FluidFS: Controller fails to boot with UNEXPECTED INCONSISTENCY RUN FSCK MANUALLY

Summary: After a power outage, controller shutdown, or controller removal for maintenance, the possibility exists for the clock to revert to zero-time-value. This will cause the next controller boot to fail. ...

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Symptoms

Following a power outage, reboot, shutdown, or removal for maintenance, if the Time of Day (TOD) clock battery is drained, the clock reverts to zero-time-value. The next controller boot fails the File System Check (FSCK) phase. During the boot-up sequence, errors such as this are presented:

UNEXPECTED INCONSISTENCY; RUN fsck MANUALLY
Checking filesystems
Superblock last mount time ( <time>,
Now = <time> ) is in the future.

Give root password for maintenance
(or type Control-D to continue):

 

Example of the error:

Image showing FSCK error when a FluidFS controller attempts to boot

Cause

The issue occurs when the ToD clock battery is drained, causing the clock to revert to zero-time-value. The drained coin-cell battery results in the controller failing at the FSCK phase during the next boot.

Resolution

Temporary Workaround:

Reseat the controller or press Control-D from the prompt.

Enter the BIOS setup during Power On Self-Test (POST) and manually set the correct time.

If the BIOS displays only a black screen and is inaccessible, contact Dell Technical Support and reference internal article 000129279.

 

Example:

Image showing the BIOS of the FluidFS and the system date and time options.

 

 

Permanent Solution:

Once the time is set correctly, the controller boots successfully. However, this change does not persist if the controller is rebooted again with a faulty coin-cell battery.

Dell Technical Support can help with replacing the faulty coin-cell battery and upgrading the FluidFS firmware.

 

Applicable Versions: This issue does not occur on the following versions:

  • Dell Compellent FS8600: Version 6.0.110054 and Higher
  • EqualLogic FS7600 and FS7610: Version 4.0.400005

 

Contact technical support and reference this article and internal article 000129279 for further details.

 

Affected Products

Dell Compellent FS8600, EqualLogic FS7600, EqualLogic FS7610
Article Properties
Article Number: 000143916
Article Type: Solution
Last Modified: 29 Jul 2025
Version:  6
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