[SGVLUG] a pxe bootdisk that includes e2fsck?

[Emerson, Tom (*IC)]

> -----Original Message----- Of Sean O'Donnell
> Emerson, Tom (*IC) wrote:
> >> -----Original Message----- Of Sean O'Donnell
> >>
> > boot-server, right?  Couldn't you make an NFS share 
> available on the 
> > boot-server which contains the program you're looking for?
> 
> Good idea. However, after trying to do so, it seems that e2fsck (and
> fsck) cause errors when trying to run when mounted via NFS.
> 
> It's something like... syntax error ('

OK, next best thing: do you have a small partition (or any partition) on
the HD that is available for writing?  Perhaps the "swap" partition?
[bear with me a moment...]  Once you've booted via the net, mount that
partition and COPY the files from the network share -- at that point,
the program should be running "locally" [and if it still fails, perhaps
there is a library or something it's trying to load?  Of course, "syntax
error" is a rather deceptively <wrong> error message if that's the
case...]

As for the swap -- if you're booting from the network, see if you can
boot without a swap file, this frees up the swap partition for
reformatting as a regular partition for copying the files (it might even
be large enough to copy in the contents of the "rescue disk" and
actually boot from it, then you can repair the rest of the partition(s)
from there)

Don't forget to change it back to a "swap" partition when you're done
 
> > For the last 5-ish years, most laptops have easy access to the hard
drive
> > ... you could pull the drive out and check it via another system
> 
> I may have to resort to such tinkering, but I'm trying to avoid it.

Bring it to the meeting tonight...

> >    2) likewise, even though the /company/ only provides a single 
> > [expensive] feature-starved drive, ... 

[note to self: pack the external drive in my laptop bag]  OK, done!

Tom

P.s.  This is kind of "after the fact", but for reasons like this I
actually create a "/boot" partition, generally all of "one track" in
length nowadays (and it remains 80% empty...)  this gives me room to
copy in /essential/ utilities when I find they aren't on a bootable
repair disk...  (it also helps guarantee I can "boot" from the hard
drive as once the system is loaded, this partition is rarely accessed,
so errors that overwrite sectors aren't likely to affect this partition)