clri(8)
NAME
clri − clear inode
SYNTAX
clri filesystem inumber...
DESCRIPTION
The clri command writes zeros on the inodes with the decimal inumbers on the filesystem. After clri, any blocks in the affected file will show up as ’missing’ in an check or fsck of the filesystem.
Read and write permission is required on the specified file system device. The inode becomes allocatable.
The primary purpose of this routine is to remove a file which for some reason appears in no directory. If it is used to clear (zero out) 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 whole cycle is likely to be repeated.
RESTRICTIONS
If the file is open, clri is likely to be ineffective.
The clri command should be used only as a last resort, fsck provides a much safer method of accomplishing file system repairs.