CLRI(8) CLRI(8)
NAME
clri - clear inode
SYNOPSIS
/etc/clri special i-number ...
DESCRIPTION
Clri writes zeros on the inodes with the decimal i-numbers
on the file system in file special. After clri, any blocks
in the affected file will show up as `missing' in icheck(8).
The inode becomes allocatable.
The primary purpose of this program is to remove a file
which for some reason appears in no directory. If it is
used to clear an inode which does appear in a directory,
care should be taken to track down the entry and remove it.
Otherwise, when the inode 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 inode, so the cycle
is likely to be repeated.
Clri is a last resort; normally fsck(8) can do the necessary
repairs.
SEE ALSO
fsck(8), icheck(8)
BUGS
If the file is open, clri is likely to be ineffective.