I cannot reproduce this. If I format with default options (mke2fs -t ext4) and then mount, there is zero disk activity.
sudo dumpe2fs /dev/sda1 |grep -c INODE_UNINIT shows that all but the first block group have their inode tables uninitialised, and this number does not change.
In fact, I have ext4 filesystems that I formatted years ago, where the majority of the block bitmaps have been initialised at some point (because the filesystem has been close to full), but the majority of the inode tables and bitmaps are still uninitialised (because I have never come close to requiring all the inodes).
sudo dumpe2fs /dev/sda1 |grep -c INODE_UNINIT shows that all but the first block group have their inode tables uninitialised, and this number does not change.
In fact, I have ext4 filesystems that I formatted years ago, where the majority of the block bitmaps have been initialised at some point (because the filesystem has been close to full), but the majority of the inode tables and bitmaps are still uninitialised (because I have never come close to requiring all the inodes).
Statistics: Posted by jojopi — Thu Jan 16, 2025 11:12 pm