Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/3/84; site maynard.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!gamma!epsilon!zeta!sabre!bellcore!decvax!genrad!mit-eddie!think!harvard!talcott!wjh12!maynard!campbell
From: campbell@maynard.UUCP (Larry Campbell)
Newsgroups: net.unix-wizards
Subject: Re: Re: inode numbers
Message-ID: <125@maynard.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 15-Jun-85 08:56:01 EDT
Article-I.D.: maynard.125
Posted: Sat Jun 15 08:56:01 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 17-Jun-85 20:17:02 EDT
References: <1725@aecom.UUCP> <44700005@gypsy.UUCP> <358@cheviot.UUCP>
Organization: The Boston Software Works Inc., Maynard, MA
Lines: 29

> In article <44700005@gypsy.UUCP> lrr@gypsy.UUCP writes:
> >
> >Inode number 1 is ``reserved'' and (to the best of my knowledge) it is not
> >used. 
> >
> >Larry Rogers
>
> On at least some European V7 systems, inode 1 is used for a list of bad
> blocks. Basically mkfs has been extended to include a secret undocumented
> option (in the true Unix tradition!) which scans the whole device and puts
> any funny blocks in inode 1 out of harms way. As far as I know, nothing else
> pays any attention to the list - it is just a device for keeping blocks off
> the free list without upsetting fsck.
>
> I have no idea whether this feature is standard (but undocumented), or a
> local hack, but I have seen it on more than one system.
> 
> Robert Stroud,

VENIX/86 mkfs has a -b option, which the manual says "causes mkfs to check
the disk for bad blocks (unreadable), to gather them together and put
them in an inaccessible file."  VENIX is a more-or-less vanilla Seventh
Edition port, but this could be a local extension.  (I've never seen it
find a bad block, so I don't even know if this works.)

- Larry Campbell
  The Boston Software Works, Inc., 120 Fulton St., Boston MA 02109
UUCP: {decvax, security, linus, mit-eddie}!genrad!enmasse!maynard!campbell
ARPA: decvax!genrad!enmasse!maynard!campbell@DECWRL.ARPA