The Superblock could not be read

[KevinBugg]

Hi,

All of a sudden our Redhat 4.1.8 Server decided to restart (we think) and upon reboot we get the following error:

"/dev/VolGroup00/LVol0:
The superblock could not be read or does not describe a correct ext2 filesystem. If the device is valid and it really contains an ext 2 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 - 8193 <device>

Fsck.ext 3: No such file or directory while trying to open /dev/VolGroup00/LVol0
[failed]"

The guy who maintained the linux system left 2 weeks ago and all that is left is Linux novices. Please can someone help with an idiots guide to try and help us resolve this issue?

Thanks

Kev

 

[KenCunningham]

Have you tried the e2fsck? Sorry, Im not familiar with it, but this article might help:

http://archives.free.net.ph/message/20071002.193847.a68af972.en.html

Good luck!

I want to be good, is that not enough?

 

[Annihilannic]

What's the output of cat /etc/redhat-release?

What state is the system in right now? Do you have a shell prompt? Do all the hard drives appear to be spinning?

I don't think an fsck of any flavour will work at this stage due to the "No such file or directory while trying to open /dev/VolGroup00/LVol0" error, first we need to try and get the logical volume started.

Does vgdisplay -v display anything?

Annihilannic.

 

[QatQat]

Can you run system-config-lvm? If not, does it give the same error?

If not, you may be affected by an old bug in RH that has been fixed in Vers 5. Probably the old guy attempted a Volume resize (especially if shrinking Volumes on MD drives created with MDADM) that did not succeed. In that case I do not think there is a fix for it, just look for a good backup that you obviously have, am I right?

Restore, update your system, re-run MDADM (if needed), re-create your volume.

A good tip is to not do it with the graphic installer but instead, get yourself a good reference and leave all involved drives untouched at install time. Create your partitions, MD drives and volumes from command prompt; you will learn a lot about it and also have a greater control over the whole process.


QatQat




If I could have sex each time I reboot my server, I would definitely prefer Windoz over Linux!

 

[macd68]

Make sure that lvm support is loaded. Check the output of lsmod. Disregard obviously if other lvm filesystems are already mounted.