# EXT3 change inode size

## ham_se17

Hi, for some reason, when i formated my ext3 disk, the inode size was set to 256. Now i have a problem where my i get a kernel panic with message: EXT3-fs: unsupported inod size: 256

How can i change inode size to 128?

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## i92guboj

 *ham_se17 wrote:*   

> Hi, for some reason, when i formated my ext3 disk, the inode size was set to 256. Now i have a problem where my i get a kernel panic with message: EXT3-fs: unsupported inod size: 256
> 
> How can i change inode size to 128?

 

What kernel version are you trying to boot?

According to the mkfs.ext3 man page, 256 is the default, and all kernels above 2.6.10 should support it without problems. 

```

       -I inode-size

              Specify the size of each inode in  bytes.   mke2fs  creates  256-byte

              inodes  by  default.  In kernels after 2.6.10 and some earlier vendor

              kernels it is possible to utilize inodes larger  than  128  bytes  to

              store  extended  attributes for improved performance.  The inode-size

              value must be a power of 2 larger or equal to 128.   The  larger  the

              inode-size  the  more  space  the  inode table will consume, and this

              reduces the usable space in the filesystem and  can  also  negatively

              impact  performance.   Extended attributes stored in large inodes are

              not visible with older kernels, and  such  filesystems  will  not  be

              mountable with 2.4 kernels at all.  It is not possible to change this

              value after the filesystem is created.

```

In any case, to modify these kind of fs parameters you would need to reformat with the correct parameters. It can't just be changed without reformating.

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## ham_se17

It is a 2.4 kernel (RHEL3).

Well, nothing to do then, then i must reformat and start over. Thanks for your help.

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## i92guboj

 *ham_se17 wrote:*   

> It is a 2.4 kernel (RHEL3).
> 
> Well, nothing to do then, then i must reformat and start over. Thanks for your help.

 

I guess so. 

I have looked around a bit, but haven't found any patch nor any notice about a patch for 2.4 kernel to support that feature. It seems we are out of luck.   :Sad: 

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## ocin

you can't change the inode size on the fly, you have to set it when creating the fs

```
mkfs.ext3 -I 128 /dev/sdxX
```

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