Corrupted file system?!

[Mauro Cossu]

Hello everybody!

Following a power cut I have Big problems in getting my linux box up and running again.

After the first reboot the system told me to run fsck. So I did. It was supposed to repair the file system but it didn’t go exactly like that…
After the 2nd reboot I get as final msg:
Kernel panic: No init found.

And I cannot go further! I really need to get back my /home at least L

The full final msg is:
Had_intr: status=0x51 { Driveready SeekComplete error }
Had: error=0x40 { UncorrectableError } LBASect=18980248, sector18874408
End_request: I/0 error,dev 03:02 (hda) , sector18874408
EXT3-fs error (device ide0(3,2)) ext3_get_inode_loc: unable to read inode block – inode=1175055, block-2359301

I am (was) running a Red Hat 7.2 with 2 hard disk

I used the installation disk with option
I ran the rescue mode. By default it attempts to mount the files system under /mnt/sysimage . It manages to do that, BUT it cannot mount /home , which is what I desperately need L. When I try to see /home I get the following mes:

Ls –lrt /mnt/sysimage
Ls: /mnt/sysimage/home: input/output error
Ls: /mnt/sysimage/lib: input/output error
Ls: /mnt/sysimage/opt: input/output error

When I try to run e2fsck I see that the superblock is corrupted. I also tried running
e2fsck –b 8193 /mnt/sysimage/home but still no luck (also with multiples of 8193 as I understand that the data in the superblock are ‘replicated’ every 8192)

how can I get back my box ?? how can I restore the data under /home??


Thank you very much for your help
Mauro

[Ivan Ferreira · Accepted solution]

This looks very bad, try using a recovery product like:

http://www.freedownloadscenter.com/Utilities/Disk_Maintenance_and_Repair_Utilities/Stellar_Phoenix_Linux.html

[Mauro Cossu]

thanks Ivan,

one of the Systems Requirement for that recovery tool is

Operating System: Windows 9X/ME/NT/2000/XP

how can use it? I don't have MS on my Linux box. The box is not on a network at the moment.
Is there any other recovery tool that I could use? something which could run from a floppy or a cd in the linux drivers?

Thanks again
Mauro

[Ivan Ferreira]

This is bootable:

http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/products/recoveryexpert/

And another to select:

http://www.freedownloadmanager.org/downloads/ext3_software/

[Steven E. Protter]

Shalom Mauro,

If it is really important to you, create your cd on a Windows box.

Or.

http://www.sysresccd.org

Assuming you can burn the iso image somewhere this will help you have the system without use of Windows.

SEP

[dirk dierickx]

looks like one of the disks went bad. you can use your rh install cd as a 'rescue' cd. boot from it, get a shell and try to mount to disks. copy your stuff from /home to another place.

[Manuel Wolfshant]

As rescue CD it might be easier if you go with a real live CD (ubuntu / knoppix for instance) rathen then RH's rescue mode.

But the right way is exactly what Dirk Dierickx has recommended.

[Mauro Cossu]

Hi to All,

I already tried with the RH rescue cd.
I used the installation disk with the option RESCUE. It tries to mount the disks but I get an â input/output errorâ when I look for /home â ¦ (due to the ruined superblock?).

Do you know an alternative way of mounting disks different than using mount?

In the meanwhile Iâ m downloading knoppix and the rescue disk from http://www.sysresccd.org . Iâ ll have a go with them.

Thanks so far
Mauro

[Alan_152]

I'd boot with a live CD, mount the drives read only, and copy as much stuff as I could off of the drives with dd, cpio, and tar .

Then I'd reboot with the liveCD, mount the backup drives read-write, and fsck the crap out of them.

If that didn't work, then proceed with the advanced programs listed above.

Only if all the above didn't work would I even touch the original drives again.

[Mauro Cossu]

Hello All,

I tried all the suggestions above.
I managed to mount the drives. I can access most of dirs but not /home â the one that I care the most!!.
When I try to access it I get "input/output error".I can see that itâ s there but I canâ t access it.!
Also run fsck.ext2, but without much luck
Is there any *magic* tool in the live CD that Iâ m missing?

Is everything lost?? What are my next optionsâ ¦? reinstall without formatting the partition and hope?

thanks

Mauro