Getting error: device is apparently in use by the system; will not make a filesystem here!

Solution Verified - Updated -

Issue

  • When trying to format the partition, it fails with error message: /dev/sdc1 is apparently in use by the system; will not make a filesystem here!
#mkfs -t ext3 /dev/sdc1  
 mke2fs 1.39 (29-May-2006)  
 /dev/sdc1 is apparently in use by the system; will not make a filesystem here!

Environment

  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5
  • EXT3

Subscriber exclusive content

A Red Hat subscription provides unlimited access to our knowledgebase of over 48,000 articles and solutions.

Current Customers and Partners

Log in for full access

Log In
Close

Welcome! Check out the Getting Started with Red Hat page for quick tours and guides for common tasks.