BLKDEACTIVATE(8) System Manager's Manual BLKDEACTIVATE(8)

# [NAME](#NAME)

blkdeactivate — Utility to deactivate block devices

# [SYNOPSIS](#SYNOPSIS)

[**blkdeactivate**](#blkdeactivate)

\[**-d**|**--dmoptions dm\_options**] \[**-e**|**--errors**] \[**-h**|**--help**] \[**-l**|**--lvmoptions lvm\_options**] \[**-r**|**--mdraidoptions mdraid\_options**] \[**-m**|**--mpathoptions mpath\_options**] \[**-u**|**--umount**] \[**-o**|**--vdooptions vdo\_options**] \[**-v**|**--verbose**] \[*device*]

# [DESCRIPTION](#DESCRIPTION)

The blkdeactivate utility deactivates block devices. For mounted block devices, it attempts to unmount them automatically before trying to deactivate. The utility currently supports device-mapper devices (DM), including LVM volumes and software RAID MD devices. LVM volumes are handled directly using the [**lvm**(8)](/man/os/lvm2/lvm.8) command, the rest of device-mapper based devices are handled using the [**dmsetup**(8)](/man/os/lvm2/dmsetup.8) command. MD devices are handled using the [**mdadm**(8)](/man/os/lvm2/mdadm.8) command.

# [OPTIONS](#OPTIONS)

[**-d**|**--dmoptions** *dm\_options*](#d)

Comma separated list of device-mapper specific options.  
Accepted [**dmsetup**(8)](/man/os/lvm2/dmsetup.8) options are:

[**retry**](#retry)

Retry removal several times in case of failure.

[**force**](#force)

Force device removal.

[**-e**|**--errors**](#e)

Show errors reported from tools called by **blkdeactivate**. Without this option, any error messages from these external tools are suppressed and the **blkdeactivate** itself provides only a summary message to indicate the device was skipped.

[**-h**|**--help**](#h)

Display the help text.

[**-l**|**--lvmoptions** *lvm\_options*](#l)

Comma-separated list of LVM specific options:

[**retry**](#retry~2)

Retry removal several times in case of failure.

[**wholevg**](#wholevg)

Deactivate the whole LVM Volume Group when processing a Logical Volume. Deactivating the Volume Group as a whole is quicker than deactivating each Logical Volume separately.

[**-r**|**--mdraidoptions** *mdraid\_options*](#r)

Comma-separated list of MD RAID specific options:

[**wait**](#wait)

Wait for MD device's resync, recovery or reshape action to complete before deactivation.

[**-m**|**--mpathoptions** *mpath\_options*](#m)

Comma-separated list of device-mapper multipath specific options:

[**disablequeueing**](#disablequeueing)

Disable queueing on all multipath devices before deactivation. This avoids a situation where blkdeactivate may end up waiting if all the paths are unavailable for any underlying device-mapper multipath device.

[**-u**|**--umount**](#u)

Unmount a mounted device before trying to deactivate it. Without this option, a device that is mounted is not deactivated.

[**-o**|**--vdooptions** *vdo\_options*](#o)

Comma-separated list of VDO specific options:

[**configfile**=*file*](#configfile)

Use specified VDO configuration file.

[**-v**|**--verbose**](#v)

Run in verbose mode. Use **-vv** for even more verbose mode.

# [EXAMPLES](#EXAMPLES)

Deactivate all supported block devices found in the system, skipping mounted devices.  
**blkdeactivate**

Deactivate all supported block devices found in the system, unmounting any mounted devices first, if possible.  
**blkdeactivate -u**

Deactivate the device /dev/vg/lvol0 together with all its holders, unmounting any mounted devices first, if possible.  
**blkdeactivate -u /dev/vg/lvol0**

Deactivate all supported block devices found in the system. If the deactivation of a device-mapper device fails, retry it. Deactivate the whole Volume Group at once when processing an LVM Logical Volume.  
**blkdeactivate -u -d retry -l wholevg**

Deactivate all supported block devices found in the system. If the deactivation of a device-mapper device fails, retry it and force removal.  
**blkdeactivate -d force,retry**

# [SEE ALSO](#SEE_ALSO)

[**lvm**(8)](/man/os/lvm2/lvm.8),

[**dmsetup**(8)](/man/os/lvm2/dmsetup.8),

[**lsblk**(8)](/man/os/lvm2/lsblk.8), [**mdadm**(8)](/man/os/lvm2/mdadm.8), [**multipathd**(8)](/man/os/lvm2/multipathd.8), [**vdo**(8)](/man/os/lvm2/vdo.8), [**umount**(8)](/man/os/lvm2/umount.8)

LVM TOOLS 2.03.43(2) (2026-09-30) Red Hat, Inc.

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Document: blkdeactivate(8) from lvm2 2.03.43-r0 (Chainguard OS)
Source: https://gitlab.com/lvmteam/lvm2.git