fsck.vfat -a "Unable to create unique name"

On linux (kubuntu), trying to do an fsck on a vfat USB drive, I keep getting "Unable to create unique name".

The solution apparently is to use fsck.vfat -r [device]


I have no idea why interactive mode (-r) works, and automatic mode does not... but it gets rid of the problem.

(dosfsck is an alias for fsck.vfat and fsck.mdos)