Arch Linux

mightyohm

Member

Registered: 2025-03-10

Posts: 1

running fsck on root fs: mkinitcpio log files? / systemd question

Hello all,

I'm new to arch linux and still learning the ropes. I am running arch on a small headless system. The only console interface is via ssh over LAN, no serial console or other displays.

I would like to know if mkinitcpio creates log files, and if so, where can I find them after the system has finished booting?

For example, if I enable the mkinitcpio fsck hook and add a kernel parameter to force fsck when the system boots, where can I view the results of the fsck?

My goals are:

A. to confirm that fsck actually ran
B. see if there were any filesystem errors or other results

I also have a related question. If I use the systemd method of invoking fsck on boot by setting the root fs to read-only via the kernel parameters, editing fstab, and using tune2fs to set the check frequency to 1, is there a way to force e2fsck to run in non-interactive mode (or is this the default??)
This is important in my application since I can't watch the boot process (no displays or console), so if fsck gets stuck during boot I don't have an easy way to recover without pulling the system down from the rack.

Last edited by mightyohm (2025-03-10 19:27:00)

Head_on_a_Stick

Member

From: The Wirral

Registered: 2014-02-20

Posts: 8,999

Website

Re: running fsck on root fs: mkinitcpio log files? / systemd question

The two options are explained here: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Fsck#B … e_checking

That article doesn't mention that grub-mkconfig mounts the root partition ro by default so the systemd method should probably be preferred for that, with the results viewable in the journal.

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Jin, Jîyan, Azadî