FSCK.MINIX(8)

💾 FSCK.MINIX(8) — the check-consistency-of-Minix-filesystem girlies' manual 💅

okay bestie sit DOWN because we're talking about fsck.minix, aka the System Administration page you pull up when your MINIX filesystem is acting up and you need a vibe check. this is section 8 of the manual, so yes it's a big-girl sysadmin situation. 🎀

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✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

fsck.minix [options] device

that's it. that's the whole thing. options and a device. we love a simple girl. 🦋

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🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

so like, fsck.minix does a consistency check for the Linux MINIX filesystem. it's the friend who shows up, looks around, and goes "girl... this is a mess" (or "you're fine, slay"). 🔥

the program assumes the filesystem is quiescent. and fsck.minix should not be used on a mounted device unless you can be sure nobody is writing to it. remember bestie — the kernel can write to the device when it searches for files. so it's giving "don't touch my stuff while i'm still in it". 😭

the device name will usually have the following form:

• /dev/hda[1-63] — IDE disk 1
• /dev/hdb[1-63] — IDE disk 2
• /dev/sda[1-15] — SCSI disk 1
• /dev/sdb[1-15] — SCSI disk 2

if the filesystem was changed, i.e., repaired, then fsck.minix will print "FILE SYSTEM HAS BEEN CHANGED" and will sync(2) three times before exiting. there is no need to reboot after check. iconic. no restart era. 👑

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🚨 WARNING 🚨

fsck.minix should not be used on a mounted filesystem. using fsck.minix on a mounted filesystem is very dangerous, due to the possibility that deleted files are still in use, and can seriously damage a perfectly good filesystem! if you absolutely have to run fsck.minix on a mounted filesystem, such as the root filesystem, make sure nothing is writing to the disk, and that no files are "zombies" waiting for deletion.

like bestie i am BEGGING you. 💀 do not. unless you literally must. and then be so so careful.

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✨ OPTIONS ✨

• -l, --list — list all filenames. show me everyone. 🫶
• -r, --repair — perform interactive repairs. it asks, you answer, y'all chat. 💬
• -a, --auto — perform automatic repairs. this option implies --repair and serves to answer all of the questions asked with the default. note that this can be extremely dangerous in the case of extensive filesystem damage. 🚩 so like... auto-mode is not always the moment.
• -v, --verbose — be verbose. spill the tea. ☕
• -s, --super — output super-block information. the super-block! main character energy honestly. 👑
• -m, --uncleared — activate MINIX-like "mode not cleared" warnings.
• -f, --force — force a filesystem check even if the filesystem was marked as valid. marking is done by the kernel when the filesystem is unmounted. so basically "i don't care that it says it's fine, check it anyway". 💅
• -h, --help — display help text and exit. 🆘
• -V, --version — display version and exit. 🏷️

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🩺 DIAGNOSTICS 🩺

there are numerous diagnostic messages. the ones mentioned here are the most commonly seen in normal usage. ngl there's a lot of yapping potential here but we're keeping it to the hits. ✨

• if the device does not exist, fsck.minix will print "unable to read super block".
• if the device exists, but is not a MINIX filesystem, fsck.minix will print "bad magic number in super-block".

both of these are giving "sweetie that's not a filesystem". 🙈

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🔢 EXIT STATUS 🔢

the exit status returned by fsck.minix is the sum of the following:

1. 0 — No errors. clean girl. ✨
2. 3 — Filesystem errors corrected, system should be rebooted if filesystem was mounted.
3. 4 — Filesystem errors left uncorrected. 😭
4. 7 — Combination of exit statuses 3 and 4.
5. 8 — Operational error.
6. 16 — Usage or syntax error.

and yes bestie, it's a SUM. so read it like math class. 🧮

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👑 AUTHORS 👑

• Linus Torvalds <torvalds@cs.helsinki.fi>.
• Exit status values by Rik Faith <faith@cs.unc.edu>
• Added support for filesystem valid flag: Dr. Wettstein <greg%wind.uucp@plains.nodak.edu>.
• Check to prevent fsck of mounted filesystem added by Daniel Quinlan <quinlan@yggdrasil.com>.
• Minix v2 fs support by Andreas Schwab <schwab@issan.informatik.uni-dortmund.de>, updated by Nicolai Langfeldt <janl@math.uio.no>.
• Portability patch by Russell King <rmk@ecs.soton.ac.uk>.

look at this roster. legends only. 💜

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🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

• fsck(8)
• fsck.ext2(8)
• mkfs(8)
• mkfs.ext2(8)
• mkfs.minix(8)
• reboot(8)

iykyk. go read your siblings' manuals too, they're all part of the same family. 🦋

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🐛 REPORTING BUGS 🐛

for bug reports, use the issue tracker at https://github.com/util-linux/util-linux/issues.

found a bug? tell the girlies. do NOT just suffer in silence. 🫶

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📦 AVAILABILITY 📦

the fsck.minix command is part of the util-linux package which can be downloaded from the Linux Kernel Archive at https://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/utils/util-linux/.

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and that's the whole page bestie!! 🎀✨ this was util-linux version 2.42.4, dated 2026-09-21 — so you know exactly which era of the manual you just read. now go unmount that filesystem before you touch it. periodt. 💅👑🌸