NAME

clri − clear i-node

SYNOPSIS

clri file-system i-number ... 

DESCRIPTION

Clri writes zeros on the 64 bytes occupied by the i-node numbered i-number. File-system must be a special file name referring to a device containing a file system.  After clri is executed, any blocks in the affected file will show up as “missing” in an fsck(1M) of the file-system. This command should only be used in emergencies and extreme care should be exercised.

Read and write permission is required on the specified file-system device.  The i-node becomes allocatable. 

The primary purpose of this routine is to remove a file which for some reason appears in no directory.  If it is used to zap an i-node which does appear in a directory, care should be taken to track down the entry and remove it.  Otherwise, when the i-node is reallocated to some new file, the old entry will still point to that file.  At that point removing the old entry will destroy the new file.  The new entry will again point to an unallocated i-node, so the whole cycle is likely to be repeated again and again. 

SEE ALSO

fsck(1M), fsdb(1M), ncheck(1M), fs(5). 

BUGS

If the file is open, clri is likely to be ineffective. 

May 16, 1980