Using clri to reset an inode problem

Referencing: Odd INode problem on OSR505

This is an interesting post about someone who had a directory entry pointing at an unallocated inode. Usually those things get fixed by the system itself when it reboots, but somehow this one didn't. Or maybe it just wasn't rebooted.

The problem, as Bela Lubkin points out in his usual excellent manner, is that the original poster was chasing his own tail, just moving the problem from file to file as new files happened to use the inode number that originally had been left in the directory. The poster would remove the file, but that just decremented the inode count, leaving him with another directory entry pointing at nothing. Problem repeats, apparently randomly moving around the file system.

As Bela points out, clri is designed to deal with this kind of problem, but it can't quite.. and you need to immediately run fsck after using it. The original poster finds it hard to schedule downtime (those darn unreasonable users who expect to USE the machine!), but there is no way around it.

I'm amused by the fact that the users and apparently the brass have expectations that this box will stay running, period. Imagine trying to enforce that on a Windows server!

Comments?

More Articles by Tony Lawrence - Find me on Google+

Jump to Comments

Many of the products and books I review are things I purchased for my own use. Some were given to me specifically for the purpose of reviewing them. I resell or can earn commissions from the sale of some of these items. Links within these pages may be affiliate links that pay me for referring you to them. That's mostly insignificant amounts of money; whenever it is not I have made my relationship plain. I also may own stock in companies mentioned here. If you have any question, please do feel free to contact me.

Specific links that take you to pages that allow you to purchase the item I reviewed are very likely to pay me a commission. Many of the books I review were given to me by the publishers specifically for the purpose of writing a review. These gifts and referral fees do not affect my opinions; I often give bad reviews anyway.

We use Google third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our website. These companies may use information (not including your name, address, email address, or telephone number) about your visits to this and other websites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you. If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices about not having this information used by these companies, click here.