[Pkg-sysvinit-devel] Bug#526398: Bug#526398: /etc/init.d/checkroot.sh: can cause serious data corruption if booting on, battery power

[Henrique de Moraes Holschuh]

On Fri, 01 May 2009, peter green wrote:
> Would a compromise be possible? Something along the lines of doing  

[...]

> urgent stuff (journal replays, checks of unclean unjournaled  
> filesystems) but skipping the "n days/mounts since last check- check  
> forced" checks when on battery? Does fsck have and options that would  
> allow this or would they have to be added?

They'd have to be added.  Fsck can't do it :-(  And adding anything to
fsck is _not_ a very easy or very fast process... for one, you need to
add it to the generic wrapper, to all filesystem-specific fsck's that
need it, and you need to make sure nothing will complain about it
instead of fsck'ing...

So, that "feature" will have to be ripped out.  People who don't want
filesystems being tested while on battery should:

1. Configure the filesystems to NOT ask for testing after n mounts or
x days since last fsck.

*and*

2. Not boot the laptop on battery when it has dirty filesystems in the
first place.

Ideas on how to make (1) be easily accessible to most users are
welcome.  Scripts to emulate the "fsck after n mounts or x time" by
doing a forced fsck (which could be subject to "not on battery"
constrains without any risks to the data) are also welcome.

-- 
  "One disk to rule them all, One disk to find them. One disk to bring
  them all and in the darkness grind them. In the Land of Redmond
  where the shadows lie." -- The Silicon Valley Tarot
  Henrique Holschuh