EXT2-fs warning: checktime reached,

[coverup]

I see this message appearing at the very beginning of the boot process:

Sep 12 21:27:08 mylaptop kernel: EXT2-fs warning: checktime reached, running e2fsck is recommended

My linux partitions are all ext3, and I also have NTFS and VFAT32 partitions. Do I need to take this seriously? My old laptop had ext2 partitions, it ran e2fsck on a regular basis, I wonder if journalized filesystems still require this kind of regular maintanence.

[Gowator]

you actually set this in the fstab. Its one of those 'cryptic numbers' which is mounts before e2fsck !

I dont know for sure but I would imagine a check isnt going to hurt and the ext3 is built over ext2 anyway... without knowing the exact details ext3 is a journaled version of ext2 which means it knows what changes took place but it doesnt deal with odd errors...

[coverup]

It's a laptop, so the number of mounts is exceeded fairly quickly... I don't think there are any odd errors. The laptop does hang sometimes (thanks, ATI!), and the journal recovers every time without a hitch.

 

Now my question is: Ok, I'll check ext3 partitions... Do I have to check NTFS and VFAT windows partitions as well? I can't afford to fry them.

[Gowator]

It's a laptop, so the number of mounts is exceeded fairly quickly... I don't think there are any odd errors. The laptop does hang sometimes (thanks, ATI!), and the journal recovers every time without a hitch.

 

Now my question is: Ok, I'll check ext3 partitions... Do I have to check NTFS and VFAT windows partitions as well? I can't afford to fry them.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

I dont think you can from in linux and even if you can then Id recommend doing this from inside the native OS.

[coverup]

It's a laptop, so the number of mounts is exceeded fairly quickly... I don't think there are any odd errors. The laptop does hang sometimes (thanks, ATI!), and the journal recovers every time without a hitch.

 

Now my question is: Ok, I'll check ext3 partitions... Do I have to check NTFS and VFAT windows partitions as well? I can't afford to fry them.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

I dont think you can from in linux and even if you can then Id recommend doing this from inside the native OS.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Actually, I don't want to check those partitions.

 

Ok, I forced check with shutdown -F now. Next time I boot, I see the filesystems being checked (ntfs, vfat partitions are not - that's good). Then, tune2fs /dev/hda5 (and other partitions) shows that the filesystem has been checked. But since the Maximum mount count is set to -1, I suspect, the message about reaching checktime will continue to reappear.

 

It's a bit alarming to see tune2fs showing that some partitions contain orphan inodes. Do I have to worry about this?

 

Also, some partitions have 5.1% non-contiguous files. What are non-contiguous files/blocks? Will the space between them be eventually filled, or is that harddrive real estate lost forever?