Re: About /etc/mtab and /proc/mounts

[Miles Bader <miles@lsi.nec.co.jp>]

Kasper Dupont <kasperd@daimi.au.dk> writes:
> > > But AFAIK fsck uses mtab.
> > 
> > It uses /etc/fstab.
> 
> [kasperd:pts/0:~] grep /etc/mtab /sbin/fsck*
> Binary file /sbin/fsck.ext2 matches
> Binary file /sbin/fsck.ext3 matches
> Binary file /sbin/fsck.minix matches
> [kasperd:pts/0:~] 

God know why; the versions (e2fsprogs 1.32) on my system don't, so it's
probably not something very important.  fsck should still work fine.

> > Unless you use the `-n' flag, which an init-script should do if it
> > knows there's something wierd required to get /var mounted or something.
> 
> Of course the -n flag can be used to some extent, but that doesn't
> solve all our problems.  Current rc.sysinit implementations does use
> -n to mount a few filesystems, and later uses -f to initialize the
> mtab.  But all that happens before running fsck, so if /var is mounted
> that early, we are going to fsck it mounted.

So the init scripts are badly written, what can I say?  `Don't do that.'

-Miles
-- 
"Most attacks seem to take place at night, during a rainstorm, uphill,
 where four map sheets join."   -- Anon. British Officer in WW I