Checking disks and filesystems for errors

Data is the most important thing in any computer system. Naturally, it is important to monitor the consistency of data stored on physical media.

Getting ready

We will use the standard tool, fsck to check for errors in the filesystems. This command should be preinstalled on all modern distros. If not, use your package manager to install it.

How to do it...

Let us see how to use fsck with its various options to check filesystems for errors, and optionally fix them.

  1. To check for errors on a partition or filesystem, just pass its path to fsck:
    # fsck /dev/sdb3
    fsck from util-linux 2.20.1
    e2fsck 1.42.5 (29-Jul-2012)
    HDD2 has been mounted 26 times without being checked, check forced.
    Pass 1: Checking inodes, blocks, ...

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