EXT3, one of the most commonly used file system by Linux Kernel, is used in numerous Linux distributions. Although a reliable file system, it is prone to corruption, that can occur due to improper system shutdown, virus attack, operating system malfunction, and many similar reasons. In most cases of file system damage, the user encounters an error message during the boot process. The data saved in the Linux based hard drive becomes unreadable after any such boot error message pops up. An easy way to overcome file system corruption error message is restoration of data from an updated backup. However, in the absence of an updated backup, the user needs to take help of FSCK utility or a third-party Linux Recovery software.

To illustrate the above case, consider a practical scenario where you are working on your Linux-based system and suddenly there is a power outage. Now, when you boot your system, you encounter the below error message:

“EXT3-fs error (device sde2): ext3_get_inode_loc: unable to read inode block - inode: 26181633, block=26181634

ls: cannot access /tmp/public/EL: Input/output error…”

The error message does not allows the system to boot and makes the hard drive data inaccessible. The error message consists of various inodes and blocks that are unreadable.

Cause:

The above error message primarily occurs due to corruption of Ext3 file system.

Resolution:

To resolve corruption in Ext3 file system and to access the data saved in your hard drive, follow the below steps:

1. Run FSCK command with an appropriate clause.

2. But, if FSCK is also not able to repair the file system, then you need to re-install the operating system. Re-installation means installing a new file system and deleting all the entries of old file system. Hard drive data post re-installation becomes inaccessible. In order to access the data after formatting, you need to use a third-party Linux Recovery tool. Such tools provide absolute Linux Data Recovery post any logical crash.

Stellar Phoenix Linux Data Recovery assures maximum recovery of data from a formatted Ext3 hard drive. The tool also helps in Ext4 recovery, Ext3 recovery, and recovery of FAT file system based volumes. Supported by almost all Linux distributions (Gentoo, Ubuntu, SlackWare, SUSE), the Linux Data Recovery software is easy to install and understand.