On Mon, Aug 25, 2008 at 07:24:24AM -0400, William L. Maltby wrote: > > "Badblocks" (which really should be invoked via mke2fs or e2fsck rather > than manually) has useful, but limited, utility in ensuring reliability. > And it does require some small storage space in the file system. And it > does *not* assign alternate blocks (that is, it does not take advantage > of the hardware alternate block capability). And it is not "predictive", > thereby being useful only for keeping an FS usable *after* data has been > (potentially) lost on an existing file system. It's best utility is at > FS creation and check time. It also has use if you can un-mount the FS > (ignoring the "force" capability provided) but cannot take the system > down to run manufacturer-specific diagnostic and repair software. It might be interesting to add a "catch 22" story. I once added -c flags to /fsckoptions and "touch"ed /forcefsck. I had to take the disk to the lab and fix it on a bench system. -- T o m M i t c h e l l Got a great hat... now what.