Arch Linux

olivine

Member

Registered: 2009-10-24

Posts: 19

"Superblock could not be read" warning

I have a recent installation on a PC with a pretty new hard drive. Arch is installed on /dev/sda5 with ext4. It usually boots fine, but occasionally, it gives the following error during boot:

Checking Filesystems      [BUSY] /dev/sda5

The superblock could not be read or does not describe a correct ext2 filesystem. If the device is valid and it really contains an ext2 filesystem (and not swap or ufs or something else), then the superblock is corrupt, and you might try running e2fsck with an alternate superblock:
e2fsck -b 8183 <device>

running fsck as root gives a similar error with:
fsck.ext4: No such file or directory while trying to open /dev/sda5.

I've booted a live CD several times, and gparted (for instance) sees the disk and its partitions without any problem.

Should I run e2fsck as recommended, even though it gives an error regarding 'ext2' (which confuses me)? Any help would be appreciated.

masterkoppa

Member

Registered: 2009-04-14

Posts: 92

Re: "Superblock could not be read" warning

You should follow the recomended instructions by the program. Maybe it will fix the problem once and for all. There is nothing to lose from a simple file system check.