mksf.ext3 is a Linux command that allows you to create a Linux file system (ext3), generally in a hard disk partition. When executing the command, you need to specify the device name the file system should reside on. The command creates the file system with ext3 journal. If you execute this command on a system attached with multiple hard drives (for example, in RAID), it is recommended to specify the device name carefully. Failing to do so might result into data loss instances, such as inaccessible partitions. However, to cope up with such situations, you generally require restoring lost data from backup or using Linux Data Recovery applications that could effectively scan your drive and restore lost data at a safe location.
As an instance, you use a RAID 1 system with multiple drives (for say, /dev/sdb1 and /dev/sdc1) . Then, you use MDADM to create RAID 1 device (for say, /dev/md0 )and apply mkfs.ext3 command on individual drives. After this, when you try to mount the system, the partitions appears to be inaccessible and you cannot access the data furthermore.
MDAM is the utility that could manage, create, monitor and delete MD devices (Linux software RAID)
Cause
A Linux system exhibits the similar behavior, as above, if running mkfs.ext3 command has overwritten the superblock information. This results into inaccessible partitions. Thus, if you require to use this command, it is recommended to run it on RAID device (/dev/md0 in this case) itself and not on other drives.
Solution
To solve such problems, you should perform these methods:
Try running the following command:
e2fsck -f /dev/md0
If problem persists, restore from backup
If no valid and clean data backup is available, you should scan your hard drive and recover your lost data by using
Linux Recovery tools.
Linux Data Recovery applications are powerful data recovery tools that use effective scanning algorithms to recover lost data. These utilities are competent to examine a logically crashed drive and to perform safe recovery. Such tools provide you interactive user interface and safe options that assist achieving complete recovery results.
Stellar Phoenix
Linux Data Recovery is an advanced data recovery application designed for Ext2, Ext3 and ReiserFS file system drives. It is a comprehensive Linux Recovery tool that provides safe recovery, complete documentation and rich set of features. The application is compatible with most of the Linux distributions including Red Hat, SlackWare, Turbo Linux, Unbuntu and more.
