Ignite backup error - The list_expander command failed

Hello team, I'd like to share one of the common errors you will find during ignite backup.

[root@hpux02:/root]
# /opt/ignite/bin/make_net_recovery -s hpux03 -x inc_entire=vg00
* Creating NFS mount directories for configuration files.

======= 04/11/08 10:56:30 SST Started /opt/ignite/bin/make_net_recovery. (Fri
Apr 11 10:56:30 SST 2008)
@(#) Ignite-UX Revision B.5.4.50
@(#) net_recovery (opt) $Revision: 10.637 $

* Testing pax for needed patch
* Passed pax tests.
* Checking Versions of Recovery Tools
ERROR: Cannot stat device file: /dev/old_vg_apps/lv_mom: No such file or
directory (errno = 2). Check /etc/fstab for a bad entry.
ERROR: The list_expander command failed. This could be due to a problem with
the -x options specified - see messages above.

======= 04/11/08 10:57:11 SST make_net_recovery completed unsuccessfully

[root@hpux02:/root]
#

AND/OR

# /opt/ignite/lbin/list_expander
ERROR: Cannot stat device file: /dev/old_vg_hr03/lv_u01: No such file or
directory (errno = 2). Check /etc/fstab for a bad entry.

[root@hpux02:/root]
#

This occurs when certain FS is no longer in use and was not removed in /etc/fstab. I check it using:

# bdf <block_device_name>
# bdf /dev/old_vg_apps/lv_mom

OR

# mount -v grep -i <pattern>

AND/OR

# lvdisplay <block_device_name>
# lvdisplay /dev/old_vg_apps/lv_mom

If it does NOT return any of your expected result, then it is safe to say that the FS is NOT is use. From here, we can proceed by commenting [deleting] this but, make sure to have a backup just in case. Systems admins know this by heart. "He who laughs last, made a backup!". Proceeding..

# cp -p /etc/fstab /etc/fstab.backup1.20080411
# vi /etc/fstab
....
/dev/old_vg_hr03/lv_u01 /old/var/opt/vghr03/u01 vxfs delaylog,mincache=direct 0 2
/dev/old_vg_hr04/lv_u01 /old/var/opt/vghr04/u01 vxfs delaylog,mincache=direct 0 2
/dev/old_vg_hr05/lv_u01 /old/var/opt/vghr05/u01 vxfs delaylog,mincache=direct 0 2
/dev/old_vg_hr06/lv_u01 /old/var/opt/vghr06/u01 vxfs delaylog,mincache=direct 0 2
/dev/old_vg_hr07/lv_u01 /old/var/opt/vghr07/u01 vxfs delaylog,mincache=direct 0 2
....

So, our target here is to comment these lines so that it will not be read by ignite. For this case, we can comment it one by one. But for cases where we want to comment hundreds of lines, it'll take a lot of time. So I searched for some vi commands that will do this task for me. And I found it here: http://sparky.rice.edu/~hartigan/vi.html.

I executed this in command mode: :218,$s/^/\#

This means that, I'd like to insert a "#" character at the beginning of each line from line 218 to the last. Save and exit. Then re-ran ignite. As of this writing, it's running smoothly.

Interesting topic: http://forums12.itrc.hp.com/service/forums/questionanswer.do?admit=109447627+1207883792669+28353475&threadId=996179