Root filesystem bad free list problem -- HELP!! {whimper}

[R. Curtis Jackson]

We are running USG 5.0 on a Vax 11/780.  Every morning for several
months, the same thing -- we come in and the 'fsck -n' executed
during our filesystem backup tells us that we have a BAD FREE LIST
or MISSING BLOCKS IN FREELIST on our root filesystem.  If we use
fsck to fix it and reboot, things are usually OK; sometimes we
can't even go back to 'unix' [single-user] from stand-alone because
the thing 'panic: trap's on us and we have to come up on a backup.

We have tried the following and more:
a) getting a good root [/unix] on /dev/rrp0, making a totally new
filesystem on /dev/rrp20, volcopy/cpio [tried both] onto the new
filesystem, and come up on that one.  No dice.
b) reconfig and remake unix completely, put it on a virgin filesystem.
Nothing.
c) I thought that maybe our /tmp filesystem was screwy and was causing
things to be written incorrectly, so I run fsck on that daily.  No
problems there.
d) I've checked our swap setting in our tunables to make sure that it
was not overwriting -- although we hardly ever swap anyway -- no problem.
e) etc. etc. etc.

Also, at odd intervals, unix decides that it has a duplicate block
(so I have been told) in root's freelist and invalidates the entire
freelist, leaving us instantly with 'Out of space' errors everywhere.

I have heard that one of the Denver ATTIS systems had a similar problem
with their /usr filesystem; can anyone anywhere shed any light on any
aspect of any of these problems?

Tomorrow night we sacrifice a goat and place its entrails on the CPU
at the stroke of midnight......
-- 

The MAD Programmer -- 919-228-3313 (Cornet 291)
alias: Curtis Jackson	...![ ihnp4 ulysses cbosgd clyde ]!burl!rcj