On further investigation, it appears that no *actual* fsck is being performed when I get this error.
When I use /forcefsck, it returns 0.1% non-contiguous after a short delay, and boots normally.
When my boot stalls with a fsck message, no vterms, but sshd active, on the connected display it returns 'clean' for the same partition *IMMEDIATELY*.
Interestingly, after installing bootchart my machine boots to login every time without fail, but also during the boot prints the fsck: clean message with no delays for actually checking the drive.
On further investigation, it appears that no *actual* fsck is being performed when I get this error.
When I use /forcefsck, it returns 0.1% non-contiguous after a short delay, and boots normally.
When my boot stalls with a fsck message, no vterms, but sshd active, on the connected display it returns 'clean' for the same partition *IMMEDIATELY*.
Interestingly, after installing bootchart my machine boots to login every time without fail, but also during the boot prints the fsck: clean message with no delays for actually checking the drive.