A superblock in Linux operating system comprises of critical information (type size, and status) related to file system. It also includes information about the metadata structures. Since, the superblock contains such vital information, Linux always maintains at least one copy of the superblock in the file system. This enables the user to overcome the hazards caused due to corruption of a superblock. But, the problem continues when the superblock becomes corrupt and the copy of it is inaccessible or corrupted. In such situations, your system becomes unbootable resulting in inaccessibility of hard drive data. In such cases, the data saved in the hard drive can be accessed easily using a Linux Data Recovery software.

Consider a practical case, where you attempt to boot your Linux based system, and you receive the below error message:

“EXT3-fs: hdc1: could not mount because of unsupported optional features (40004000)

mount: wrong fs type, bad option, bad superblock on /dev/hdc1, or too many mounted file systems.”

Your system becomes unbootable after the above error message pops up. In such cases, the data saved in the hard drive becomes inaccessible.

Cause:

The root cause of the above bootable error message is bad/corrupt superblock. Corruption in superblock can occur due to improper system shutdown, operating system malfunction, and virus infection.

Resolution:

Below are some steps that might help you get over above error message:

Use the alternative superblock for booting. If the alternative superblock is itself corrupt, then you will need to rebuild the superblock and run FSCK command. However, if the issue persists, then you need to format your system.

Formatting guarantees complete resolution of the above problem. However, the only problem with formatting is that it also deletes the hard drive data. This problem calls for an effective Linux Data Recovery tool that can recover data even after formatting. Such Linux Recovery utilities are downloadable from the Internet. These tools can be installed and used by even a non-technical user.

Stellar Phoenix Linux Data Recovery is a solution for recovering deleted data after formatting. The Linux Recovery utility is competent enough to recover lost, deleted, and formatted data from Ext4, Ext3, Ext2 and FAT file system based volumes. Supported by almost all Linux distributions, the tool allows the user to save the recoverable data at required location.