Why does my RHEL6 server perform a filesystem check (fsck) on the first boot after being kickstarted?

Solution Verified - Updated -

Environment

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 5
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 6

Issue

After completing an installation of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) a filesystem check (fsck) is forced on the first boot following the install.

Resolution

Synchronizing the system's date and time with to choice of ntp server during the kickstart should prevent this. Please be sure to use the %pre section of the kickstart for doing this so that the system date and time are set prior to the filesystems being created.

Root Cause

During a system install the system time is set from the bios. If the system's bios time is too far behind the current date and time then the timeout set on the ext filesystem (interval-between-checks) will be exceeded. This will cause an fsck to be performed prior to the filesystem being mounted for the first time during the next boot.

  • Component
  • ntp

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