[lug] Filesystem attributes (lsattr/chattr): how to deal with files with "I" attrbitute?

[Michael J. Hammel]

A guy at work has a file on a linux box that has an attribute (from
lsattr) of "I" (uppercase i).  Lowercase i is immutable.  Uppercase I
means, quoting the chattr man page:

The  'I'  attribute  is used by the htree code to indicate that a
directory is being indexed using hashed trees.  It may not be set or
reset using chattr(1), although it can be displayed by lsattr(1).

What the heck does that mean?  From his perspective it means the file
cannot be removed, not even by root.  So how do you get rid of it?  The
directory is empty.  Will a reboot clear that attribute so the directory
can be removed?

-- 
Michael J. Hammel                                    Principal Software Engineer
mjhammel at graphics-muse.org                           http://graphics-muse.org
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When trouble arises and things look bad, there is always one individual 
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