(Answer) (Category) Linux on PowerPC FAQ-O-Matic : (Category) Booting Trouble :
fsck stops with "file system error" while booting
1) If you've been left with a running bash prompt, try to do something like:
        $ fsck -t ext2 /dev/hda5
Change the "/dev/hda5" parameter to the problematic ext2 file system in question. Answer y to correct the problems. Some files may be corrupted in this process. It's very rare but happened to me in x86 Linux a couple times. If the affected file is very important to the boot sequence, use the next procedure to mount your partition and replace the bad file with a valid one. 
        In a few occasions, I had to re-run fsck a couple times to ensure the
integrity of the partitions.
2) If your system can't boot at all (no shell interface is running)
        Well, now I suggest you to install BootX and use a valid ramdisk image.
You can find more info about booting Linux with BootX elsewhere... Check the ramdisk tag and fire it up! 
        Now, you should have been brought to a Linux installation screen. You'll
have to switch virtual consoles to a running sh shell using CTRL-COMMAND-F2 
        Your ramdisk image should have fsck and mount in your path. Find the device
name of your problematic partition and type
                $ fsck -t ext2 <partition_name>

        Answer y to correct the problems. You can also use some command line
options like '-a' to fsck to check all files or even to automagically correct the problems. I regreted by using it once in a rare ocasion when a few files were corrupted, the lines scrolled too fast to keep the file names in mind to write them in a piece of paper, allowing me to correct the problems more efficientely later, so if you want to use it, know the risks you're taking.
        After repairing your partitions you can mount it now. Choose a mount point
in your ramdisk image and type:
                $ mount -t ext2 <partition_name> <mount_point>

        If you have any problems with corrupted files, you can use a similar
procedure to have read/write access to your partitions and repair the damage, just ensure you've mounted the correct partition. 


        After doing all the repairs, reboot your system, change bootX options to
their normal values and boot Linux. Everything should run fine now.
        Marcus Andree <m.andree@computer.org>

m.andree@computer.org
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