Subject: Does mkfs trash other partitions?
To: None <port-mac68k@NetBSD.ORG>
From: Lt Avram Dorfman <dorfman@hq.af.mil>
List: port-mac68k
Date: 05/08/1996 09:08:46
Here's the problem:

I've sucessfully installed all of the distribution packages for NetBSD 
(SE/30 40MHz Daystar 8/1G), and successfully booted, etc.

Then, I tried to mount my usr partition, and was told to fsck it first. 
Fsck died with a floating point error (go figure). So... I decided to use 
mkfs to build a new file system on just the partition.

Now it doesn't even boot. It crashes, and jumps to the debugger, just 
after checking the PRAM (right before the "which shell" prompt would come 
up). I'm using single user mode, BTW.

A trace at the debugger reveals that it is dying during a call to domaininit.

Does it make senst that mkfs would mess up a partition that it didn't 
even touch (well, wasn't supposed to touch, i.e. my root partition)? Is 
there any way I can repair this without just plain reinstalling from scratch?


-1LT Avram Dorfman
HQ USAF Network Management
permanent email address: avram@pobox.com

"Methodological observation of the sociometrical behavior tendencies of 
prematurated isolates indicates that a causal relationship exists between 
groundward tropism and lachrimatory behavior forms."