diff --git a/common/attr b/common/attr
index 3ebba682c..1c1de63e9 100644
--- a/common/attr
+++ b/common/attr
@@ -237,8 +237,8 @@ _require_attr_v1()
 # check if we support the noattr2 mount option
 _require_noattr2()
 {
-	_scratch_mkfs_xfs > /dev/null 2>&1 \
-		|| _fail "_scratch_mkfs_xfs failed on $SCRATCH_DEV"
+	_try_scratch_mkfs_xfs > /dev/null 2>&1 \
+		|| _fail "_try_scratch_mkfs_xfs failed on $SCRATCH_DEV"
 	_try_scratch_mount -o noattr2 > /dev/null 2>&1 \
 		|| _notrun "noattr2 mount option not supported on $SCRATCH_DEV"
 	_scratch_unmount
diff --git a/common/filestreams b/common/filestreams
index 62acb47cb..00b280668 100644
--- a/common/filestreams
+++ b/common/filestreams
@@ -96,7 +96,7 @@ _test_streams() {
 	unset SCRATCH_RTDEV
 
 	local size=`expr $agsize \* 1024 \* 1024 \* $agcount`
-	_scratch_mkfs_xfs -dsize=$size,agcount=$agcount >/dev/null 2>&1 \
+	_try_scratch_mkfs_xfs -dsize=$size,agcount=$agcount >/dev/null 2>&1 \
 		|| _fail "mkfs failed"
 
 	if [ "$use_iflag" = "0" ]; then
diff --git a/common/log b/common/log
index 154f39598..ea7e4158e 100644
--- a/common/log
+++ b/common/log
@@ -336,7 +336,7 @@ _mkfs_log()
     # mkfs options to append to log size otion can be specified ($*)
     export MKFS_OPTIONS="-l size=2000b -l lazy-count=1 $*"
     _full "mkfs"
-    _scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full 2>&1
+    _try_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full 2>&1
     if [ $? -ne 0 ] ; then 
 	_echofull "Cannot mkfs for this test using option specified: $MKFS_OPTIONS"
 	return 1
@@ -496,7 +496,7 @@ _require_v2log()
 {
     # test out mkfs to see if it supports "-l version=2"
     export MKFS_OPTIONS="-l version=2"
-    if ! _scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full 2>&1; then
+    if ! _try_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full 2>&1; then
         _notrun "mkfs does not support v2 logs"
     fi
 
diff --git a/common/rc b/common/rc
index f0ad843d7..760f7dc3b 100644
--- a/common/rc
+++ b/common/rc
@@ -784,7 +784,7 @@ _scratch_mkfs()
 		return $?
 		;;
 	xfs)
-		_scratch_mkfs_xfs $*
+		_try_scratch_mkfs_xfs $*
 		return $?
 		;;
 	udf)
@@ -1090,9 +1090,10 @@ _try_scratch_mkfs_sized()
 		# don't override MKFS_OPTIONS that set a block size.
 		echo $MKFS_OPTIONS |grep -E -q "b\s*size="
 		if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then
-			_scratch_mkfs_xfs -d size=$fssize $rt_ops
+			_try_scratch_mkfs_xfs -d size=$fssize $rt_ops
 		else
-			_scratch_mkfs_xfs -d size=$fssize $rt_ops -b size=$blocksize
+			_try_scratch_mkfs_xfs -d size=$fssize $rt_ops \
+				-b size=$blocksize
 		fi
 		;;
 	ext2|ext3|ext4)
@@ -1234,7 +1235,7 @@ _scratch_mkfs_blocksized()
 		_scratch_mkfs --sectorsize=$blocksize
 		;;
 	xfs)
-		_scratch_mkfs_xfs $MKFS_OPTIONS -b size=$blocksize
+		_try_scratch_mkfs_xfs $MKFS_OPTIONS -b size=$blocksize
 		;;
 	ext2|ext3|ext4)
 		_scratch_mkfs_ext4 $MKFS_OPTIONS -b $blocksize
diff --git a/common/xfs b/common/xfs
index 59a34754b..ac2706cdb 100644
--- a/common/xfs
+++ b/common/xfs
@@ -146,7 +146,7 @@ _scratch_find_xfs_min_logblocks()
 	rm -f $tmp.mkfsstd $tmp.mkfserr
 }
 
-_scratch_mkfs_xfs()
+_try_scratch_mkfs_xfs()
 {
 	local mkfs_cmd="`_scratch_mkfs_xfs_opts`"
 	local mkfs_filter="sed -e '/less than device physical sector/d' \
@@ -180,6 +180,11 @@ _scratch_mkfs_xfs()
 	return $mkfs_status
 }
 
+_scratch_mkfs_xfs()
+{
+	_try_scratch_mkfs_xfs $* || _notrun "_scratch_mkfs_xfs failed with ($*)"
+}
+
 # Get the number of realtime extents of a mounted filesystem.
 _xfs_get_rtextents()
 {
@@ -525,7 +530,7 @@ _require_xfs_has_feature()
 #
 _require_scratch_xfs_crc()
 {
-	_scratch_mkfs_xfs >/dev/null 2>&1
+	_try_scratch_mkfs_xfs >/dev/null 2>&1
 	_try_scratch_mount >/dev/null 2>&1 \
 	   || _notrun "Kernel doesn't support crc feature"
 	_require_xfs_has_feature $SCRATCH_MNT crc -u \
@@ -545,7 +550,7 @@ _require_xfs_mkfs_finobt()
 #
 _require_xfs_finobt()
 {
-	_scratch_mkfs_xfs -m crc=1,finobt=1 >/dev/null 2>&1
+	_try_scratch_mkfs_xfs -m crc=1,finobt=1 >/dev/null 2>&1
 	_try_scratch_mount >/dev/null 2>&1 \
 	   || _notrun "Kernel doesn't support finobt feature"
 	_scratch_unmount
@@ -573,7 +578,7 @@ _require_xfs_sparse_inodes()
 {
 	_scratch_mkfs_xfs_supported -m crc=1 -i sparse > /dev/null 2>&1 \
 		|| _notrun "mkfs.xfs does not support sparse inodes"
-	_scratch_mkfs_xfs -m crc=1 -i sparse > /dev/null 2>&1
+	_try_scratch_mkfs_xfs -m crc=1 -i sparse > /dev/null 2>&1
 	_try_scratch_mount >/dev/null 2>&1 \
 		|| _notrun "kernel does not support sparse inodes"
 	_scratch_unmount
@@ -585,7 +590,7 @@ _require_xfs_nrext64()
 {
 	_scratch_mkfs_xfs_supported -m crc=1 -i nrext64 > /dev/null 2>&1 \
 		|| _notrun "mkfs.xfs does not support nrext64"
-	_scratch_mkfs_xfs -m crc=1 -i nrext64 > /dev/null 2>&1
+	_try_scratch_mkfs_xfs -m crc=1 -i nrext64 > /dev/null 2>&1
 	_try_scratch_mount >/dev/null 2>&1 \
 		|| _notrun "kernel does not support nrext64"
 	_scratch_unmount
@@ -600,7 +605,7 @@ _require_xfs_db_command()
 	fi
 	command=$1
 
-	_scratch_mkfs_xfs >/dev/null 2>&1
+	_try_scratch_mkfs_xfs >/dev/null 2>&1
 	_scratch_xfs_db -x -c "help" | grep $command > /dev/null || \
 		_notrun "xfs_db $command support is missing"
 }
@@ -1276,7 +1281,7 @@ _require_scratch_xfs_shrink()
 	_require_scratch
 	_require_command "$XFS_GROWFS_PROG" xfs_growfs
 
-	_scratch_mkfs_xfs | _filter_mkfs 2>$tmp.mkfs >/dev/null
+	_try_scratch_mkfs_xfs | _filter_mkfs 2>$tmp.mkfs >/dev/null
 	. $tmp.mkfs
 	_scratch_mount
 	# here just to check if kernel supports, no need do more extra work
@@ -1581,7 +1586,7 @@ _try_wipe_scratch_xfs()
 	# Try to wipe each SB by default mkfs.xfs geometry
 	local tmp=`mktemp -u`
 	unset agcount agsize dbsize
-	_scratch_mkfs_xfs -N 2>/dev/null | perl -ne '
+	_try_scratch_mkfs_xfs -N 2>/dev/null | perl -ne '
 		if (/^meta-data=.*\s+agcount=(\d+), agsize=(\d+) blks/) {
 			print STDOUT "agcount=$1\nagsize=$2\n";
 		}
@@ -1814,7 +1819,8 @@ _scratch_xfs_create_fake_root()
 
 	# A large stripe unit will put the root inode out quite far
 	# due to alignment, leaving free blocks ahead of it.
-	_scratch_mkfs_xfs -d sunit=1024,swidth=1024 > $seqres.full 2>&1 || _fail "mkfs failed"
+	_try_scratch_mkfs_xfs -d sunit=1024,swidth=1024 > $seqres.full 2>&1 || \
+		_fail "mkfs failed"
 
 	# Mounting /without/ a stripe should allow inodes to be allocated
 	# in lower free blocks, without the stripe alignment.
@@ -1983,7 +1989,7 @@ _xfs_discard_max_offset_kb()
 # check if mkfs and the kernel support nocrc (v4) file systems
 _require_xfs_nocrc()
 {
-	_scratch_mkfs_xfs -m crc=0 > /dev/null 2>&1 || \
+	_try_scratch_mkfs_xfs -m crc=0 > /dev/null 2>&1 || \
 		_notrun "v4 file systems not supported"
 	_try_scratch_mount > /dev/null 2>&1 || \
 		_notrun "v4 file systems not supported"
@@ -2012,7 +2018,7 @@ _require_xfs_parent()
 {
 	_scratch_mkfs_xfs_supported -n parent > /dev/null 2>&1 \
 		|| _notrun "mkfs.xfs does not support parent pointers"
-	_scratch_mkfs_xfs -n parent > /dev/null 2>&1
+	_try_scratch_mkfs_xfs -n parent > /dev/null 2>&1
 	_try_scratch_mount >/dev/null 2>&1 \
 		|| _notrun "kernel does not support parent pointers"
 	_scratch_unmount
diff --git a/tests/generic/083 b/tests/generic/083
index 10db5f080..ff4785eee 100755
--- a/tests/generic/083
+++ b/tests/generic/083
@@ -45,8 +45,7 @@ workout()
 	echo ""                                     >>$seqres.full
 	if [ $FSTYP = xfs ]
 	then
-		_scratch_mkfs_xfs -dsize=$fsz,agcount=$ags  >>$seqres.full 2>&1 \
-			|| _fail "size=$fsz,agcount=$ags mkfs failed"
+		_scratch_mkfs_xfs -dsize=$fsz,agcount=$ags  >>$seqres.full 2>&1
 	else
 		_scratch_mkfs_sized $fsz >>$seqres.full 2>&1
 	fi
diff --git a/tests/xfs/002 b/tests/xfs/002
index c9450ff40..388822c13 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/002
+++ b/tests/xfs/002
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ _require_scratch_nocheck
 _require_no_large_scratch_dev
 _require_xfs_nocrc
 
-_scratch_mkfs_xfs -m crc=0 -d size=128m >> $seqres.full 2>&1 || _fail "mkfs failed"
+_scratch_mkfs_xfs -m crc=0 -d size=128m >> $seqres.full 2>&1
 
 # Scribble past a couple V4 secondary superblocks to populate sb_crc
 # (We can't write to the structure member because it doesn't exist
diff --git a/tests/xfs/004 b/tests/xfs/004
index 6ff15df23..473b82c94 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/004
+++ b/tests/xfs/004
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ _cleanup()
 _populate_scratch()
 {
 	echo "=== mkfs output ===" >>$seqres.full
-	_scratch_mkfs_xfs | tee -a $seqres.full | _filter_mkfs 2>$tmp.mkfs
+	_try_scratch_mkfs_xfs | tee -a $seqres.full | _filter_mkfs 2>$tmp.mkfs
 	. $tmp.mkfs
 	_scratch_mount
 	# This test looks at specific behaviors of the xfs_db freesp command,
diff --git a/tests/xfs/005 b/tests/xfs/005
index 0c8061b0f..c1333924c 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/005
+++ b/tests/xfs/005
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ _begin_fstest auto quick
 
 _require_scratch_nocheck
 
-_scratch_mkfs_xfs -m crc=1 >> $seqres.full 2>&1 || _fail "mkfs failed"
+_scratch_mkfs_xfs -m crc=1 >> $seqres.full 2>&1
 
 # Zap the crc.  xfs_db updates the CRC post-write, so poke it directly
 $XFS_IO_PROG -c "pwrite 224 4" -c fsync $SCRATCH_DEV | _filter_xfs_io
diff --git a/tests/xfs/009 b/tests/xfs/009
index 986459036..dde505f07 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/009
+++ b/tests/xfs/009
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ _cleanup()
 _init()
 {
     echo "*** mkfs"
-    if ! _scratch_mkfs_xfs >$tmp.out 2>&1
+    if ! _try_scratch_mkfs_xfs >$tmp.out 2>&1
     then
 	cat $tmp.out
         echo "failed to mkfs $SCRATCH_DEV"
diff --git a/tests/xfs/017 b/tests/xfs/017
index efe0ac119..5b26523c7 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/017
+++ b/tests/xfs/017
@@ -33,8 +33,7 @@ echo "*** init FS"
 _scratch_unmount >/dev/null 2>&1
 echo "*** MKFS ***"                         >>$seqres.full
 echo ""                                     >>$seqres.full
-_scratch_mkfs_xfs                           >>$seqres.full 2>&1 \
-    || _fail "mkfs failed"
+_scratch_mkfs_xfs                           >>$seqres.full 2>&1
 _scratch_mount
 
 echo "*** test"
diff --git a/tests/xfs/019 b/tests/xfs/019
index 914f0a287..fdd965aa9 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/019
+++ b/tests/xfs/019
@@ -99,8 +99,7 @@ _verify_fs()
 	_scratch_unmount >/dev/null 2>&1
 
 	_full "mkfs"
-	_scratch_mkfs_xfs $VERSION -p $protofile >>$seqfull 2>&1 \
-		|| _fail "mkfs failed"
+	_scratch_mkfs_xfs $VERSION -p $protofile >>$seqfull 2>&1
 
 	echo "*** check FS"
 	_check_scratch_fs
diff --git a/tests/xfs/021 b/tests/xfs/021
index 84360a8fc..1a93e0827 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/021
+++ b/tests/xfs/021
@@ -59,8 +59,7 @@ _require_attrs
 _scratch_unmount >/dev/null 2>&1
 
 echo "*** mkfs"
-_scratch_mkfs_xfs >/dev/null \
-	|| _fail "mkfs failed"
+_scratch_mkfs_xfs >/dev/null
 
 echo "*** mount FS"
 _scratch_mount
diff --git a/tests/xfs/022 b/tests/xfs/022
index 106539146..ccde9bab0 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/022
+++ b/tests/xfs/022
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ _cleanup()
 
 _require_tape $TAPE_DEV
 _require_scratch
-_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full || _fail "mkfs failed"
+_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full
 _scratch_mount
 
 # note: fsstress uses an endian dependent random number generator, running this
diff --git a/tests/xfs/023 b/tests/xfs/023
index 06be85020..e41da3a8a 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/023
+++ b/tests/xfs/023
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ _cleanup()
 
 _require_tape $TAPE_DEV
 _require_scratch
-_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full || _fail "mkfs failed"
+_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full
 _scratch_mount
 _create_dumpdir_fill
 _erase_hard
diff --git a/tests/xfs/024 b/tests/xfs/024
index 3636e3eb8..b661c4a18 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/024
+++ b/tests/xfs/024
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ _cleanup()
 
 _require_tape $TAPE_DEV
 _require_scratch
-_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full || _fail "mkfs failed"
+_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full
 _scratch_mount
 _create_dumpdir_fill
 # ensure file/dir timestamps precede dump timestamp
diff --git a/tests/xfs/025 b/tests/xfs/025
index 071e04e4f..3c47507c5 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/025
+++ b/tests/xfs/025
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ _cleanup()
 
 _require_tape $TAPE_DEV
 _require_scratch
-_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full || _fail "mkfs failed"
+_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full
 _scratch_mount
 _create_dumpdir_fill
 _erase_hard
diff --git a/tests/xfs/026 b/tests/xfs/026
index 060bcfe02..fae5a4e6e 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/026
+++ b/tests/xfs/026
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ _cleanup()
 . ./common/dump
 
 _require_scratch
-_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full || _fail "mkfs failed"
+_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full
 _scratch_mount
 
 _create_dumpdir_fill
diff --git a/tests/xfs/027 b/tests/xfs/027
index a1fbec9dd..9cc01c81d 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/027
+++ b/tests/xfs/027
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ _cleanup()
 . ./common/dump
 
 _require_scratch
-_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full || _fail "mkfs failed"
+_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full
 _scratch_mount
 
 _create_dumpdir_fill
diff --git a/tests/xfs/028 b/tests/xfs/028
index bed88b113..2264863c3 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/028
+++ b/tests/xfs/028
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ _cleanup()
 . ./common/dump
 
 _require_scratch
-_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full || _fail "mkfs failed"
+_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full
 _scratch_mount
 
 #
diff --git a/tests/xfs/030 b/tests/xfs/030
index 7f8222d77..22fbdb2fd 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/030
+++ b/tests/xfs/030
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ DSIZE="-dsize=100m,agcount=6"
 # superblock (hanging around from earlier tests)...
 #
 
-_scratch_mkfs_xfs $DSIZE >/dev/null 2>&1
+_try_scratch_mkfs_xfs $DSIZE >/dev/null 2>&1
 if [ $? -ne 0 ]		# probably don't have a big enough scratch
 then
 	_notrun "SCRATCH_DEV too small, results would be non-deterministic"
diff --git a/tests/xfs/034 b/tests/xfs/034
index 2acf0ad44..e5ee2790c 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/034
+++ b/tests/xfs/034
@@ -29,8 +29,7 @@ echo "*** init FS"
 _scratch_unmount >/dev/null 2>&1
 echo "*** MKFS ***"                         >>$seqres.full
 echo ""                                     >>$seqres.full
-_scratch_mkfs_xfs                           >>$seqres.full 2>&1 \
-    || _fail "mkfs failed"
+_scratch_mkfs_xfs                           >>$seqres.full
 _scratch_mount
 
 echo "*** test"
diff --git a/tests/xfs/035 b/tests/xfs/035
index 81e21dc5c..88e45fada 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/035
+++ b/tests/xfs/035
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ _cleanup()
 
 _require_tape $TAPE_DEV
 _require_scratch
-_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full || _fail "mkfs failed"
+_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full
 _scratch_mount
 _create_dumpdir_fill
 _erase_hard
diff --git a/tests/xfs/036 b/tests/xfs/036
index 6a03b3269..a9074ac2d 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/036
+++ b/tests/xfs/036
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ _cleanup()
 
 _require_tape $RMT_IRIXTAPE_DEV
 _require_scratch
-_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full || _fail "mkfs failed"
+_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full
 _scratch_mount
 _create_dumpdir_fill
 _erase_soft
diff --git a/tests/xfs/037 b/tests/xfs/037
index 0298f0bbd..1b7b083d6 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/037
+++ b/tests/xfs/037
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ _cleanup()
 
 _require_tape $RMT_TAPE_DEV
 _require_scratch
-_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full || _fail "mkfs failed"
+_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full
 _scratch_mount
 _create_dumpdir_fill
 _erase_soft
diff --git a/tests/xfs/038 b/tests/xfs/038
index fb26d9991..44c0f2181 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/038
+++ b/tests/xfs/038
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ _cleanup()
 
 _require_tape $RMT_TAPE_DEV
 _require_scratch
-_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full || _fail "mkfs failed"
+_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full
 _scratch_mount
 _create_dumpdir_fill
 _erase_hard
diff --git a/tests/xfs/039 b/tests/xfs/039
index 53273d11d..e5ed42447 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/039
+++ b/tests/xfs/039
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ _cleanup()
 
 _require_tape $RMT_IRIXTAPE_DEV
 _require_scratch
-_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full || _fail "mkfs failed"
+_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full
 _scratch_mount
 _create_dumpdir_fill
 _erase_soft
diff --git a/tests/xfs/041 b/tests/xfs/041
index 31807530f..780078d44 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/041
+++ b/tests/xfs/041
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ _fill()
 _do_die_on_error=message_only
 agsize=32
 echo -n "Make $agsize megabyte filesystem on SCRATCH_DEV and mount... "
-_scratch_mkfs_xfs -dsize=${agsize}m,agcount=1 2>&1 >/dev/null || _fail "mkfs failed"
+_scratch_mkfs_xfs -dsize=${agsize}m,agcount=1 2>&1 >/dev/null
 bsize=`_scratch_mkfs_xfs -dsize=${agsize}m,agcount=1 2>&1 | _filter_mkfs 2>&1 \
 		| perl -ne 'if (/dbsize=(\d+)/) {print $1;}'`
 onemeginblocks=`expr 1048576 / $bsize`
diff --git a/tests/xfs/042 b/tests/xfs/042
index f598c45a4..0e054e080 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/042
+++ b/tests/xfs/042
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ _require_scratch
 _do_die_on_error=message_only
 
 echo -n "Make a 96 megabyte filesystem on SCRATCH_DEV and mount... "
-_scratch_mkfs_xfs -dsize=96m,agcount=3 2>&1 >/dev/null || _fail "mkfs failed"
+_scratch_mkfs_xfs -dsize=96m,agcount=3 2>&1 >/dev/null
 _scratch_mount
 
 echo "done"
diff --git a/tests/xfs/043 b/tests/xfs/043
index b5583e2c5..27168bbe8 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/043
+++ b/tests/xfs/043
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ _cleanup()
 
 _require_tape $TAPE_DEV
 _require_scratch
-_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full || _fail "mkfs failed"
+_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full
 _scratch_mount
 _create_dumpdir_fill
 _erase_hard
diff --git a/tests/xfs/044 b/tests/xfs/044
index 9861c72a1..3ecb34793 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/044
+++ b/tests/xfs/044
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ echo "*** mkfs"
 # this test only works for version 1 logs currently
 lversion=1
 lsize=16777216
-_scratch_mkfs_xfs -lsize=$lsize,version=$lversion >$tmp.mkfs0 2>&1
+_try_scratch_mkfs_xfs -lsize=$lsize,version=$lversion >$tmp.mkfs0 2>&1
 [ $? -ne 0 ] && \
     _notrun "Cannot mkfs for this test using MKFS_OPTIONS specified"
 _filter_mkfs <$tmp.mkfs0 2>$tmp.mkfs1
diff --git a/tests/xfs/045 b/tests/xfs/045
index 06faa9e31..724bffc5a 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/045
+++ b/tests/xfs/045
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ echo "*** get uuid"
 uuid=`_get_existing_uuid`
 
 echo "*** mkfs"
-if ! _scratch_mkfs_xfs >$tmp.out 2>&1
+if ! _try_scratch_mkfs_xfs >$tmp.out 2>&1
 then
     cat $tmp.out
     echo "!!! failed to mkfs on $SCRATCH_DEV"
diff --git a/tests/xfs/046 b/tests/xfs/046
index f2f9f7b38..314193d96 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/046
+++ b/tests/xfs/046
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ _cleanup()
 . ./common/dump
 
 _require_scratch
-_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full || _fail "mkfs failed"
+_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full
 _scratch_mount
 
 _create_dumpdir_symlinks
diff --git a/tests/xfs/047 b/tests/xfs/047
index 05e62cb5a..0c65659f4 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/047
+++ b/tests/xfs/047
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ _cleanup()
 . ./common/dump
 
 _require_scratch
-_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full || _fail "mkfs failed"
+_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full
 _scratch_mount
 
 #
diff --git a/tests/xfs/055 b/tests/xfs/055
index 8fe7d273d..80db71a4d 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/055
+++ b/tests/xfs/055
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ _cleanup()
 
 _require_tape $RMT_TAPE_USER@$RMT_IRIXTAPE_DEV
 _require_scratch
-_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full || _fail "mkfs failed"
+_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full
 _scratch_mount
 
 _create_dumpdir_fill
diff --git a/tests/xfs/056 b/tests/xfs/056
index 18ff592b9..5d61ff6a6 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/056
+++ b/tests/xfs/056
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ _cleanup()
 . ./common/dump
 
 _require_scratch
-_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full || _fail "mkfs failed"
+_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full
 _scratch_mount
 
 _create_dumpdir_fill_perm
diff --git a/tests/xfs/059 b/tests/xfs/059
index 7086dae8f..5f3c4c420 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/059
+++ b/tests/xfs/059
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ _cleanup()
 
 _require_multi_stream
 _require_scratch
-_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full || _fail "mkfs failed"
+_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full
 _scratch_mount
 
 _create_dumpdir_fill_multi
diff --git a/tests/xfs/060 b/tests/xfs/060
index 0bafe69e9..cc94468e6 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/060
+++ b/tests/xfs/060
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ _cleanup()
 
 _require_multi_stream
 _require_scratch
-_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full || _fail "mkfs failed"
+_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full
 _scratch_mount
 
 _create_dumpdir_fill_multi
diff --git a/tests/xfs/061 b/tests/xfs/061
index 69aaf5d9f..7f4c91bef 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/061
+++ b/tests/xfs/061
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ _cleanup()
 . ./common/dump
 
 _require_scratch
-_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full || _fail "mkfs failed"
+_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full
 _scratch_mount
 
 # src/dumpfile based on dumping from
diff --git a/tests/xfs/063 b/tests/xfs/063
index 28dadf53f..33c10efec 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/063
+++ b/tests/xfs/063
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ _cleanup()
 
 _require_attrs trusted user
 _require_scratch
-_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full || _fail "mkfs failed"
+_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full
 _scratch_mount
 
 # create files with EAs
diff --git a/tests/xfs/064 b/tests/xfs/064
index cbaee9594..1dbf4d9f9 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/064
+++ b/tests/xfs/064
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ _ls_size_filter()
 }
 
 _require_scratch
-_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full || _fail "mkfs failed"
+_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full
 _scratch_mount
 
 _create_dumpdir_hardlinks 9
diff --git a/tests/xfs/066 b/tests/xfs/066
index 48183ae06..eeedcb5b1 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/066
+++ b/tests/xfs/066
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ else
 	_notrun "Installed libc doesn't correctly handle setrlimit/ftruncate64"
 fi
 
-_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full || _fail "mkfs failed"
+_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full
 _scratch_mount
 _create_dumpdir_largefile
 echo "ls dumpdir/largefile"
diff --git a/tests/xfs/068 b/tests/xfs/068
index c6459ea77..5a89aace6 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/068
+++ b/tests/xfs/068
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ _cleanup()
 . ./common/dump
 
 _require_scratch
-_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full || _fail "mkfs failed"
+_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full
 _scratch_mount
 
 _create_dumpdir_stress_num 4096
diff --git a/tests/xfs/070 b/tests/xfs/070
index 608afe688..d2bd7e2c4 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/070
+++ b/tests/xfs/070
@@ -75,7 +75,6 @@ _require_scratch_nocheck
 _require_command "$KILLALL_PROG" killall
 
 _scratch_mkfs | _filter_mkfs > /dev/null 2> $tmp.mkfs
-test "${PIPESTATUS[0]}" -eq 0 || _fail "mkfs failed"
 
 . $tmp.mkfs # import agcount
 
diff --git a/tests/xfs/072 b/tests/xfs/072
index a90938de5..7ba5ac3e9 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/072
+++ b/tests/xfs/072
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ _require_xfs_io_command "falloc"
 
 _scratch_unmount >/dev/null 2>&1
 
-_scratch_mkfs_xfs >/dev/null	|| _fail "mkfs failed"
+_scratch_mkfs_xfs >/dev/null
 _scratch_mount
 
 # check there's enough freespace on $SCRATCH_MNT ... (1GiB + 1MiB)
diff --git a/tests/xfs/077 b/tests/xfs/077
index 301344d7a..4a4ac4702 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/077
+++ b/tests/xfs/077
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ _fs_has_META_UUID()
 	$XFS_DB_PROG -r -c version $FS | grep -q META_UUID
 }
 
-_scratch_mkfs_xfs -m crc=1 >> $seqres.full 2>&1 || _fail "mkfs failed"
+_scratch_mkfs_xfs -m crc=1 >> $seqres.full 2>&1
 
 ORIG_UUID=`_scratch_xfs_db -c "uuid" | awk '{print $NF}'`
 
diff --git a/tests/xfs/090 b/tests/xfs/090
index 0a3f13f45..dfc10d88b 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/090
+++ b/tests/xfs/090
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ _filter_io()
 _create_scratch()
 {
 	echo "*** mkfs"
-	if ! _scratch_mkfs_xfs >$tmp.out 2>&1
+	if ! _try_scratch_mkfs_xfs >$tmp.out 2>&1
 	then
 		cat $tmp.out
 		echo "failed to mkfs $SCRATCH_DEV"
diff --git a/tests/xfs/094 b/tests/xfs/094
index f9cea67f9..be6a32430 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/094
+++ b/tests/xfs/094
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ _filter_rtinherit_flag()
 _create_scratch()
 {
 	echo "*** mkfs"
-	if ! _scratch_mkfs_xfs >$tmp.out 2>&1
+	if ! _try_scratch_mkfs_xfs >$tmp.out 2>&1
 	then
 		cat $tmp.out
 		echo "failed to mkfs $SCRATCH_DEV"
diff --git a/tests/xfs/103 b/tests/xfs/103
index 72cb0e3ea..b42b6eeac 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/103
+++ b/tests/xfs/103
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ _begin_fstest metadata dir ioctl auto quick
 _create_scratch()
 {
 	echo "*** mkfs"
-	if ! _scratch_mkfs_xfs >$tmp.out 2>&1
+	if ! _try_scratch_mkfs_xfs >$tmp.out 2>&1
 	then
 		cat $tmp.out
 		echo "failed to mkfs $SCRATCH_DEV"
diff --git a/tests/xfs/121 b/tests/xfs/121
index 0210a627c..8a376e90b 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/121
+++ b/tests/xfs/121
@@ -23,8 +23,7 @@ rm -f $tmp.log
 _require_scratch
 
 echo "mkfs"
-_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full 2>&1 \
-    || _fail "mkfs scratch failed"
+_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full 2>&1
 
 echo "mount"
 _scratch_mount
diff --git a/tests/xfs/153 b/tests/xfs/153
index 10ce15117..2ce22b8c4 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/153
+++ b/tests/xfs/153
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ _filter_and_check_blks()
 
 run_tests()
 {
-	_scratch_mkfs_xfs | _filter_mkfs 2>$tmp.mkfs
+	_try_scratch_mkfs_xfs | _filter_mkfs 2>$tmp.mkfs
 	cat $tmp.mkfs >>$seqres.full
 
 	# keep the blocksize and data size for dd later
diff --git a/tests/xfs/168 b/tests/xfs/168
index e8e61dbfa..f187a336f 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/168
+++ b/tests/xfs/168
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ _begin_fstest auto growfs shrinkfs ioctl prealloc stress
 
 create_scratch()
 {
-	_scratch_mkfs_xfs $@ | tee -a $seqres.full | \
+	_try_scratch_mkfs_xfs $@ | tee -a $seqres.full | \
 		_filter_mkfs 2>$tmp.mkfs >/dev/null
 	. $tmp.mkfs
 
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ stress_scratch()
 _require_scratch_xfs_shrink
 _require_xfs_io_command "falloc"
 
-_scratch_mkfs_xfs | tee -a $seqres.full | _filter_mkfs 2>$tmp.mkfs >/dev/null
+_try_scratch_mkfs_xfs | tee -a $seqres.full | _filter_mkfs 2>$tmp.mkfs >/dev/null
 . $tmp.mkfs	# extract blocksize and data size for scratch device
 
 endsize=`expr 125 \* 1048576`	# stop after shrinking this big
diff --git a/tests/xfs/178 b/tests/xfs/178
index e7d1cb0e0..0cc0e3f5b 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/178
+++ b/tests/xfs/178
@@ -52,7 +52,6 @@ _dd_repair_check()
 _require_scratch
 _scratch_xfs_force_no_metadir
 _scratch_mkfs_xfs | _filter_mkfs 2>$tmp.mkfs
-test "${PIPESTATUS[0]}" -eq 0 || _fail "mkfs failed!"
 
 # By executing the followint tmp file, will get on the mkfs options stored in
 # variables
@@ -61,7 +60,7 @@ test "${PIPESTATUS[0]}" -eq 0 || _fail "mkfs failed!"
 # if the default agcount is too small, bump it up and re-mkfs before testing
 if [ $agcount -lt 8 ]; then
 	agcount=8
-	_scratch_mkfs_xfs -dagcount=$agcount >/dev/null 2>&1 \
+	_try_scratch_mkfs_xfs -dagcount=$agcount >/dev/null 2>&1 \
 	        || _notrun "Test requires at least 8 AGs."
 fi
 
@@ -69,8 +68,7 @@ _dd_repair_check $SCRATCH_DEV $sectsz
 
 # smaller AGCOUNT
 let "agcount=$agcount-2"
-_scratch_mkfs_xfs -dagcount=$agcount >/dev/null 2>&1 \
-        || _fail "mkfs failed!"
+_scratch_mkfs_xfs -dagcount=$agcount >/dev/null 2>&1
 
 _dd_repair_check $SCRATCH_DEV $sectsz
 
diff --git a/tests/xfs/181 b/tests/xfs/181
index a20f412f9..f7c986703 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/181
+++ b/tests/xfs/181
@@ -32,8 +32,7 @@ rm -f $tmp.log
 _require_scratch
 
 echo "mkfs"
-_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full 2>&1 \
-    || _fail "mkfs scratch failed"
+_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full 2>&1
 
 echo "mount"
 _scratch_mount
diff --git a/tests/xfs/183 b/tests/xfs/183
index 7b0abdc14..cb12fff90 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/183
+++ b/tests/xfs/183
@@ -18,8 +18,7 @@ _begin_fstest rw other auto quick
 
 # Setup Filesystem
 _require_scratch
-_scratch_mkfs_xfs >/dev/null 2>&1 \
-        || _fail "mkfs failed"
+_scratch_mkfs_xfs >/dev/null 2>&1
 
 _scratch_mount
 
diff --git a/tests/xfs/202 b/tests/xfs/202
index 6708a6ed7..4f27e738e 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/202
+++ b/tests/xfs/202
@@ -24,8 +24,7 @@ _require_scratch_nocheck
 # a single AG filesystem.
 #
 echo "== Creating single-AG filesystem =="
-_scratch_mkfs_xfs -d agcount=1 -d size=$((1024*1024*1024)) >/dev/null 2>&1 \
- || _fail "!!! failed to make filesystem with single AG"
+_scratch_mkfs_xfs -d agcount=1 -d size=$((1024*1024*1024)) >/dev/null 2>&1
 
 echo "== Trying to repair it (should fail) =="
 _scratch_xfs_repair
diff --git a/tests/xfs/244 b/tests/xfs/244
index 8a6337bd1..8d8bb9043 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/244
+++ b/tests/xfs/244
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ _require_projid16bit
 export MOUNT_OPTIONS="-opquota"
 
 # make fs with no projid32bit
-_scratch_mkfs_xfs -i projid32bit=0 >> $seqres.full || _fail "mkfs failed"
+_scratch_mkfs_xfs -i projid32bit=0 >> $seqres.full
 _qmount
 # make sure project quota is supported
 _require_prjquota ${SCRATCH_DEV}
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ fi
 
 #  Do testing on filesystem with projid32bit feature enabled
 _scratch_unmount 2>/dev/null
-_scratch_mkfs_xfs -i projid32bit=1 >> $seqres.full || _fail "mkfs failed"
+_scratch_mkfs_xfs -i projid32bit=1 >> $seqres.full
 _qmount
 mkdir $dir
 
diff --git a/tests/xfs/266 b/tests/xfs/266
index 8c5cc4683..3d0fd61b7 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/266
+++ b/tests/xfs/266
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
     _notrun "requires xfsdump -D"
 fi
 
-_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full || _fail "mkfs failed"
+_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full
 _scratch_mount
 _create_dumpdir_fill
 # ensure file/dir timestamps precede dump timestamp
diff --git a/tests/xfs/267 b/tests/xfs/267
index ca1b0fa20..94fff638e 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/267
+++ b/tests/xfs/267
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ End-of-File
 _require_tape $TAPE_DEV
 _require_attrs trusted
 _require_scratch
-_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full || _fail "mkfs failed"
+_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full
 _scratch_mount
 
 _create_files
diff --git a/tests/xfs/268 b/tests/xfs/268
index 0ddb40a50..e9896316b 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/268
+++ b/tests/xfs/268
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ End-of-File
 _require_tape $TAPE_DEV
 _require_attrs trusted user
 _require_scratch
-_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full || _fail "mkfs failed"
+_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full
 _scratch_mount
 
 _create_files
diff --git a/tests/xfs/281 b/tests/xfs/281
index 43f6333b3..c31d34814 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/281
+++ b/tests/xfs/281
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ _cleanup()
 
 _require_legacy_v2_format
 _require_scratch
-_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full || _fail "mkfs failed"
+_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full
 _scratch_mount
 
 _create_dumpdir_fill
diff --git a/tests/xfs/282 b/tests/xfs/282
index 4a9c53db5..bf75a01af 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/282
+++ b/tests/xfs/282
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ _cleanup()
 
 _require_legacy_v2_format
 _require_scratch
-_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full || _fail "mkfs failed"
+_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full
 _scratch_mount
 
 _create_dumpdir_fill
diff --git a/tests/xfs/283 b/tests/xfs/283
index 8124807f4..94cb5721e 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/283
+++ b/tests/xfs/283
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ _cleanup()
 
 _require_legacy_v2_format
 _require_scratch
-_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full || _fail "mkfs failed"
+_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full
 _scratch_mount
 
 _create_dumpdir_fill
diff --git a/tests/xfs/287 b/tests/xfs/287
index 3d6800a95..4537b040f 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/287
+++ b/tests/xfs/287
@@ -35,8 +35,7 @@ _require_projid32bit
 _require_projid16bit
 
 # create xfs fs without projid32bit ability, will be gained by xfs_admin
-_scratch_mkfs_xfs -i projid32bit=0 -d size=200m >> $seqres.full \
-		|| _fail "mkfs failed"
+_scratch_mkfs_xfs -i projid32bit=0 -d size=200m >> $seqres.full
 _qmount_option "pquota"
 _qmount
 # require project quotas
diff --git a/tests/xfs/296 b/tests/xfs/296
index befbf9dfb..306751bad 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/296
+++ b/tests/xfs/296
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ _cleanup()
 _require_scratch
 _require_command "$SETCAP_PROG" setcap
 _require_command "$GETCAP_PROG" getcap
-_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full || _fail "mkfs failed"
+_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full
 _scratch_mount
 
 mkdir -p $dump_dir
diff --git a/tests/xfs/300 b/tests/xfs/300
index c0b713f0d..3f0dbb9ac 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/300
+++ b/tests/xfs/300
@@ -20,8 +20,7 @@ _require_xfs_nocrc
 getenforce | grep -q "Enforcing\|Permissive" || _notrun "SELinux not enabled"
 [ "$XFS_FSR_PROG" = "" ] && _notrun "xfs_fsr not found"
 
-_scratch_mkfs_xfs -m crc=0 -i size=256 >> $seqres.full 2>&1 \
-			|| _fail "mkfs failed"
+_scratch_mkfs_xfs -m crc=0 -i size=256 >> $seqres.full 2>&1
 
 # Manually mount to avoid fs-wide context set by default in xfstests
 mount $SCRATCH_DEV $SCRATCH_MNT
diff --git a/tests/xfs/301 b/tests/xfs/301
index 986baf29b..cbf273cfa 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/301
+++ b/tests/xfs/301
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ _cleanup()
 
 # Modify as appropriate.
 _require_scratch
-_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full || _fail "mkfs failed"
+_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full
 _scratch_mount
 
 # Extended attributes
diff --git a/tests/xfs/302 b/tests/xfs/302
index 525a72ff8..8a9213fad 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/302
+++ b/tests/xfs/302
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ _cleanup()
 
 # Modify as appropriate.
 _require_scratch
-_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full || _fail "mkfs failed"
+_scratch_mkfs_xfs >>$seqres.full
 _scratch_mount
 
 echo "Silence is golden."
diff --git a/tests/xfs/306 b/tests/xfs/306
index e21a56220..8981cbd72 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/306
+++ b/tests/xfs/306
@@ -30,8 +30,7 @@ unset SCRATCH_RTDEV
 
 # Create a small fs with a large directory block size. We want to fill up the fs
 # quickly and then create multi-fsb dirblocks over fragmented free space.
-_scratch_mkfs_xfs -d size=100m -n size=64k >> $seqres.full 2>&1 || \
-	_notrun 'could not format tiny scratch fs'
+_scratch_mkfs_xfs -d size=100m -n size=64k >> $seqres.full 2>&1
 _scratch_mount
 
 # Fill a source directory with many largish-named files. 1k uuid-named entries
diff --git a/tests/xfs/445 b/tests/xfs/445
index c31b134b8..0ea85ad01 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/445
+++ b/tests/xfs/445
@@ -45,8 +45,7 @@ _check_filestreams_support || _notrun "filestreams not available"
 unset SCRATCH_RTDEV
 
 # use small AGs for frequent stream switching
-_scratch_mkfs_xfs -d agsize=20m,size=2g >> $seqres.full 2>&1 ||
-	_fail "mkfs failed"
+_scratch_mkfs_xfs -d agsize=20m,size=2g >> $seqres.full 2>&1
 _scratch_mount "-o filestreams"
 
 # start background inode reclaim
diff --git a/tests/xfs/448 b/tests/xfs/448
index 88efe2d18..fbd1af383 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/448
+++ b/tests/xfs/448
@@ -33,7 +33,6 @@ rm -f "$seqres.full"
 
 # Format and mount
 _scratch_mkfs | _filter_mkfs > $seqres.full 2> $tmp.mkfs
-test "${PIPESTATUS[0]}" -eq 0 || _fail "mkfs failed"
 _scratch_mount
 
 # Get directory block size
diff --git a/tests/xfs/520 b/tests/xfs/520
index 3895db3a2..3734d8746 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/520
+++ b/tests/xfs/520
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ _require_scratch_nocheck
 unset USE_EXTERNAL
 
 force_crafted_metadata() {
-	_scratch_mkfs_xfs -f $fsdsopt "$4" >> $seqres.full 2>&1 || _fail "mkfs failed"
+	_scratch_mkfs_xfs -f $fsdsopt "$4" >> $seqres.full 2>&1
 	_scratch_xfs_set_metadata_field "$1" "$2" "$3" >> $seqres.full 2>&1
 	local kmsg="xfs/$seq: testing $1=$2 at $(date +"%F %T")"
 	local mounted=0
diff --git a/tests/xfs/596 b/tests/xfs/596
index 21cce047c..12c38c2e9 100755
--- a/tests/xfs/596
+++ b/tests/xfs/596
@@ -39,7 +39,6 @@ _do_die_on_error=message_only
 rtsize=32
 echo -n "Make $rtsize megabyte rt filesystem on SCRATCH_DEV and mount... "
 _scratch_mkfs_xfs -rsize=${rtsize}m | _filter_mkfs 2> "$tmp.mkfs" >> $seqres.full
-test "${PIPESTATUS[0]}" -eq 0 || _fail "mkfs failed"
 
 . $tmp.mkfs
 onemeginblocks=`expr 1048576 / $dbsize`
