I'm using the FAT32 file system for my pen drive. It frequently has file/data corruptions.
In Windows, I used the scan disk utility to fix the FAT32/NTFS file systems. How can I do this in Ubuntu?
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4Do you safely eject?– nanofaradCommented Jun 6, 2012 at 12:20
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4 Answers
Try typing the following command in the Linux terminal:
sudo dosfsck -w -r -l -a -v -t /dev/sdc1
sdc1 is usually your pen drive. You can find your pen drive by typing mount in terminal. It's somewhere inside. If that command takes too much time for you, avoid -t switch.
-wmeans write to disk immediately.-rmeans to do disk check interactively (ask you what to do to when encountering errors). On newer versions of dosfsck this is the default.-lmeans to list the filenames processed.-ameans automatically fix errors. Do not use it, if You want to have more control over fixing possible errors.-vmeans verbose mode. Generates slightly more output.-tmeans mark unreadable clusters as bad.
If you want to be sure not to lose your data, create a backup of the source device first.
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What other file system this command capable to fix other than FAT32? Commented Nov 28, 2013 at 8:53
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@ShaharilAhmad FAT16, which maybe still be used. For example I got an mini 2GB sd card with FAT16.– keikiCommented Jul 5, 2014 at 9:36
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But if I don't do -t, then next time it tries again to use the bad clusters next time?– keikiCommented Jul 5, 2014 at 9:37
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don't use
-a, but I don't understand how to answer half the questions it asks me!– MichaelCommented Feb 7, 2019 at 4:26
You can try Dosfsck, which is a component of dosfstools.
For this, type in terminal:
sudo apt-get install dosfstools
To use Dosfsck, you have to indicate the device address you want (Ex. /dev/sdb1, /dev/sdb2, or other device.).
To know your device address, open the terminal (CTRL+ALT+T), then run this command:
mount
If your partition is /dev/sdb1, for example, then unmount it first by running this command:
sudo umount /dev/sdb1
Now you can verify and repair your partition by running this command:
sudo dosfsck -t -a -w /dev/sdb1
Hope this helps.
Note:
if you receive the following error, when your USB flash drive is not recognized:
Error: Buffer I/O error on device sdb1
Run this command:
dmesg|tail
If the output is:
end_request: I/O error, dev sdb1, sector 0
Buffer I/O error on device sdb1, logical block 0
Run this command:
sudo dosfsck -t -a /dev/sdb1
Of course, you must change the device address to your needs, like i wrote above.
answered Jun 6, 2012 at 12:03
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I've always encountered with the problem that if an external HDD or pen drive was disconnected improperly whilst making operations with it, the permissions would go crazy, making the device virtually useless. Your answer feels like a god-sent to me; thanks a lot man! Commented Jul 22, 2016 at 15:37
These examples will use FAT32 and /dev/sdc1
fsck.vfat -n /dev/sdc1
- a simple non-interactive read-only check
fsck.vfat -a /dev/sdc1
- checks the file system and fixes non-interactively. Least destructive approach is always used.
fsck.vfat -r /dev/sdc1
- interactive repair. User is always prompted when there is more than a single approach to fixing a problem.
fsck.vfat -l -v -a -t /dev/sdc1
- a very verbose way of checking and repairing the filesystem non-interactively. The -t parameter will mark unreadable clusters as bad, thus making them unavailable to newly created files and directories.
Also try:
fsck.vfat -r /dev/sdXn
