creeping fsck bug with System V FIFO

Brandon S. Allbery allbery at ncoast.UUCP
Thu Nov 3 03:50:01 AEST 1988


As quoted from <6607 at venera.isi.edu> by cracraft at venera.isi.edu (Stuart Cracraft):
+---------------
| When inspected with ncheck, this inode turns out to be
| that for /usr/spool/lp/FIFO. If I delete this file and
| then run fsck again, I figured it would clean things up.
| A half hour later I discovered FIFO was back again and
| fsck was getting the same error again.
+---------------

The only bug here is that fsck doesn't quite know what to do with a FIFO.
/usr/spool/lp/FIFO is part of the spooler system, and is quite normal aside
from fsck's slight brain damage.

However, removing it while the spooler is running is a good way to f*ck up
the spooler.

Recommended treatment:  none.  Ignore the error (my experience is that if
the POSSIBLE FILE SIZE ERROR isn't matched by a later error for the same
inode, it's just a piece of fsck braindamage that can be ignored).  Maybe
complain to whoever ported the UNIX; I've seen System V fsck's which
understand FIFOs and files with holes in them.

++Brandon
-- 
Brandon S. Allbery, comp.sources.misc moderator and one admin of ncoast PA UN*X
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