subject: How Would You Mount Linux System When the Superblock is Corrupted? [print this page] In a Linux file system, there are lots of blocks that are used to store all kinds of data. One of the types of data is the metadata that contains the its information. One of these metadata is the superblock, which keeps all the details of the file system such as size, block size, etc. Hence, the superblock is one of the most components of the Linux system.
However, at times when you cannot access the superblock, it disables you from mounting the file system as well. Such scenarios arise from various issues such as virus infections, power outages, corruption, etc. In such cases, you should try out various methods to recover the inaccessible data. However, if any of the methods do not succeed then you should use a third-party Linux data recovery software to recover the trapped data.
Consider a scenario wherein you are unable to mount your ext3-based Linux system. An error message is displayed as a result, that is:
"/dev/sda2: Input/output error
mount: /dev/sda2: can't read superblock"
Cause:
The root cause of this error is that the system files are corrupted. Because of this, you are unable to mount system files.
Resolution:
To resolve such situation, you should restore the primary superblock from the backup copies. To do this, you should perform the following steps:
* Locate the superblock for the /dev/sda2 location.
* Repair the System Files using alternate superblock #xxx
Here, xxx is the location of the alternate superblock.
* Mount the System file using the following mount command:
# mount /dev/sda2 /mnt
* Now, try to browse the file system and check if you are able to view all the files.
However, if you still are unable to mount the file system then you should use a third-party Linux data recovery software to recover trapped data. Such Linux recovery tools are read-only in nature that safely perform data recovery of Linux systems.
How Would You Mount Linux System When the Superblock is Corrupted?
