From: Stephen Harris (sweh.womble@spuddy.UUCP)
Date: 05/08/93


From: sweh.womble@spuddy.UUCP (Stephen Harris)
Subject: Help: df doesn't work anymore 
Date: Sat, 08 May 1993 14:24:17 GMT

In article <736758928snz@osborne.demon.co.uk> alan@osborne.demon.co.uk writes:
> >got an error message when I try to use it.
> >
> >df: cannot read table of mounted filesystems

> I've got exactly the same. I sincerely hope I don't have to reformat
> my disk. Seems to have something to do with super blocks. I'm using

Here we go again....
This message normally means that the /etc/mtab file is in the wrong format.
Previous to libc version 4.3.3 the mtab file could read something like
/dev/hda2 /

and would work quite happily.
In fact, the SLS of that time had in /etc/rc a line such as
rdev > /etc/mtab

From libc4.3.3 onwards this is no longer correct. The entry has to be
in the full format:
/dev/hda2 / ext2 defaults 0 0

With the correct version of mount (the version in the tcpip package
worked, otherwise get mount-0.99.6.tar.z from tsx or sunsite) will create
this line automatically under the following conditions:
1) the mtab file does not exist
2) /etc/fstab lists the root partition, AND the type of filesystem (eg ext2)
3) you run the command "mount -a"

If this is your problem, then in the /etc/rc file, remove the "rdev" line,
and ensure your fstab is fully correct. Then reboot, and hopefully df
will work!

                            Stephen Harris
       sweh.womble@spuddy.uucp ...!uknet!axion!spuddy!sweh.womble

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