triggers the execution of the S entries in /etc/rcS.d which do the initial checks and mounts.)

Welcome to IWETHEY!