Quicker fixes are not a good idea (in most cases)

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Every once in a while someone comes up with a forum question along the lines of

I have such and such problem with my storage. The data is still accessible, but the storage unit is for some reason in abnormal state. What should I do?

Typical (and proper) answer is
  1. back up data,
  2. test the backup,
  3. make sure the original problem, which caused whatever abnormality there was, is corrected,
  4. rebuild the storage from scratch,
  5. restore data
Often, this is not considered a good enough advice: Is there any quicker way to resolve the issue?

Actually, no. To make sure the abnormal state is properly repaired, one needs to identify all the undesired effects and changes to the data. This is plain impossible in all but most simple cases. So, there is always a risk of missing some important point during "quick" repair, masking the problem instead of repairing it. The issue might then reappear later in some undesired way.
 

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