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Date: 8 Feb 2003 21:55:32 -0000
From: Mike Meyer <mwm@mired.org>
Reply-To: Mike Meyer <mwm@mired.org>
To: FreeBSD-gnats-submit@freebsd.org
Cc:
Subject: There's no documentation on the fixit disk anywhere.
X-Send-Pr-Version: 3.113
X-GNATS-Notify:

>Number:         48101
>Category:       docs
>Synopsis:       [patch] Add documentation on the fixit disk
>Confidential:   no
>Severity:       non-critical
>Priority:       low
>Responsible:    freebsd-doc
>State:          open
>Quarter:        
>Keywords:       faq
>Date-Required:  
>Class:          doc-bug
>Submitter-Id:   current-users
>Arrival-Date:   Sat Feb 08 14:00:24 PST 2003
>Closed-Date:    
>Last-Modified:  Fri Nov 02 12:28:52 UTC 2012
>Originator:     Mike Meyer
>Release:        FreeBSD 4.7-STABLE i386
>Organization:
Meyer Consulting
>Environment:
System: FreeBSD guru.mired.org 4.7-STABLE FreeBSD 4.7-STABLE #17: Wed Oct 30 09:13:02 CST 2002 mwm@guru.mired.org:/sharetmp/obj/usr/src/sys/GURU i386


>Description:
	There isn't any real documentation on what the fixit disk is
used for anywhere on the FreeBSD site.
>How-To-Repeat:
	Try finding that documentation.
>Fix:

	The attached patch ands a FAQ entry that serves mostly to list
the reasons one would want to use the Fixit disk, and the other
sources of information that one might find useful when working with
the disk. I'm not sure this is the right place to put the information,
but I couldn't see any better place.

4450a4451,4519
> 
>       <qandaentry>
>         <question id="broken-root">
> 	  <para>My root file system doesn't mount. What do I do now?</para>
> 	</question>
> 
> 	<answer>
>           <para>The fixit disk is used when your systems root file
>           system cannot be mounted read-only at boot time. The sole
>           purpose of the disk is to repair the root file system so you
>           can mount it, and continue the process of bringing up the
>           system from that point.</para>
> 
>           <para>The fixit CDROM has most of the functionality of a
>           complete FreeBSD install. It does not have
>           <filename>/stand</filename>, but <filename>/bin</filename>,
>           <filename>/sbin</filename>, <filename>/usr/bin</filename>
>           and <filename>/usr/sbin</filename> are all there. You
>           should be able to boot this CDROM and go directly to the
>           fixit mode.</para>
> 
>           <para>The fixit floppy has much less functionality. All the
>           tools on it are in <filename>/stand</filename>. In
>           particular, it does not have &man.fsck.8; or &man.newfs.8;,
>           but it does have &man.tar.1; and &man.restore.8;. The fixit
>           floppy is not bootable. You must boot the install floppy,
>           then insert the fixit floppy when so directed.</para>
> 
>           <para>There are three things that can cause your root file
>           system to fail to mount. Each of these has a different
>           solution.</para>
> 
>           <para>First, if your system has slices on the disk holding
>           the root file system, the slice table may be broken. The
>           tool for editing the slice table is &man.fdisk.8;. The
>           format of the data is documented in
>           <filename>/usr/include/sys/disklabel.h</filename>.</para>
> 
>           <para>Second, the disk label may be broken. The tool for
>           editing disk labels is &man.disklabel.8;. The format of the
>           data is documented in
>           <filename>/usr/include/sys/disklabel.h</filename>.</para>
> 
>           <para>Finally, the file system proper may be so badly broken
>           that it can't be mounted. The tool for fixing this is
>           &man.fsck.8;. The format is documented in
>           <filename>/usr/include/ufs/ffs/fs.h</filename>,
>           <filename>/usr/include/ufs/ufs/dinode.h</filename>, and
>           <filename>/usr/include/ufs/ufs/dir.h</filename>.  Of
>           particular interest is the alternate superblock at block 32,
>           so that <command>fsck -b 32
>           <replaceable>disk</replaceable></command> will repair a broken
>           primary superblock. Note that &man.fsck.8; is
>           <emphasis>not</emphasis> on the fixit floppy.</para>
> 
>           <para>Other useful commands are &man.ed.1; and whatever you
>           use to restore from backups. Ed can be used to repair broken
>           configuration files, or to change them to deal with
>           nonfunctional hardware. If you are using a standard system
>           tool for backing up your system, then the ability to restore
>           backups is probably on the fixit disk.</para>
> 
>           <para>It is advisable to use &man.fdisk.8; - if appropriate -
>           to get a copy of your slice tables, and &man.disklabel.8; to get a
>           copy of your disk labels, and save them somewhere
>           safe. Printed copies for the disk your root file system is
>           on should be stored with the backup of the root file system.</para>
> 	</answer>
>       </qandaentry>




>Release-Note:
>Audit-Trail:

From: swear@attbi.com (Gary W. Swearingen)
To: Mike Meyer <mwm@mired.org>
Cc: FreeBSD-gnats-submit@FreeBSD.org
Subject: Re: docs/48101: There's no documentation on the fixit disk anywhere.
Date: 08 Feb 2003 18:25:41 -0800

 > >           <para>The fixit disk is used when your systems root file
 "system's root"
 I'm not sure if you mean this paragraph to apply to both floppy and
 CDROM.  Isn't the purpose of the CDROM broader than just / repair?
 I thought this para was about the floppy until I got to the third para
 and became unsure.  If it's about both, "The" should be "A", since "The"
 sound like there's only one (kind).  Maybe mention floppy & CDROM here.
 > >           system cannot be mounted read-only at boot time. The sole
 AFAIK, the FAQ uses only "filesystem" and not "file system". Same below..
 > >           purpose of the disk is to repair the root file system so you
 > >           can mount it, and continue the process of bringing up the
 Better without comma. (The sentence naturally divides before "so".)
 > >           <para>The fixit CDROM has most of the functionality of a
 > >           complete FreeBSD install. It does not have
 > >           <filename>/stand</filename>, but <filename>/bin</filename>,
 > >           <filename>/sbin</filename>, <filename>/usr/bin</filename>
 Comma at end?
 > >           and <filename>/usr/sbin</filename> are all there. You
 ...
 > >           <para>Other useful commands are &man.ed.1; and whatever you
 > >           use to restore from backups. Ed can be used to repair broken
 "The &man.ed.1 command can"
 > > 
 > >           <para>It is advisable to use &man.fdisk.8; - if appropriate -
 Dare to just advise it:  "Use &man.fdisk.8..."
 Or use true weasel words: "Many people use..." or "It's helpful to use...".
Responsible-Changed-From-To: freebsd-doc->brueffer 
Responsible-Changed-By: brueffer 
Responsible-Changed-When: Fri Jun 13 01:41:33 CEST 2003 
Responsible-Changed-Why:  
I'll take this 

http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/query-pr.cgi?pr=48101 
Responsible-Changed-From-To: brueffer->freebsd-doc 
Responsible-Changed-By: brueffer 
Responsible-Changed-When: Sun May 22 16:41:36 CEST 2005 
Responsible-Changed-Why:  
Throw this back into the pool. 

http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/query-pr.cgi?pr=48101 
Responsible-Changed-From-To: freebsd-doc->pgj 
Responsible-Changed-By: pgj 
Responsible-Changed-When: Sat Aug 21 23:39:50 UTC 2010 
Responsible-Changed-Why:  
Take. 

http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/query-pr.cgi?pr=48101 
State-Changed-From-To: open->analyzed 
State-Changed-By: pgj 
State-Changed-When: Fri Aug 27 10:57:28 UTC 2010 
State-Changed-Why:  
Test change. 

http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/query-pr.cgi?pr=48101 
State-Changed-From-To: analyzed->open 
State-Changed-By: pgj 
State-Changed-When: Fri Aug 27 10:58:23 UTC 2010 
State-Changed-Why:  
Back to open. 

http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/query-pr.cgi?pr=48101 
Responsible-Changed-From-To: pgj->freebsd-doc 
Responsible-Changed-By: pgj 
Responsible-Changed-When: Sun Nov 28 12:28:08 UTC 2010 
Responsible-Changed-Why:  
Back to the pool. 

http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/query-pr.cgi?pr=48101 
State-Changed-From-To: open->closed 
State-Changed-By: eadler 
State-Changed-When: Thu Nov 1 23:52:54 UTC 2012 
State-Changed-Why:  
while this PR should have been committed some time ago, it wasn't, and 
for that I'm sorry.  In the meantime though the fixit disk is going away 
and is being replaced by the 'shell' option in the new installer. 

http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/query-pr.cgi?pr=48101 
State-Changed-From-To: closed->open 
State-Changed-By: eadler 
State-Changed-When: Fri Nov 2 12:28:51 UTC 2012 
State-Changed-Why:  
per Mehmet Erol Sanliturk - reopen as this is still an issue (in a 
different form) 

http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/query-pr.cgi?pr=48101 
>Unformatted:
