Running mke2fs on a raid5 which is still syncing causes a *variety* of filesystem corruption errors: (sample errs) ------------- - ...kernel: EXT2-fs error (device md(9,0)): ext2_check_descriptors: Block bitmap for group 4 not in group (block 0)! - e2fsck 1.18, 11-Nov-1999 for EXT2 FS 0.5b, 95/08/09 Group descriptors look bad... trying backup blocks... e2fsck: Bad magic number in super-block while trying to open /dev/md0 The superblock could not be read - e2fsck 1.18, 11-Nov-1999 for EXT2 FS 0.5b, 95/08/09 ...Pass 5: Checking group summary information Padding at end of block bitmap is not set. Fix<y>? yes -------------- (/sample errs) Raid operations seem stable after fixing errors or if mke2fs is run after sync is complete. Delaying mke2fs is not a real workaround, because the fs corruption also occurs when resyncing (a spare) after a disk failure. This behaviour has also been seen with test9, but does not occur with 2.2 kernels. Non-exhaustive testing indicates it does not occur with raid1. Where do I go from here? ..jim - To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in the body of a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please read the FAQ at http://www.tux.org/lkml/