Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3: System Administration Guide
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# 1.3. Converting to an ext3 File System

The `tune2fs` program can add a journal to an existing ext2 file system without altering the data already on the partition. If the file system is already mounted while it is being transitioned, the journal will be visible as the file `.journal` in the root directory of the file system. If the file system is not mounted, the journal will be hidden and will not appear in the file system at all.

To convert an ext2 file system to ext3, log in as root and type:

    /sbin/tune2fs -j /dev/hdbX

In the above command, replace /dev/`hdb` with the device name and `X` with the partition number.

After doing this, be certain to change the partition type from ext2 to ext3 in `/etc/fstab`.

If you are transitioning your root file system, you will have to use an `initrd` image (or RAM disk) to boot. To create this, run the `mkinitrd` program. For information on using the `mkinitrd` command, type `man mkinitrd`. Also make sure your GRUB or LILO configuration loads the `initrd`.

If you fail to make this change, the system will still boot, but the file system will be mounted as ext2 instead of ext3.

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