ReiserFS support install instruction about testdisk

[mkgrgis]

Additional information about environment

• Ubuntu 22.04 and Debian 11 are available
• aarch64 processor
• testdisk detects ReiserFS 3.6 with standard journal and blocksize 4096 b, also disk size is normal
• testdisk determines ReiserFS need recovery
• reiserfsck --rebuild-sb ends with Unknown code er3k 127

[cgsecurity]

progsreiserfs and reiserfsprogs are not the same library. ReiserFS is deprecated in the Linux kernel and AFAIK nobody want to maintain progsreiserfs or reiserfsprogs.

It may be easier to put the disk(s) in an x86-64 computer and run the testdisk-7.2-WIP binary provided on www.cgsecurity.org

[mkgrgis]

progsreiserfs and reiserfsprogs are not the same library.

Thanks, @cgsecurity , I haven't knew.

ReiserFS is deprecated in the Linux kernel and AFAIK nobody want to maintain progsreiserfs or reiserfsprogs.

Yes, there is old and mainly stable non updatable functional in this packages. Only 2 crashes during 15+ years.

It may be easier to put the disk(s) in an x86-64 computer and run the testdisk-7.2-WIP binary provided on www.cgsecurity.org

Thanks, @cgsecurity , I' ll write about result.

[mkgrgis]

@cgsecurity , thanks for fast reply! testdisk-7.2-WIP works fine. Thanks for x86-64 compilation model and exec files. I consider you to publish full corresponding to x86-64 archive for aarch64 architecture, because there is only archive with libssp.so.0 unavailable on Ubuntu, Mint, Debian and Fedora.

In testdisk-7.2-WIP there is support of ReiserFS and it is detected on unpartitioned image with message "need recover", but list files gives only message about possible damage. My Unknown code er3k 127 in reiserfsck or other programs is popular message after 2019. Does testdisk supports some standard algorithms for this case or better switch to https://github.com/google/rescue-tools-reiserfs ?

[cgsecurity]

As testdisk is unable to list your files, you can try rescue-tools-reiserfs and/or photorec (shipped with testdisk).

[mkgrgis]

Hello, @cgsecurity !

My solution

1. Unknown code er3k 127 and other unknown codes from ReiserFS programs is because ReiserFS signature sector was damaged, other data is around normal state.
2. Make a file with 00 from /dev/zero with some large size (100Mb..1Gb).
3. Format this file as ReiserFS with mkreiserfs -f.
4. Install hexedit.
5. View a file of new ReiserFS void image. Before 10000hex byte should be 00 only, then ReiserFS signature.
6. Edit backup image of damaged disk partition and copy exact signature from file of void ReiserFS image. Partition size will be not correct, but this will not a problem later.
7. reiserfsck --rebuild-sb - rebuild ReiserFS superblock and journal. There will be little problems or no problems.
8. reiserfsck --rebuild-tree -S - repair inode stricture, search lost files and directories. Usually there will be little problems or no problems.
9. Some usual reiserfsck cycles and mount repaired image to a place for data extracting and comparing.

Note: after step 7 testdisk also can list files from ReiserFS.

Note 2: rescue-tools-reiserfs and/or photorec wasn't usefully because ReserFS can repair itself ;-) Also technological data from SQLite haven't good signatures for photorec. Photorec is wonderful tool for standard image format data extract from HDDs and SSDs.

Thanks for wonderful tools and many years of work with neuritic people who have risk of data loss or have already lost it, but have not come to terms with it!