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New fsck 1.35 available now!
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fsck is a suite of programs for RISC OS that are able to analyse and fix
E-Format discs. Basically, this means that fsck works on the most widely
used filing systems (ADFS, SCSIFS, ATAFS, BDFS, EADFS, etc.) while it doesn't work
on DOS discs, image filing systems and, obviously, remote filing systems such as NFS.
The suite is currently composed of 3 programs, one (fsck) for
everyday disc scanning (and eventually fixing), one (eliminate)
for removing broken files that the OS can't otherwise delete and one
(hardfix) for fixing heavily corrupted discs.
fsck is able to fix most logical disc errors found on E-Format discs:
- broken directories
- undeletable files
- map inconsistent with directory tree (as reported by *CheckMap)
- disc not understood (as reported by RISC OS)
- broken free space chain
- lost disc space (due to wrongly mapped files)
- wrong bootblock or defect list checksums
fsck also reports various informations about the allocation of files
and directories, giving a detailed count of the amount of disc space that is
wasted due to the way files are stored on it (see RealCount
for an easier way to obtain these statistics).
fsck cannot obviously fix physical disc errors, recover the disc content
after a reformat or a reinitialisation, 'undelete' files or optimize the files
allocation in order to minimize the wasted disc space.
To date, fsck fixed hundreds of discs, received a number of positive comments in the
comp.sys.acorn groups, is mentioned in the
comp.sys.acorn FAQ,
has been positively reviewed in the RISC User magazine (September 1995)
and has been included in the Acorn User Cover Disc (March 96).
If you have any question about E-Format discs or you want to know more about disc
maps you can have a look at my E-Format explanation and FAQ.
fsck requires RISC OS 3.1 or later, including RISC OS 4.
However, it will not work on discs formatted with RISC OS 4 itself (ie. new-format discs
with long filenames and 'big' directories). I have no plans, at the moment, to write
such a big update for fsck, mostly because of lack of time. My only disc tool
that has already been updated to fully work on RISC OS 4 is nuke
which is much simpler than fsck and not as hard to test and debug.
For a full explanation of the 'history' of fsck from its first release to the
current 'final' one, the fsck archive contains a file named RISCOS4 that
explains my position on the (lack of) future upgrades.
Please note that the latest version of fsck (1.35) will safely ignore new-format discs
while older versions used to report nonexhistent errors without actually trying to
fix (ie. corrupt!) the disc.
fsck is ShareWare: you can try it freely for some time but if it
fixes your disc or if you use it regularly you must register. However, the
unregistered version has been limited so that it refuses to fix discs larger than
512Mb, it will only scan them and will report which operations should be performed
in order to fix the disc (so that you know the software is actually working properly).
The current registration fee is just 5 UKP and once you have registered you will receive
a user-code that will allow you to 'convert' your ShareWare version into a properly
registered and fully functional one.
Please check the !SHAREWARE file inside the fsck archive for more informations.
For more informations about this mailing list you can send an email containing the sentence 'info fsck-announce' in the body of the message to majordomo@lists.monesi.com.
The latest version of fsck is available via HTTP from here:
The latest publicly distributed version of the fsck suite should be available
via FTP from HENSA.
The desktop version of fsck has been finally released as a commercial
product. It is distributed by Oregan Developments with the name Oregan Disc Doctor.
Disc Doctor features three main programs:
- DiscAid: the functionalities of fsck, eliminate and hardfix combined in a single easy-to-use desktop program
- MapView: disc map displaying program, useful to analyse how files, directories and free chunks are stored on the disc surface
- Resurrect: powerful 'undelete' tool, retrieves files and directories previously deleted
For more information about Disc Doctor have a look at the Oregan WWW Site.