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Date:      Mon, 24 Aug 2020 10:40:17 +0200
From:      Polytropon <freebsd@edvax.de>
To:        FreeBSD Questions <freebsd-questions@freebsd.org>
Subject:   Suggestion regarding fsck output enhancement
Message-ID:  <20200824104017.4c241ec0.freebsd@edvax.de>

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Today I came across a situation where I would think fsck should
output a little more information, which would be helpful especially
in diagnostics and dry-run sessions prior to recovery.

Example:

	INCORRECT BLOCK COUNT I=24236 (288 should be 268)
	CORRECT? yes

Or:

	UNREF FILE  I=63518082  OWNER=test1 MODE=100644
	SIZE=0 MTIME=Aug 24 09:45 2020
	RECONNECT? yes

In both entries, the inode number is mentioned. Wouldn't it be
nice to display a file or directory name, if possible, to show
what file could be affected? Basically, it's what you can already
manually do:

	1. run fsck in dry mode
	   (only list actions, do not take them)

	2. note inode numbers

	3. use fsdb to find out what the inodes point to

	4. take specific action prior to fsck if needed

My suggestion would be: If this kind of information is available,
fsck should display it, for example:

	INCORRECT BLOCK COUNT I=24236 (288 should be 268)
	FILENAME ada0p4:/tmp/test.dat
	CORRECT? yes

Or:

	UNREF FILE  I=63518082  OWNER=test1 MODE=100644
	FILENAME ada0p5:/home/test1/project/data/listing.ps
	SIZE=0 MTIME=Aug 24 09:45 2020
	RECONNECT? yes

Let's assume those messages would have been ansered "NO"
during a fsck dry run.

The advantage:

While fsck could zero out or truncate a file during repair,
it might be important for the operator to first try to mount
the partition r/o, copy the file out, unmount the partition,
have fsck repair the filesystem, and then replace the damaged
file from the previously obtained copy. This of course assumes
that the file in question can still be read, but would be
subject to "deleting" upon filesystem consistency restoration,
so it will not always be possible.

Whom should I direct such a suggestion to?

Or am I missing something that already exists? :-)


-- 
Polytropon
Magdeburg, Germany
Happy FreeBSD user since 4.0
Andra moi ennepe, Mousa, ...



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