diff --git a/Documentation/filesystems/Locking b/Documentation/filesystems/Locking
index 6533807..d819ba1 100644
--- a/Documentation/filesystems/Locking
+++ b/Documentation/filesystems/Locking
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@
 d_compare:	yes		no		no		maybe
 d_delete:	no		yes		no		no
 d_release:	no		no		yes		no
+d_prune:        no              yes             no              no
 d_iput:		no		no		yes		no
 d_dname:	no		no		no		no
 d_automount:	no		no		yes		no
diff --git a/arch/s390/hypfs/inode.c b/arch/s390/hypfs/inode.c
index 6fe874f..481f4f7 100644
--- a/arch/s390/hypfs/inode.c
+++ b/arch/s390/hypfs/inode.c
@@ -108,9 +108,7 @@
 		ret->i_gid = hypfs_info->gid;
 		ret->i_atime = ret->i_mtime = ret->i_ctime = CURRENT_TIME;
 		if (mode & S_IFDIR)
-			ret->i_nlink = 2;
-		else
-			ret->i_nlink = 1;
+			set_nlink(ret, 2);
 	}
 	return ret;
 }
@@ -361,7 +359,7 @@
 	} else if (mode & S_IFDIR) {
 		inode->i_op = &simple_dir_inode_operations;
 		inode->i_fop = &simple_dir_operations;
-		parent->d_inode->i_nlink++;
+		inc_nlink(parent->d_inode);
 	} else
 		BUG();
 	inode->i_private = data;
diff --git a/drivers/mtd/mtdchar.c b/drivers/mtd/mtdchar.c
index f1af222..61086ea 100644
--- a/drivers/mtd/mtdchar.c
+++ b/drivers/mtd/mtdchar.c
@@ -1144,7 +1144,7 @@
 
 	if (mtd_ino) {
 		/* Destroy the inode if it exists */
-		mtd_ino->i_nlink = 0;
+		clear_nlink(mtd_ino);
 		iput(mtd_ino);
 	}
 }
diff --git a/drivers/staging/pohmelfs/inode.c b/drivers/staging/pohmelfs/inode.c
index f3c6060..7a19555 100644
--- a/drivers/staging/pohmelfs/inode.c
+++ b/drivers/staging/pohmelfs/inode.c
@@ -1197,7 +1197,7 @@
 void pohmelfs_fill_inode(struct inode *inode, struct netfs_inode_info *info)
 {
 	inode->i_mode = info->mode;
-	inode->i_nlink = info->nlink;
+	set_nlink(inode, info->nlink);
 	inode->i_uid = info->uid;
 	inode->i_gid = info->gid;
 	inode->i_blocks = info->blocks;
diff --git a/fs/9p/vfs_inode.c b/fs/9p/vfs_inode.c
index b5a1076..879ed88 100644
--- a/fs/9p/vfs_inode.c
+++ b/fs/9p/vfs_inode.c
@@ -1138,7 +1138,7 @@
 	struct v9fs_session_info *v9ses = sb->s_fs_info;
 	struct v9fs_inode *v9inode = V9FS_I(inode);
 
-	inode->i_nlink = 1;
+	set_nlink(inode, 1);
 
 	inode->i_atime.tv_sec = stat->atime;
 	inode->i_mtime.tv_sec = stat->mtime;
@@ -1164,7 +1164,7 @@
 			/* HARDLINKCOUNT %u */
 			sscanf(ext, "%13s %u", tag_name, &i_nlink);
 			if (!strncmp(tag_name, "HARDLINKCOUNT", 13))
-				inode->i_nlink = i_nlink;
+				set_nlink(inode, i_nlink);
 		}
 	}
 	mode = stat->mode & S_IALLUGO;
diff --git a/fs/9p/vfs_inode_dotl.c b/fs/9p/vfs_inode_dotl.c
index aded79f..0b5745e 100644
--- a/fs/9p/vfs_inode_dotl.c
+++ b/fs/9p/vfs_inode_dotl.c
@@ -606,7 +606,7 @@
 		inode->i_ctime.tv_nsec = stat->st_ctime_nsec;
 		inode->i_uid = stat->st_uid;
 		inode->i_gid = stat->st_gid;
-		inode->i_nlink = stat->st_nlink;
+		set_nlink(inode, stat->st_nlink);
 
 		mode = stat->st_mode & S_IALLUGO;
 		mode |= inode->i_mode & ~S_IALLUGO;
@@ -632,7 +632,7 @@
 		if (stat->st_result_mask & P9_STATS_GID)
 			inode->i_gid = stat->st_gid;
 		if (stat->st_result_mask & P9_STATS_NLINK)
-			inode->i_nlink = stat->st_nlink;
+			set_nlink(inode, stat->st_nlink);
 		if (stat->st_result_mask & P9_STATS_MODE) {
 			inode->i_mode = stat->st_mode;
 			if ((S_ISBLK(inode->i_mode)) ||
diff --git a/fs/adfs/inode.c b/fs/adfs/inode.c
index d5250c5..1dab6a1 100644
--- a/fs/adfs/inode.c
+++ b/fs/adfs/inode.c
@@ -247,7 +247,7 @@
 	inode->i_gid	 = ADFS_SB(sb)->s_gid;
 	inode->i_ino	 = obj->file_id;
 	inode->i_size	 = obj->size;
-	inode->i_nlink	 = 2;
+	set_nlink(inode, 2);
 	inode->i_blocks	 = (inode->i_size + sb->s_blocksize - 1) >>
 			    sb->s_blocksize_bits;
 
diff --git a/fs/affs/amigaffs.c b/fs/affs/amigaffs.c
index 3a4557e..de37ec8 100644
--- a/fs/affs/amigaffs.c
+++ b/fs/affs/amigaffs.c
@@ -215,7 +215,7 @@
 				break;
 			default:
 				if (!AFFS_TAIL(sb, bh)->link_chain)
-					inode->i_nlink = 1;
+					set_nlink(inode, 1);
 			}
 			affs_free_block(sb, link_ino);
 			goto done;
@@ -316,7 +316,7 @@
 	if (inode->i_nlink > 1)
 		retval = affs_remove_link(dentry);
 	else
-		inode->i_nlink = 0;
+		clear_nlink(inode);
 	affs_unlock_link(inode);
 	inode->i_ctime = CURRENT_TIME_SEC;
 	mark_inode_dirty(inode);
diff --git a/fs/affs/inode.c b/fs/affs/inode.c
index 5d82890..88a4b0b 100644
--- a/fs/affs/inode.c
+++ b/fs/affs/inode.c
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@
 	prot = be32_to_cpu(tail->protect);
 
 	inode->i_size = 0;
-	inode->i_nlink = 1;
+	set_nlink(inode, 1);
 	inode->i_mode = 0;
 	AFFS_I(inode)->i_extcnt = 1;
 	AFFS_I(inode)->i_ext_last = ~1;
@@ -137,7 +137,7 @@
 					       sbi->s_hashsize + 1;
 		}
 		if (tail->link_chain)
-			inode->i_nlink = 2;
+			set_nlink(inode, 2);
 		inode->i_mapping->a_ops = (sbi->s_flags & SF_OFS) ? &affs_aops_ofs : &affs_aops;
 		inode->i_op = &affs_file_inode_operations;
 		inode->i_fop = &affs_file_operations;
@@ -304,7 +304,7 @@
 	inode->i_uid     = current_fsuid();
 	inode->i_gid     = current_fsgid();
 	inode->i_ino     = block;
-	inode->i_nlink   = 1;
+	set_nlink(inode, 1);
 	inode->i_mtime   = inode->i_atime = inode->i_ctime = CURRENT_TIME_SEC;
 	atomic_set(&AFFS_I(inode)->i_opencnt, 0);
 	AFFS_I(inode)->i_blkcnt = 0;
@@ -387,7 +387,7 @@
 		AFFS_TAIL(sb, inode_bh)->link_chain = cpu_to_be32(block);
 		affs_adjust_checksum(inode_bh, block - be32_to_cpu(chain));
 		mark_buffer_dirty_inode(inode_bh, inode);
-		inode->i_nlink = 2;
+		set_nlink(inode, 2);
 		ihold(inode);
 	}
 	affs_fix_checksum(sb, bh);
diff --git a/fs/affs/namei.c b/fs/affs/namei.c
index e3e9efc..780a11d 100644
--- a/fs/affs/namei.c
+++ b/fs/affs/namei.c
@@ -277,7 +277,7 @@
 	inode->i_mapping->a_ops = (AFFS_SB(sb)->s_flags & SF_OFS) ? &affs_aops_ofs : &affs_aops;
 	error = affs_add_entry(dir, inode, dentry, ST_FILE);
 	if (error) {
-		inode->i_nlink = 0;
+		clear_nlink(inode);
 		iput(inode);
 		return error;
 	}
@@ -305,7 +305,7 @@
 
 	error = affs_add_entry(dir, inode, dentry, ST_USERDIR);
 	if (error) {
-		inode->i_nlink = 0;
+		clear_nlink(inode);
 		mark_inode_dirty(inode);
 		iput(inode);
 		return error;
@@ -392,7 +392,7 @@
 	return 0;
 
 err:
-	inode->i_nlink = 0;
+	clear_nlink(inode);
 	mark_inode_dirty(inode);
 	iput(inode);
 	return error;
diff --git a/fs/afs/fsclient.c b/fs/afs/fsclient.c
index 346e328..2f213d1 100644
--- a/fs/afs/fsclient.c
+++ b/fs/afs/fsclient.c
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@
 			vnode->vfs_inode.i_uid = status->owner;
 			vnode->vfs_inode.i_gid = status->group;
 			vnode->vfs_inode.i_generation = vnode->fid.unique;
-			vnode->vfs_inode.i_nlink = status->nlink;
+			set_nlink(&vnode->vfs_inode, status->nlink);
 
 			mode = vnode->vfs_inode.i_mode;
 			mode &= ~S_IALLUGO;
diff --git a/fs/afs/inode.c b/fs/afs/inode.c
index 0fdab6e..d890ae3 100644
--- a/fs/afs/inode.c
+++ b/fs/afs/inode.c
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@
 		fscache_attr_changed(vnode->cache);
 #endif
 
-	inode->i_nlink		= vnode->status.nlink;
+	set_nlink(inode, vnode->status.nlink);
 	inode->i_uid		= vnode->status.owner;
 	inode->i_gid		= 0;
 	inode->i_size		= vnode->status.size;
@@ -174,7 +174,7 @@
 	inode->i_size		= 0;
 	inode->i_mode		= S_IFDIR | S_IRUGO | S_IXUGO;
 	inode->i_op		= &afs_autocell_inode_operations;
-	inode->i_nlink		= 2;
+	set_nlink(inode, 2);
 	inode->i_uid		= 0;
 	inode->i_gid		= 0;
 	inode->i_ctime.tv_sec	= get_seconds();
diff --git a/fs/autofs4/inode.c b/fs/autofs4/inode.c
index 180fa24..8179f1a 100644
--- a/fs/autofs4/inode.c
+++ b/fs/autofs4/inode.c
@@ -342,7 +342,7 @@
 	inode->i_ino = get_next_ino();
 
 	if (S_ISDIR(mode)) {
-		inode->i_nlink = 2;
+		set_nlink(inode, 2);
 		inode->i_op = &autofs4_dir_inode_operations;
 		inode->i_fop = &autofs4_dir_operations;
 	} else if (S_ISLNK(mode)) {
diff --git a/fs/befs/linuxvfs.c b/fs/befs/linuxvfs.c
index 720d885..8342ca6 100644
--- a/fs/befs/linuxvfs.c
+++ b/fs/befs/linuxvfs.c
@@ -357,7 +357,7 @@
 	inode->i_gid = befs_sb->mount_opts.use_gid ?
 	    befs_sb->mount_opts.gid : (gid_t) fs32_to_cpu(sb, raw_inode->gid);
 
-	inode->i_nlink = 1;
+	set_nlink(inode, 1);
 
 	/*
 	 * BEFS's time is 64 bits, but current VFS is 32 bits...
diff --git a/fs/bfs/dir.c b/fs/bfs/dir.c
index b14cebf..9cc07401 100644
--- a/fs/bfs/dir.c
+++ b/fs/bfs/dir.c
@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@
 		printf("unlinking non-existent file %s:%lu (nlink=%d)\n",
 					inode->i_sb->s_id, inode->i_ino,
 					inode->i_nlink);
-		inode->i_nlink = 1;
+		set_nlink(inode, 1);
 	}
 	de->ino = 0;
 	mark_buffer_dirty_inode(bh, dir);
diff --git a/fs/bfs/inode.c b/fs/bfs/inode.c
index a8e37f8..697af5b 100644
--- a/fs/bfs/inode.c
+++ b/fs/bfs/inode.c
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@
 	BFS_I(inode)->i_dsk_ino = le16_to_cpu(di->i_ino);
 	inode->i_uid =  le32_to_cpu(di->i_uid);
 	inode->i_gid =  le32_to_cpu(di->i_gid);
-	inode->i_nlink =  le32_to_cpu(di->i_nlink);
+	set_nlink(inode, le32_to_cpu(di->i_nlink));
 	inode->i_size = BFS_FILESIZE(di);
 	inode->i_blocks = BFS_FILEBLOCKS(di);
 	inode->i_atime.tv_sec =  le32_to_cpu(di->i_atime);
diff --git a/fs/binfmt_misc.c b/fs/binfmt_misc.c
index ba1a1ae..1e9edbd 100644
--- a/fs/binfmt_misc.c
+++ b/fs/binfmt_misc.c
@@ -521,7 +521,7 @@
 	write_unlock(&entries_lock);
 
 	if (dentry) {
-		dentry->d_inode->i_nlink--;
+		drop_nlink(dentry->d_inode);
 		d_drop(dentry);
 		dput(dentry);
 		simple_release_fs(&bm_mnt, &entry_count);
diff --git a/fs/btrfs/delayed-inode.c b/fs/btrfs/delayed-inode.c
index b52c672..ae4d9cd 100644
--- a/fs/btrfs/delayed-inode.c
+++ b/fs/btrfs/delayed-inode.c
@@ -1641,7 +1641,7 @@
 	inode->i_gid = btrfs_stack_inode_gid(inode_item);
 	btrfs_i_size_write(inode, btrfs_stack_inode_size(inode_item));
 	inode->i_mode = btrfs_stack_inode_mode(inode_item);
-	inode->i_nlink = btrfs_stack_inode_nlink(inode_item);
+	set_nlink(inode, btrfs_stack_inode_nlink(inode_item));
 	inode_set_bytes(inode, btrfs_stack_inode_nbytes(inode_item));
 	BTRFS_I(inode)->generation = btrfs_stack_inode_generation(inode_item);
 	BTRFS_I(inode)->sequence = btrfs_stack_inode_sequence(inode_item);
diff --git a/fs/btrfs/disk-io.c b/fs/btrfs/disk-io.c
index 07b3ac6..07ea918 100644
--- a/fs/btrfs/disk-io.c
+++ b/fs/btrfs/disk-io.c
@@ -1705,7 +1705,7 @@
 	sb->s_bdi = &fs_info->bdi;
 
 	fs_info->btree_inode->i_ino = BTRFS_BTREE_INODE_OBJECTID;
-	fs_info->btree_inode->i_nlink = 1;
+	set_nlink(fs_info->btree_inode, 1);
 	/*
 	 * we set the i_size on the btree inode to the max possible int.
 	 * the real end of the address space is determined by all of
diff --git a/fs/btrfs/inode.c b/fs/btrfs/inode.c
index b2d004a..75686a6 100644
--- a/fs/btrfs/inode.c
+++ b/fs/btrfs/inode.c
@@ -2534,7 +2534,7 @@
 	inode_item = btrfs_item_ptr(leaf, path->slots[0],
 				    struct btrfs_inode_item);
 	inode->i_mode = btrfs_inode_mode(leaf, inode_item);
-	inode->i_nlink = btrfs_inode_nlink(leaf, inode_item);
+	set_nlink(inode, btrfs_inode_nlink(leaf, inode_item));
 	inode->i_uid = btrfs_inode_uid(leaf, inode_item);
 	inode->i_gid = btrfs_inode_gid(leaf, inode_item);
 	btrfs_i_size_write(inode, btrfs_inode_size(leaf, inode_item));
@@ -6728,7 +6728,7 @@
 	inode->i_op = &btrfs_dir_inode_operations;
 	inode->i_fop = &btrfs_dir_file_operations;
 
-	inode->i_nlink = 1;
+	set_nlink(inode, 1);
 	btrfs_i_size_write(inode, 0);
 
 	err = btrfs_update_inode(trans, new_root, inode);
diff --git a/fs/btrfs/tree-log.c b/fs/btrfs/tree-log.c
index 786639f..0618aa3 100644
--- a/fs/btrfs/tree-log.c
+++ b/fs/btrfs/tree-log.c
@@ -1030,7 +1030,7 @@
 	}
 	btrfs_release_path(path);
 	if (nlink != inode->i_nlink) {
-		inode->i_nlink = nlink;
+		set_nlink(inode, nlink);
 		btrfs_update_inode(trans, root, inode);
 	}
 	BTRFS_I(inode)->index_cnt = (u64)-1;
diff --git a/fs/ceph/caps.c b/fs/ceph/caps.c
index b8731bf..15b21e3 100644
--- a/fs/ceph/caps.c
+++ b/fs/ceph/caps.c
@@ -2363,7 +2363,7 @@
 	}
 
 	if ((issued & CEPH_CAP_LINK_EXCL) == 0)
-		inode->i_nlink = le32_to_cpu(grant->nlink);
+		set_nlink(inode, le32_to_cpu(grant->nlink));
 
 	if ((issued & CEPH_CAP_XATTR_EXCL) == 0 && grant->xattr_len) {
 		int len = le32_to_cpu(grant->xattr_len);
diff --git a/fs/ceph/inode.c b/fs/ceph/inode.c
index 5dde7d51..1616a0d 100644
--- a/fs/ceph/inode.c
+++ b/fs/ceph/inode.c
@@ -618,7 +618,7 @@
 	}
 
 	if ((issued & CEPH_CAP_LINK_EXCL) == 0)
-		inode->i_nlink = le32_to_cpu(info->nlink);
+		set_nlink(inode, le32_to_cpu(info->nlink));
 
 	/* be careful with mtime, atime, size */
 	ceph_decode_timespec(&atime, &info->atime);
diff --git a/fs/cifs/inode.c b/fs/cifs/inode.c
index 2c50bd2..e851d5b 100644
--- a/fs/cifs/inode.c
+++ b/fs/cifs/inode.c
@@ -132,7 +132,7 @@
 	inode->i_mtime = fattr->cf_mtime;
 	inode->i_ctime = fattr->cf_ctime;
 	inode->i_rdev = fattr->cf_rdev;
-	inode->i_nlink = fattr->cf_nlink;
+	set_nlink(inode, fattr->cf_nlink);
 	inode->i_uid = fattr->cf_uid;
 	inode->i_gid = fattr->cf_gid;
 
@@ -905,7 +905,7 @@
 	if (rc && tcon->ipc) {
 		cFYI(1, "ipc connection - fake read inode");
 		inode->i_mode |= S_IFDIR;
-		inode->i_nlink = 2;
+		set_nlink(inode, 2);
 		inode->i_op = &cifs_ipc_inode_ops;
 		inode->i_fop = &simple_dir_operations;
 		inode->i_uid = cifs_sb->mnt_uid;
@@ -1367,7 +1367,7 @@
 		 /* setting nlink not necessary except in cases where we
 		  * failed to get it from the server or was set bogus */
 		if ((direntry->d_inode) && (direntry->d_inode->i_nlink < 2))
-				direntry->d_inode->i_nlink = 2;
+			set_nlink(direntry->d_inode, 2);
 
 		mode &= ~current_umask();
 		/* must turn on setgid bit if parent dir has it */
diff --git a/fs/cifs/link.c b/fs/cifs/link.c
index 8693b5d..6b0e064 100644
--- a/fs/cifs/link.c
+++ b/fs/cifs/link.c
@@ -433,7 +433,7 @@
 	if (old_file->d_inode) {
 		cifsInode = CIFS_I(old_file->d_inode);
 		if (rc == 0) {
-			old_file->d_inode->i_nlink++;
+			inc_nlink(old_file->d_inode);
 /* BB should we make this contingent on superblock flag NOATIME? */
 /*			old_file->d_inode->i_ctime = CURRENT_TIME;*/
 			/* parent dir timestamps will update from srv
diff --git a/fs/coda/coda_linux.c b/fs/coda/coda_linux.c
index 2bdbcc1..854ace7 100644
--- a/fs/coda/coda_linux.c
+++ b/fs/coda/coda_linux.c
@@ -104,7 +104,7 @@
         if (attr->va_gid != -1)
 	        inode->i_gid = (gid_t) attr->va_gid;
 	if (attr->va_nlink != -1)
-	        inode->i_nlink = attr->va_nlink;
+		set_nlink(inode, attr->va_nlink);
 	if (attr->va_size != -1)
 	        inode->i_size = attr->va_size;
 	if (attr->va_size != -1)
diff --git a/fs/coda/dir.c b/fs/coda/dir.c
index 0239433..28e7e13 100644
--- a/fs/coda/dir.c
+++ b/fs/coda/dir.c
@@ -340,7 +340,7 @@
 	if (!error) {
 		/* VFS may delete the child */
 		if (de->d_inode)
-		    de->d_inode->i_nlink = 0;
+			clear_nlink(de->d_inode);
 
 		/* fix the link count of the parent */
 		coda_dir_drop_nlink(dir);
diff --git a/fs/dcache.c b/fs/dcache.c
index a88948b..274f13e 100644
--- a/fs/dcache.c
+++ b/fs/dcache.c
@@ -225,7 +225,7 @@
 }
 
 /*
- * dentry_lru_(add|del|move_tail) must be called with d_lock held.
+ * dentry_lru_(add|del|prune|move_tail) must be called with d_lock held.
  */
 static void dentry_lru_add(struct dentry *dentry)
 {
@@ -245,6 +245,9 @@
 	dentry_stat.nr_unused--;
 }
 
+/*
+ * Remove a dentry with references from the LRU.
+ */
 static void dentry_lru_del(struct dentry *dentry)
 {
 	if (!list_empty(&dentry->d_lru)) {
@@ -254,6 +257,23 @@
 	}
 }
 
+/*
+ * Remove a dentry that is unreferenced and about to be pruned
+ * (unhashed and destroyed) from the LRU, and inform the file system.
+ * This wrapper should be called _prior_ to unhashing a victim dentry.
+ */
+static void dentry_lru_prune(struct dentry *dentry)
+{
+	if (!list_empty(&dentry->d_lru)) {
+		if (dentry->d_flags & DCACHE_OP_PRUNE)
+			dentry->d_op->d_prune(dentry);
+
+		spin_lock(&dcache_lru_lock);
+		__dentry_lru_del(dentry);
+		spin_unlock(&dcache_lru_lock);
+	}
+}
+
 static void dentry_lru_move_tail(struct dentry *dentry)
 {
 	spin_lock(&dcache_lru_lock);
@@ -403,8 +423,12 @@
 
 	if (ref)
 		dentry->d_count--;
-	/* if dentry was on the d_lru list delete it from there */
-	dentry_lru_del(dentry);
+	/*
+	 * if dentry was on the d_lru list delete it from there.
+	 * inform the fs via d_prune that this dentry is about to be
+	 * unhashed and destroyed.
+	 */
+	dentry_lru_prune(dentry);
 	/* if it was on the hash then remove it */
 	__d_drop(dentry);
 	return d_kill(dentry, parent);
@@ -854,8 +878,12 @@
 		do {
 			struct inode *inode;
 
-			/* detach from the system */
-			dentry_lru_del(dentry);
+			/*
+			 * remove the dentry from the lru, and inform
+			 * the fs that this dentry is about to be
+			 * unhashed and destroyed.
+			 */
+			dentry_lru_prune(dentry);
 			__d_shrink(dentry);
 
 			if (dentry->d_count != 0) {
@@ -1283,6 +1311,8 @@
 		dentry->d_flags |= DCACHE_OP_REVALIDATE;
 	if (op->d_delete)
 		dentry->d_flags |= DCACHE_OP_DELETE;
+	if (op->d_prune)
+		dentry->d_flags |= DCACHE_OP_PRUNE;
 
 }
 EXPORT_SYMBOL(d_set_d_op);
diff --git a/fs/devpts/inode.c b/fs/devpts/inode.c
index 2f27e57..d5d5297 100644
--- a/fs/devpts/inode.c
+++ b/fs/devpts/inode.c
@@ -307,7 +307,7 @@
 	inode->i_mode = S_IFDIR | S_IRUGO | S_IXUGO | S_IWUSR;
 	inode->i_op = &simple_dir_inode_operations;
 	inode->i_fop = &simple_dir_operations;
-	inode->i_nlink = 2;
+	set_nlink(inode, 2);
 
 	s->s_root = d_alloc_root(inode);
 	if (s->s_root)
@@ -549,7 +549,7 @@
 
 	dentry = d_find_alias(inode);
 
-	inode->i_nlink--;
+	drop_nlink(inode);
 	d_delete(dentry);
 	dput(dentry);	/* d_alloc_name() in devpts_pty_new() */
 	dput(dentry);		/* d_find_alias above */
diff --git a/fs/ecryptfs/inode.c b/fs/ecryptfs/inode.c
index 11f8582..a36d327 100644
--- a/fs/ecryptfs/inode.c
+++ b/fs/ecryptfs/inode.c
@@ -474,8 +474,8 @@
 		goto out_lock;
 	fsstack_copy_attr_times(dir, lower_dir_dentry->d_inode);
 	fsstack_copy_inode_size(dir, lower_dir_dentry->d_inode);
-	old_dentry->d_inode->i_nlink =
-		ecryptfs_inode_to_lower(old_dentry->d_inode)->i_nlink;
+	set_nlink(old_dentry->d_inode,
+		  ecryptfs_inode_to_lower(old_dentry->d_inode)->i_nlink);
 	i_size_write(new_dentry->d_inode, file_size_save);
 out_lock:
 	unlock_dir(lower_dir_dentry);
@@ -499,8 +499,8 @@
 		goto out_unlock;
 	}
 	fsstack_copy_attr_times(dir, lower_dir_inode);
-	dentry->d_inode->i_nlink =
-		ecryptfs_inode_to_lower(dentry->d_inode)->i_nlink;
+	set_nlink(dentry->d_inode,
+		  ecryptfs_inode_to_lower(dentry->d_inode)->i_nlink);
 	dentry->d_inode->i_ctime = dir->i_ctime;
 	d_drop(dentry);
 out_unlock:
@@ -565,7 +565,7 @@
 		goto out;
 	fsstack_copy_attr_times(dir, lower_dir_dentry->d_inode);
 	fsstack_copy_inode_size(dir, lower_dir_dentry->d_inode);
-	dir->i_nlink = lower_dir_dentry->d_inode->i_nlink;
+	set_nlink(dir, lower_dir_dentry->d_inode->i_nlink);
 out:
 	unlock_dir(lower_dir_dentry);
 	if (!dentry->d_inode)
@@ -588,7 +588,7 @@
 	if (!rc && dentry->d_inode)
 		clear_nlink(dentry->d_inode);
 	fsstack_copy_attr_times(dir, lower_dir_dentry->d_inode);
-	dir->i_nlink = lower_dir_dentry->d_inode->i_nlink;
+	set_nlink(dir, lower_dir_dentry->d_inode->i_nlink);
 	unlock_dir(lower_dir_dentry);
 	if (!rc)
 		d_drop(dentry);
diff --git a/fs/efs/inode.c b/fs/efs/inode.c
index 9c13412..bc84f36 100644
--- a/fs/efs/inode.c
+++ b/fs/efs/inode.c
@@ -96,7 +96,7 @@
 	efs_inode = (struct efs_dinode *) (bh->b_data + offset);
     
 	inode->i_mode  = be16_to_cpu(efs_inode->di_mode);
-	inode->i_nlink = be16_to_cpu(efs_inode->di_nlink);
+	set_nlink(inode, be16_to_cpu(efs_inode->di_nlink));
 	inode->i_uid   = (uid_t)be16_to_cpu(efs_inode->di_uid);
 	inode->i_gid   = (gid_t)be16_to_cpu(efs_inode->di_gid);
 	inode->i_size  = be32_to_cpu(efs_inode->di_size);
diff --git a/fs/exofs/inode.c b/fs/exofs/inode.c
index 3e5f3a6..f6dbf77 100644
--- a/fs/exofs/inode.c
+++ b/fs/exofs/inode.c
@@ -1165,7 +1165,7 @@
 	inode->i_mode = le16_to_cpu(fcb.i_mode);
 	inode->i_uid = le32_to_cpu(fcb.i_uid);
 	inode->i_gid = le32_to_cpu(fcb.i_gid);
-	inode->i_nlink = le16_to_cpu(fcb.i_links_count);
+	set_nlink(inode, le16_to_cpu(fcb.i_links_count));
 	inode->i_ctime.tv_sec = (signed)le32_to_cpu(fcb.i_ctime);
 	inode->i_atime.tv_sec = (signed)le32_to_cpu(fcb.i_atime);
 	inode->i_mtime.tv_sec = (signed)le32_to_cpu(fcb.i_mtime);
diff --git a/fs/ext2/ialloc.c b/fs/ext2/ialloc.c
index ee9ed31..c4e81df 100644
--- a/fs/ext2/ialloc.c
+++ b/fs/ext2/ialloc.c
@@ -601,7 +601,7 @@
 fail_drop:
 	dquot_drop(inode);
 	inode->i_flags |= S_NOQUOTA;
-	inode->i_nlink = 0;
+	clear_nlink(inode);
 	unlock_new_inode(inode);
 	iput(inode);
 	return ERR_PTR(err);
diff --git a/fs/ext2/inode.c b/fs/ext2/inode.c
index a8a58f6..91a6945 100644
--- a/fs/ext2/inode.c
+++ b/fs/ext2/inode.c
@@ -1321,7 +1321,7 @@
 		inode->i_uid |= le16_to_cpu(raw_inode->i_uid_high) << 16;
 		inode->i_gid |= le16_to_cpu(raw_inode->i_gid_high) << 16;
 	}
-	inode->i_nlink = le16_to_cpu(raw_inode->i_links_count);
+	set_nlink(inode, le16_to_cpu(raw_inode->i_links_count));
 	inode->i_size = le32_to_cpu(raw_inode->i_size);
 	inode->i_atime.tv_sec = (signed)le32_to_cpu(raw_inode->i_atime);
 	inode->i_ctime.tv_sec = (signed)le32_to_cpu(raw_inode->i_ctime);
diff --git a/fs/ext3/ialloc.c b/fs/ext3/ialloc.c
index 635bd8c..5c866e0 100644
--- a/fs/ext3/ialloc.c
+++ b/fs/ext3/ialloc.c
@@ -582,7 +582,7 @@
 fail_drop:
 	dquot_drop(inode);
 	inode->i_flags |= S_NOQUOTA;
-	inode->i_nlink = 0;
+	clear_nlink(inode);
 	unlock_new_inode(inode);
 	iput(inode);
 	brelse(bitmap_bh);
diff --git a/fs/ext3/inode.c b/fs/ext3/inode.c
index 12661e1..85fe655 100644
--- a/fs/ext3/inode.c
+++ b/fs/ext3/inode.c
@@ -2899,7 +2899,7 @@
 		inode->i_uid |= le16_to_cpu(raw_inode->i_uid_high) << 16;
 		inode->i_gid |= le16_to_cpu(raw_inode->i_gid_high) << 16;
 	}
-	inode->i_nlink = le16_to_cpu(raw_inode->i_links_count);
+	set_nlink(inode, le16_to_cpu(raw_inode->i_links_count));
 	inode->i_size = le32_to_cpu(raw_inode->i_size);
 	inode->i_atime.tv_sec = (signed)le32_to_cpu(raw_inode->i_atime);
 	inode->i_ctime.tv_sec = (signed)le32_to_cpu(raw_inode->i_ctime);
diff --git a/fs/ext3/namei.c b/fs/ext3/namei.c
index 0629e09..642dc6d 100644
--- a/fs/ext3/namei.c
+++ b/fs/ext3/namei.c
@@ -1821,7 +1821,7 @@
 	de->name_len = 2;
 	strcpy (de->name, "..");
 	ext3_set_de_type(dir->i_sb, de, S_IFDIR);
-	inode->i_nlink = 2;
+	set_nlink(inode, 2);
 	BUFFER_TRACE(dir_block, "call ext3_journal_dirty_metadata");
 	err = ext3_journal_dirty_metadata(handle, dir_block);
 	if (err)
@@ -1833,7 +1833,7 @@
 
 	if (err) {
 out_clear_inode:
-		inode->i_nlink = 0;
+		clear_nlink(inode);
 		unlock_new_inode(inode);
 		ext3_mark_inode_dirty(handle, inode);
 		iput (inode);
@@ -2170,7 +2170,7 @@
 		ext3_warning (inode->i_sb, "ext3_unlink",
 			      "Deleting nonexistent file (%lu), %d",
 			      inode->i_ino, inode->i_nlink);
-		inode->i_nlink = 1;
+		set_nlink(inode, 1);
 	}
 	retval = ext3_delete_entry(handle, dir, de, bh);
 	if (retval)
diff --git a/fs/ext4/ialloc.c b/fs/ext4/ialloc.c
index 612bec2..00beb4f 100644
--- a/fs/ext4/ialloc.c
+++ b/fs/ext4/ialloc.c
@@ -948,7 +948,7 @@
 fail_drop:
 	dquot_drop(inode);
 	inode->i_flags |= S_NOQUOTA;
-	inode->i_nlink = 0;
+	clear_nlink(inode);
 	unlock_new_inode(inode);
 	iput(inode);
 	brelse(inode_bitmap_bh);
diff --git a/fs/ext4/inode.c b/fs/ext4/inode.c
index f2419a15..cc5a6da 100644
--- a/fs/ext4/inode.c
+++ b/fs/ext4/inode.c
@@ -3791,7 +3791,7 @@
 		inode->i_uid |= le16_to_cpu(raw_inode->i_uid_high) << 16;
 		inode->i_gid |= le16_to_cpu(raw_inode->i_gid_high) << 16;
 	}
-	inode->i_nlink = le16_to_cpu(raw_inode->i_links_count);
+	set_nlink(inode, le16_to_cpu(raw_inode->i_links_count));
 
 	ext4_clear_state_flags(ei);	/* Only relevant on 32-bit archs */
 	ei->i_dir_start_lookup = 0;
diff --git a/fs/ext4/migrate.c b/fs/ext4/migrate.c
index f729377..16ac228 100644
--- a/fs/ext4/migrate.c
+++ b/fs/ext4/migrate.c
@@ -481,7 +481,7 @@
 	 * Set the i_nlink to zero so it will be deleted later
 	 * when we drop inode reference.
 	 */
-	tmp_inode->i_nlink = 0;
+	clear_nlink(tmp_inode);
 
 	ext4_ext_tree_init(handle, tmp_inode);
 	ext4_orphan_add(handle, tmp_inode);
diff --git a/fs/ext4/namei.c b/fs/ext4/namei.c
index 2a75eed..aa4c782 100644
--- a/fs/ext4/namei.c
+++ b/fs/ext4/namei.c
@@ -1694,7 +1694,7 @@
 	if (is_dx(inode) && inode->i_nlink > 1) {
 		/* limit is 16-bit i_links_count */
 		if (inode->i_nlink >= EXT4_LINK_MAX || inode->i_nlink == 2) {
-			inode->i_nlink = 1;
+			set_nlink(inode, 1);
 			EXT4_SET_RO_COMPAT_FEATURE(inode->i_sb,
 					      EXT4_FEATURE_RO_COMPAT_DIR_NLINK);
 		}
@@ -1860,7 +1860,7 @@
 	de->name_len = 2;
 	strcpy(de->name, "..");
 	ext4_set_de_type(dir->i_sb, de, S_IFDIR);
-	inode->i_nlink = 2;
+	set_nlink(inode, 2);
 	BUFFER_TRACE(dir_block, "call ext4_handle_dirty_metadata");
 	err = ext4_handle_dirty_metadata(handle, inode, dir_block);
 	if (err)
@@ -2213,7 +2213,7 @@
 		ext4_warning(inode->i_sb,
 			     "Deleting nonexistent file (%lu), %d",
 			     inode->i_ino, inode->i_nlink);
-		inode->i_nlink = 1;
+		set_nlink(inode, 1);
 	}
 	retval = ext4_delete_entry(handle, dir, de, bh);
 	if (retval)
@@ -2538,7 +2538,7 @@
 		if (new_inode) {
 			/* checked empty_dir above, can't have another parent,
 			 * ext4_dec_count() won't work for many-linked dirs */
-			new_inode->i_nlink = 0;
+			clear_nlink(new_inode);
 		} else {
 			ext4_inc_count(handle, new_dir);
 			ext4_update_dx_flag(new_dir);
diff --git a/fs/fat/inode.c b/fs/fat/inode.c
index 1726d73..808cac7 100644
--- a/fs/fat/inode.c
+++ b/fs/fat/inode.c
@@ -379,7 +379,7 @@
 			return error;
 		MSDOS_I(inode)->mmu_private = inode->i_size;
 
-		inode->i_nlink = fat_subdirs(inode);
+		set_nlink(inode, fat_subdirs(inode));
 	} else { /* not a directory */
 		inode->i_generation |= 1;
 		inode->i_mode = fat_make_mode(sbi, de->attr,
@@ -1233,7 +1233,7 @@
 	fat_save_attrs(inode, ATTR_DIR);
 	inode->i_mtime.tv_sec = inode->i_atime.tv_sec = inode->i_ctime.tv_sec = 0;
 	inode->i_mtime.tv_nsec = inode->i_atime.tv_nsec = inode->i_ctime.tv_nsec = 0;
-	inode->i_nlink = fat_subdirs(inode)+2;
+	set_nlink(inode, fat_subdirs(inode)+2);
 
 	return 0;
 }
diff --git a/fs/fat/namei_msdos.c b/fs/fat/namei_msdos.c
index 66e83b8..216b419 100644
--- a/fs/fat/namei_msdos.c
+++ b/fs/fat/namei_msdos.c
@@ -387,7 +387,7 @@
 		/* the directory was completed, just return a error */
 		goto out;
 	}
-	inode->i_nlink = 2;
+	set_nlink(inode, 2);
 	inode->i_mtime = inode->i_atime = inode->i_ctime = ts;
 	/* timestamp is already written, so mark_inode_dirty() is unneeded. */
 
diff --git a/fs/fat/namei_vfat.c b/fs/fat/namei_vfat.c
index bb3f29c..a87a656 100644
--- a/fs/fat/namei_vfat.c
+++ b/fs/fat/namei_vfat.c
@@ -900,7 +900,7 @@
 		goto out;
 	}
 	inode->i_version++;
-	inode->i_nlink = 2;
+	set_nlink(inode, 2);
 	inode->i_mtime = inode->i_atime = inode->i_ctime = ts;
 	/* timestamp is already written, so mark_inode_dirty() is unneeded. */
 
diff --git a/fs/freevxfs/vxfs_inode.c b/fs/freevxfs/vxfs_inode.c
index 1a43114..7b2af5a 100644
--- a/fs/freevxfs/vxfs_inode.c
+++ b/fs/freevxfs/vxfs_inode.c
@@ -227,7 +227,7 @@
 	ip->i_uid = (uid_t)vip->vii_uid;
 	ip->i_gid = (gid_t)vip->vii_gid;
 
-	ip->i_nlink = vip->vii_nlink;
+	set_nlink(ip, vip->vii_nlink);
 	ip->i_size = vip->vii_size;
 
 	ip->i_atime.tv_sec = vip->vii_atime;
diff --git a/fs/fuse/control.c b/fs/fuse/control.c
index 85542a7..42593c5 100644
--- a/fs/fuse/control.c
+++ b/fs/fuse/control.c
@@ -231,7 +231,7 @@
 	if (iop)
 		inode->i_op = iop;
 	inode->i_fop = fop;
-	inode->i_nlink = nlink;
+	set_nlink(inode, nlink);
 	inode->i_private = fc;
 	d_add(dentry, inode);
 	return dentry;
diff --git a/fs/fuse/inode.c b/fs/fuse/inode.c
index add96f6..3e6d727 100644
--- a/fs/fuse/inode.c
+++ b/fs/fuse/inode.c
@@ -151,7 +151,7 @@
 
 	inode->i_ino     = attr->ino;
 	inode->i_mode    = (inode->i_mode & S_IFMT) | (attr->mode & 07777);
-	inode->i_nlink   = attr->nlink;
+	set_nlink(inode, attr->nlink);
 	inode->i_uid     = attr->uid;
 	inode->i_gid     = attr->gid;
 	inode->i_blocks  = attr->blocks;
diff --git a/fs/gfs2/glops.c b/fs/gfs2/glops.c
index 78418b4..1656df7a 100644
--- a/fs/gfs2/glops.c
+++ b/fs/gfs2/glops.c
@@ -299,7 +299,7 @@
 		if (nlink == 0)
 			clear_nlink(inode);
 		else
-			inode->i_nlink = nlink;
+			set_nlink(inode, nlink);
 	}
 }
 
diff --git a/fs/hfs/dir.c b/fs/hfs/dir.c
index b4d70b1..bce4eef 100644
--- a/fs/hfs/dir.c
+++ b/fs/hfs/dir.c
@@ -198,7 +198,7 @@
 
 	res = hfs_cat_create(inode->i_ino, dir, &dentry->d_name, inode);
 	if (res) {
-		inode->i_nlink = 0;
+		clear_nlink(inode);
 		hfs_delete_inode(inode);
 		iput(inode);
 		return res;
@@ -227,7 +227,7 @@
 
 	res = hfs_cat_create(inode->i_ino, dir, &dentry->d_name, inode);
 	if (res) {
-		inode->i_nlink = 0;
+		clear_nlink(inode);
 		hfs_delete_inode(inode);
 		iput(inode);
 		return res;
diff --git a/fs/hfs/inode.c b/fs/hfs/inode.c
index 96a1b62..a1a9fdc 100644
--- a/fs/hfs/inode.c
+++ b/fs/hfs/inode.c
@@ -183,7 +183,7 @@
 	inode->i_mode = mode;
 	inode->i_uid = current_fsuid();
 	inode->i_gid = current_fsgid();
-	inode->i_nlink = 1;
+	set_nlink(inode, 1);
 	inode->i_mtime = inode->i_atime = inode->i_ctime = CURRENT_TIME_SEC;
 	HFS_I(inode)->flags = 0;
 	HFS_I(inode)->rsrc_inode = NULL;
@@ -313,7 +313,7 @@
 	/* Initialize the inode */
 	inode->i_uid = hsb->s_uid;
 	inode->i_gid = hsb->s_gid;
-	inode->i_nlink = 1;
+	set_nlink(inode, 1);
 
 	if (idata->key)
 		HFS_I(inode)->cat_key = *idata->key;
diff --git a/fs/hfsplus/dir.c b/fs/hfsplus/dir.c
index 25b2443..4536cd3 100644
--- a/fs/hfsplus/dir.c
+++ b/fs/hfsplus/dir.c
@@ -415,7 +415,7 @@
 	goto out;
 
 out_err:
-	inode->i_nlink = 0;
+	clear_nlink(inode);
 	hfsplus_delete_inode(inode);
 	iput(inode);
 out:
@@ -440,7 +440,7 @@
 
 	res = hfsplus_create_cat(inode->i_ino, dir, &dentry->d_name, inode);
 	if (res) {
-		inode->i_nlink = 0;
+		clear_nlink(inode);
 		hfsplus_delete_inode(inode);
 		iput(inode);
 		goto out;
diff --git a/fs/hfsplus/inode.c b/fs/hfsplus/inode.c
index 4cc1e3a..40e1413 100644
--- a/fs/hfsplus/inode.c
+++ b/fs/hfsplus/inode.c
@@ -391,7 +391,7 @@
 	inode->i_mode = mode;
 	inode->i_uid = current_fsuid();
 	inode->i_gid = current_fsgid();
-	inode->i_nlink = 1;
+	set_nlink(inode, 1);
 	inode->i_mtime = inode->i_atime = inode->i_ctime = CURRENT_TIME_SEC;
 
 	hip = HFSPLUS_I(inode);
@@ -512,7 +512,7 @@
 		hfs_bnode_read(fd->bnode, &entry, fd->entryoffset,
 					sizeof(struct hfsplus_cat_folder));
 		hfsplus_get_perms(inode, &folder->permissions, 1);
-		inode->i_nlink = 1;
+		set_nlink(inode, 1);
 		inode->i_size = 2 + be32_to_cpu(folder->valence);
 		inode->i_atime = hfsp_mt2ut(folder->access_date);
 		inode->i_mtime = hfsp_mt2ut(folder->content_mod_date);
@@ -532,11 +532,11 @@
 		hfsplus_inode_read_fork(inode, HFSPLUS_IS_RSRC(inode) ?
 					&file->rsrc_fork : &file->data_fork);
 		hfsplus_get_perms(inode, &file->permissions, 0);
-		inode->i_nlink = 1;
+		set_nlink(inode, 1);
 		if (S_ISREG(inode->i_mode)) {
 			if (file->permissions.dev)
-				inode->i_nlink =
-					be32_to_cpu(file->permissions.dev);
+				set_nlink(inode,
+					  be32_to_cpu(file->permissions.dev));
 			inode->i_op = &hfsplus_file_inode_operations;
 			inode->i_fop = &hfsplus_file_operations;
 			inode->i_mapping->a_ops = &hfsplus_aops;
diff --git a/fs/hostfs/hostfs_kern.c b/fs/hostfs/hostfs_kern.c
index 0d22afd..2f72da5 100644
--- a/fs/hostfs/hostfs_kern.c
+++ b/fs/hostfs/hostfs_kern.c
@@ -541,7 +541,7 @@
 
 	ino->i_ino = st.ino;
 	ino->i_mode = st.mode;
-	ino->i_nlink = st.nlink;
+	set_nlink(ino, st.nlink);
 	ino->i_uid = st.uid;
 	ino->i_gid = st.gid;
 	ino->i_atime = st.atime;
diff --git a/fs/hpfs/dir.c b/fs/hpfs/dir.c
index 96a8ed9..2fa0089 100644
--- a/fs/hpfs/dir.c
+++ b/fs/hpfs/dir.c
@@ -247,7 +247,7 @@
 			result->i_mode &= ~0111;
 			result->i_op = &hpfs_file_iops;
 			result->i_fop = &hpfs_file_ops;
-			result->i_nlink = 1;
+			set_nlink(result, 1);
 		}
 		unlock_new_inode(result);
 	}
diff --git a/fs/hpfs/inode.c b/fs/hpfs/inode.c
index 338cd83..3b2cec2 100644
--- a/fs/hpfs/inode.c
+++ b/fs/hpfs/inode.c
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@
 		i->i_mode &= ~0111;
 		i->i_op = &hpfs_file_iops;
 		i->i_fop = &hpfs_file_ops;
-		i->i_nlink = 0;*/
+		clear_nlink(i);*/
 		make_bad_inode(i);
 		return;
 	}
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@
 			i->i_mode = S_IFLNK | 0777;
 			i->i_op = &page_symlink_inode_operations;
 			i->i_data.a_ops = &hpfs_symlink_aops;
-			i->i_nlink = 1;
+			set_nlink(i, 1);
 			i->i_size = ea_size;
 			i->i_blocks = 1;
 			brelse(bh);
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@
 			}
 			if (S_ISBLK(mode) || S_ISCHR(mode) || S_ISFIFO(mode) || S_ISSOCK(mode)) {
 				brelse(bh);
-				i->i_nlink = 1;
+				set_nlink(i, 1);
 				i->i_size = 0;
 				i->i_blocks = 1;
 				init_special_inode(i, mode,
@@ -125,13 +125,13 @@
 		hpfs_count_dnodes(i->i_sb, hpfs_inode->i_dno, &n_dnodes, &n_subdirs, NULL);
 		i->i_blocks = 4 * n_dnodes;
 		i->i_size = 2048 * n_dnodes;
-		i->i_nlink = 2 + n_subdirs;
+		set_nlink(i, 2 + n_subdirs);
 	} else {
 		i->i_mode |= S_IFREG;
 		if (!hpfs_inode->i_ea_mode) i->i_mode &= ~0111;
 		i->i_op = &hpfs_file_iops;
 		i->i_fop = &hpfs_file_ops;
-		i->i_nlink = 1;
+		set_nlink(i, 1);
 		i->i_size = le32_to_cpu(fnode->file_size);
 		i->i_blocks = ((i->i_size + 511) >> 9) + 1;
 		i->i_data.a_ops = &hpfs_aops;
diff --git a/fs/hpfs/namei.c b/fs/hpfs/namei.c
index 2df69e2..ea91fcb 100644
--- a/fs/hpfs/namei.c
+++ b/fs/hpfs/namei.c
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@
 	result->i_fop = &hpfs_dir_ops;
 	result->i_blocks = 4;
 	result->i_size = 2048;
-	result->i_nlink = 2;
+	set_nlink(result, 2);
 	if (dee.read_only)
 		result->i_mode &= ~0222;
 
@@ -150,7 +150,7 @@
 	result->i_mode &= ~0111;
 	result->i_op = &hpfs_file_iops;
 	result->i_fop = &hpfs_file_ops;
-	result->i_nlink = 1;
+	set_nlink(result, 1);
 	hpfs_i(result)->i_parent_dir = dir->i_ino;
 	result->i_ctime.tv_sec = result->i_mtime.tv_sec = result->i_atime.tv_sec = local_to_gmt(dir->i_sb, le32_to_cpu(dee.creation_date));
 	result->i_ctime.tv_nsec = 0;
@@ -242,7 +242,7 @@
 	hpfs_i(result)->i_ea_size = 0;
 	result->i_uid = current_fsuid();
 	result->i_gid = current_fsgid();
-	result->i_nlink = 1;
+	set_nlink(result, 1);
 	result->i_size = 0;
 	result->i_blocks = 1;
 	init_special_inode(result, mode, rdev);
@@ -318,7 +318,7 @@
 	result->i_uid = current_fsuid();
 	result->i_gid = current_fsgid();
 	result->i_blocks = 1;
-	result->i_nlink = 1;
+	set_nlink(result, 1);
 	result->i_size = strlen(symlink);
 	result->i_op = &page_symlink_inode_operations;
 	result->i_data.a_ops = &hpfs_symlink_aops;
diff --git a/fs/hppfs/hppfs.c b/fs/hppfs/hppfs.c
index 970ea98..f590b11 100644
--- a/fs/hppfs/hppfs.c
+++ b/fs/hppfs/hppfs.c
@@ -702,7 +702,7 @@
 	inode->i_ctime = proc_ino->i_ctime;
 	inode->i_ino = proc_ino->i_ino;
 	inode->i_mode = proc_ino->i_mode;
-	inode->i_nlink = proc_ino->i_nlink;
+	set_nlink(inode, proc_ino->i_nlink);
 	inode->i_size = proc_ino->i_size;
 	inode->i_blocks = proc_ino->i_blocks;
 
diff --git a/fs/hugetlbfs/inode.c b/fs/hugetlbfs/inode.c
index ec88953..0be5a78 100644
--- a/fs/hugetlbfs/inode.c
+++ b/fs/hugetlbfs/inode.c
@@ -970,7 +970,7 @@
 
 	d_instantiate(path.dentry, inode);
 	inode->i_size = size;
-	inode->i_nlink = 0;
+	clear_nlink(inode);
 
 	error = -ENFILE;
 	file = alloc_file(&path, FMODE_WRITE | FMODE_READ,
diff --git a/fs/inode.c b/fs/inode.c
index ecbb68d..ee4e66b 100644
--- a/fs/inode.c
+++ b/fs/inode.c
@@ -142,7 +142,7 @@
 	atomic_set(&inode->i_count, 1);
 	inode->i_op = &empty_iops;
 	inode->i_fop = &empty_fops;
-	inode->i_nlink = 1;
+	inode->__i_nlink = 1;
 	inode->i_opflags = 0;
 	inode->i_uid = 0;
 	inode->i_gid = 0;
diff --git a/fs/isofs/inode.c b/fs/isofs/inode.c
index a5d0367..562adab 100644
--- a/fs/isofs/inode.c
+++ b/fs/isofs/inode.c
@@ -1319,7 +1319,7 @@
 			inode->i_mode = S_IFDIR | sbi->s_dmode;
 		else
 			inode->i_mode = S_IFDIR | S_IRUGO | S_IXUGO;
-		inode->i_nlink = 1;	/*
+		set_nlink(inode, 1);	/*
 					 * Set to 1.  We know there are 2, but
 					 * the find utility tries to optimize
 					 * if it is 2, and it screws up.  It is
@@ -1337,7 +1337,7 @@
 			 */
 			inode->i_mode = S_IFREG | S_IRUGO | S_IXUGO;
 		}
-		inode->i_nlink = 1;
+		set_nlink(inode, 1);
 	}
 	inode->i_uid = sbi->s_uid;
 	inode->i_gid = sbi->s_gid;
diff --git a/fs/isofs/rock.c b/fs/isofs/rock.c
index 1fbc7de..70e79d0 100644
--- a/fs/isofs/rock.c
+++ b/fs/isofs/rock.c
@@ -363,7 +363,7 @@
 			break;
 		case SIG('P', 'X'):
 			inode->i_mode = isonum_733(rr->u.PX.mode);
-			inode->i_nlink = isonum_733(rr->u.PX.n_links);
+			set_nlink(inode, isonum_733(rr->u.PX.n_links));
 			inode->i_uid = isonum_733(rr->u.PX.uid);
 			inode->i_gid = isonum_733(rr->u.PX.gid);
 			break;
@@ -496,7 +496,7 @@
 				goto out;
 			}
 			inode->i_mode = reloc->i_mode;
-			inode->i_nlink = reloc->i_nlink;
+			set_nlink(inode, reloc->i_nlink);
 			inode->i_uid = reloc->i_uid;
 			inode->i_gid = reloc->i_gid;
 			inode->i_rdev = reloc->i_rdev;
diff --git a/fs/jffs2/dir.c b/fs/jffs2/dir.c
index 9659b7c..be6169b 100644
--- a/fs/jffs2/dir.c
+++ b/fs/jffs2/dir.c
@@ -245,7 +245,7 @@
 	ret = jffs2_do_unlink(c, dir_f, dentry->d_name.name,
 			      dentry->d_name.len, dead_f, now);
 	if (dead_f->inocache)
-		dentry->d_inode->i_nlink = dead_f->inocache->pino_nlink;
+		set_nlink(dentry->d_inode, dead_f->inocache->pino_nlink);
 	if (!ret)
 		dir_i->i_mtime = dir_i->i_ctime = ITIME(now);
 	return ret;
@@ -278,7 +278,7 @@
 
 	if (!ret) {
 		mutex_lock(&f->sem);
-		old_dentry->d_inode->i_nlink = ++f->inocache->pino_nlink;
+		set_nlink(old_dentry->d_inode, ++f->inocache->pino_nlink);
 		mutex_unlock(&f->sem);
 		d_instantiate(dentry, old_dentry->d_inode);
 		dir_i->i_mtime = dir_i->i_ctime = ITIME(now);
@@ -497,7 +497,7 @@
 	f = JFFS2_INODE_INFO(inode);
 
 	/* Directories get nlink 2 at start */
-	inode->i_nlink = 2;
+	set_nlink(inode, 2);
 	/* but ic->pino_nlink is the parent ino# */
 	f->inocache->pino_nlink = dir_i->i_ino;
 
diff --git a/fs/jffs2/fs.c b/fs/jffs2/fs.c
index bbcb975..7286e44 100644
--- a/fs/jffs2/fs.c
+++ b/fs/jffs2/fs.c
@@ -278,7 +278,7 @@
 	inode->i_mtime = ITIME(je32_to_cpu(latest_node.mtime));
 	inode->i_ctime = ITIME(je32_to_cpu(latest_node.ctime));
 
-	inode->i_nlink = f->inocache->pino_nlink;
+	set_nlink(inode, f->inocache->pino_nlink);
 
 	inode->i_blocks = (inode->i_size + 511) >> 9;
 
@@ -291,7 +291,7 @@
 	case S_IFDIR:
 	{
 		struct jffs2_full_dirent *fd;
-		inode->i_nlink = 2; /* parent and '.' */
+		set_nlink(inode, 2); /* parent and '.' */
 
 		for (fd=f->dents; fd; fd = fd->next) {
 			if (fd->type == DT_DIR && fd->ino)
@@ -453,7 +453,7 @@
 		iput(inode);
 		return ERR_PTR(ret);
 	}
-	inode->i_nlink = 1;
+	set_nlink(inode, 1);
 	inode->i_ino = je32_to_cpu(ri->ino);
 	inode->i_mode = jemode_to_cpu(ri->mode);
 	inode->i_gid = je16_to_cpu(ri->gid);
diff --git a/fs/jfs/jfs_imap.c b/fs/jfs/jfs_imap.c
index b78b2f9..1b6f15f 100644
--- a/fs/jfs/jfs_imap.c
+++ b/fs/jfs/jfs_imap.c
@@ -457,7 +457,7 @@
 	/* read the page of fixed disk inode (AIT) in raw mode */
 	mp = read_metapage(ip, address << sbi->l2nbperpage, PSIZE, 1);
 	if (mp == NULL) {
-		ip->i_nlink = 1;	/* Don't want iput() deleting it */
+		set_nlink(ip, 1);	/* Don't want iput() deleting it */
 		iput(ip);
 		return (NULL);
 	}
@@ -469,7 +469,7 @@
 	/* copy on-disk inode to in-memory inode */
 	if ((copy_from_dinode(dp, ip)) != 0) {
 		/* handle bad return by returning NULL for ip */
-		ip->i_nlink = 1;	/* Don't want iput() deleting it */
+		set_nlink(ip, 1);	/* Don't want iput() deleting it */
 		iput(ip);
 		/* release the page */
 		release_metapage(mp);
@@ -3076,7 +3076,7 @@
 				ip->i_mode |= 0001;
 		}
 	}
-	ip->i_nlink = le32_to_cpu(dip->di_nlink);
+	set_nlink(ip, le32_to_cpu(dip->di_nlink));
 
 	jfs_ip->saved_uid = le32_to_cpu(dip->di_uid);
 	if (sbi->uid == -1)
diff --git a/fs/jfs/jfs_inode.c b/fs/jfs/jfs_inode.c
index 2686531..c1a3e60 100644
--- a/fs/jfs/jfs_inode.c
+++ b/fs/jfs/jfs_inode.c
@@ -157,7 +157,7 @@
 	dquot_drop(inode);
 	inode->i_flags |= S_NOQUOTA;
 fail_unlock:
-	inode->i_nlink = 0;
+	clear_nlink(inode);
 	unlock_new_inode(inode);
 fail_put:
 	iput(inode);
diff --git a/fs/jfs/namei.c b/fs/jfs/namei.c
index e17545e..a112ad9 100644
--- a/fs/jfs/namei.c
+++ b/fs/jfs/namei.c
@@ -172,7 +172,7 @@
 	mutex_unlock(&JFS_IP(dip)->commit_mutex);
 	if (rc) {
 		free_ea_wmap(ip);
-		ip->i_nlink = 0;
+		clear_nlink(ip);
 		unlock_new_inode(ip);
 		iput(ip);
 	} else {
@@ -292,7 +292,7 @@
 		goto out3;
 	}
 
-	ip->i_nlink = 2;	/* for '.' */
+	set_nlink(ip, 2);	/* for '.' */
 	ip->i_op = &jfs_dir_inode_operations;
 	ip->i_fop = &jfs_dir_operations;
 
@@ -311,7 +311,7 @@
 	mutex_unlock(&JFS_IP(dip)->commit_mutex);
 	if (rc) {
 		free_ea_wmap(ip);
-		ip->i_nlink = 0;
+		clear_nlink(ip);
 		unlock_new_inode(ip);
 		iput(ip);
 	} else {
@@ -844,7 +844,7 @@
 	rc = txCommit(tid, 2, &iplist[0], 0);
 
 	if (rc) {
-		ip->i_nlink--; /* never instantiated */
+		drop_nlink(ip); /* never instantiated */
 		iput(ip);
 	} else
 		d_instantiate(dentry, ip);
@@ -1048,7 +1048,7 @@
 	mutex_unlock(&JFS_IP(dip)->commit_mutex);
 	if (rc) {
 		free_ea_wmap(ip);
-		ip->i_nlink = 0;
+		clear_nlink(ip);
 		unlock_new_inode(ip);
 		iput(ip);
 	} else {
@@ -1433,7 +1433,7 @@
 	mutex_unlock(&JFS_IP(dir)->commit_mutex);
 	if (rc) {
 		free_ea_wmap(ip);
-		ip->i_nlink = 0;
+		clear_nlink(ip);
 		unlock_new_inode(ip);
 		iput(ip);
 	} else {
diff --git a/fs/jfs/super.c b/fs/jfs/super.c
index 06c8a67..a44eff076 100644
--- a/fs/jfs/super.c
+++ b/fs/jfs/super.c
@@ -485,7 +485,6 @@
 		goto out_unload;
 	}
 	inode->i_ino = 0;
-	inode->i_nlink = 1;
 	inode->i_size = sb->s_bdev->bd_inode->i_size;
 	inode->i_mapping->a_ops = &jfs_metapage_aops;
 	insert_inode_hash(inode);
diff --git a/fs/libfs.c b/fs/libfs.c
index c18e9a1..f6d411e 100644
--- a/fs/libfs.c
+++ b/fs/libfs.c
@@ -490,7 +490,7 @@
 	inode->i_atime = inode->i_mtime = inode->i_ctime = CURRENT_TIME;
 	inode->i_op = &simple_dir_inode_operations;
 	inode->i_fop = &simple_dir_operations;
-	inode->i_nlink = 2;
+	set_nlink(inode, 2);
 	root = d_alloc_root(inode);
 	if (!root) {
 		iput(inode);
@@ -510,8 +510,10 @@
 		if (!dentry)
 			goto out;
 		inode = new_inode(s);
-		if (!inode)
+		if (!inode) {
+			dput(dentry);
 			goto out;
+		}
 		inode->i_mode = S_IFREG | files->mode;
 		inode->i_atime = inode->i_mtime = inode->i_ctime = CURRENT_TIME;
 		inode->i_fop = files->ops;
diff --git a/fs/logfs/dir.c b/fs/logfs/dir.c
index b3ff3d8..b7d7f67 100644
--- a/fs/logfs/dir.c
+++ b/fs/logfs/dir.c
@@ -197,7 +197,7 @@
 {
 	int ret;
 
-	inode->i_nlink--;
+	drop_nlink(inode);
 	ret = write_inode(inode);
 	LOGFS_BUG_ON(ret, inode->i_sb);
 	return ret;
@@ -433,7 +433,7 @@
 
 	ta = kzalloc(sizeof(*ta), GFP_KERNEL);
 	if (!ta) {
-		inode->i_nlink--;
+		drop_nlink(inode);
 		iput(inode);
 		return -ENOMEM;
 	}
@@ -456,7 +456,7 @@
 		abort_transaction(inode, ta);
 		li->li_flags |= LOGFS_IF_STILLBORN;
 		/* FIXME: truncate symlink */
-		inode->i_nlink--;
+		drop_nlink(inode);
 		iput(inode);
 		goto out;
 	}
@@ -563,7 +563,7 @@
 
 	inode->i_ctime = dir->i_ctime = dir->i_mtime = CURRENT_TIME;
 	ihold(inode);
-	inode->i_nlink++;
+	inc_nlink(inode);
 	mark_inode_dirty_sync(inode);
 
 	return __logfs_create(dir, dentry, inode, NULL, 0);
diff --git a/fs/logfs/inode.c b/fs/logfs/inode.c
index edfea7a..7e441ad 100644
--- a/fs/logfs/inode.c
+++ b/fs/logfs/inode.c
@@ -93,7 +93,7 @@
 		/* inode->i_nlink == 0 can be true when called from
 		 * block validator */
 		/* set i_nlink to 0 to prevent caching */
-		inode->i_nlink = 0;
+		clear_nlink(inode);
 		logfs_inode(inode)->li_flags |= LOGFS_IF_ZOMBIE;
 		iget_failed(inode);
 		if (!err)
@@ -199,7 +199,6 @@
 	inode->i_blocks	= 0;
 	inode->i_ctime	= CURRENT_TIME;
 	inode->i_mtime	= CURRENT_TIME;
-	inode->i_nlink	= 1;
 	li->li_refcount = 1;
 	INIT_LIST_HEAD(&li->li_freeing_list);
 
diff --git a/fs/logfs/readwrite.c b/fs/logfs/readwrite.c
index d8d0938..2ac4217 100644
--- a/fs/logfs/readwrite.c
+++ b/fs/logfs/readwrite.c
@@ -126,7 +126,7 @@
 	inode->i_atime	= be64_to_timespec(di->di_atime);
 	inode->i_ctime	= be64_to_timespec(di->di_ctime);
 	inode->i_mtime	= be64_to_timespec(di->di_mtime);
-	inode->i_nlink	= be32_to_cpu(di->di_refcount);
+	set_nlink(inode, be32_to_cpu(di->di_refcount));
 	inode->i_generation = be32_to_cpu(di->di_generation);
 
 	switch (inode->i_mode & S_IFMT) {
diff --git a/fs/minix/inode.c b/fs/minix/inode.c
index e7d23e25..64cdcd6 100644
--- a/fs/minix/inode.c
+++ b/fs/minix/inode.c
@@ -446,7 +446,7 @@
 	inode->i_mode = raw_inode->i_mode;
 	inode->i_uid = (uid_t)raw_inode->i_uid;
 	inode->i_gid = (gid_t)raw_inode->i_gid;
-	inode->i_nlink = raw_inode->i_nlinks;
+	set_nlink(inode, raw_inode->i_nlinks);
 	inode->i_size = raw_inode->i_size;
 	inode->i_mtime.tv_sec = inode->i_atime.tv_sec = inode->i_ctime.tv_sec = raw_inode->i_time;
 	inode->i_mtime.tv_nsec = 0;
@@ -479,7 +479,7 @@
 	inode->i_mode = raw_inode->i_mode;
 	inode->i_uid = (uid_t)raw_inode->i_uid;
 	inode->i_gid = (gid_t)raw_inode->i_gid;
-	inode->i_nlink = raw_inode->i_nlinks;
+	set_nlink(inode, raw_inode->i_nlinks);
 	inode->i_size = raw_inode->i_size;
 	inode->i_mtime.tv_sec = raw_inode->i_mtime;
 	inode->i_atime.tv_sec = raw_inode->i_atime;
diff --git a/fs/namei.c b/fs/namei.c
index 7657be4..ac6d214 100644
--- a/fs/namei.c
+++ b/fs/namei.c
@@ -137,7 +137,7 @@
 	return retval;
 }
 
-static char *getname_flags(const char __user * filename, int flags)
+static char *getname_flags(const char __user *filename, int flags, int *empty)
 {
 	char *tmp, *result;
 
@@ -148,6 +148,8 @@
 
 		result = tmp;
 		if (retval < 0) {
+			if (retval == -ENOENT && empty)
+				*empty = 1;
 			if (retval != -ENOENT || !(flags & LOOKUP_EMPTY)) {
 				__putname(tmp);
 				result = ERR_PTR(retval);
@@ -160,7 +162,7 @@
 
 char *getname(const char __user * filename)
 {
-	return getname_flags(filename, 0);
+	return getname_flags(filename, 0, 0);
 }
 
 #ifdef CONFIG_AUDITSYSCALL
@@ -1798,11 +1800,11 @@
 	return __lookup_hash(&this, base, NULL);
 }
 
-int user_path_at(int dfd, const char __user *name, unsigned flags,
-		 struct path *path)
+int user_path_at_empty(int dfd, const char __user *name, unsigned flags,
+		 struct path *path, int *empty)
 {
 	struct nameidata nd;
-	char *tmp = getname_flags(name, flags);
+	char *tmp = getname_flags(name, flags, empty);
 	int err = PTR_ERR(tmp);
 	if (!IS_ERR(tmp)) {
 
@@ -1816,6 +1818,12 @@
 	return err;
 }
 
+int user_path_at(int dfd, const char __user *name, unsigned flags,
+		 struct path *path)
+{
+	return user_path_at_empty(dfd, name, flags, path, 0);
+}
+
 static int user_path_parent(int dfd, const char __user *path,
 			struct nameidata *nd, char **name)
 {
diff --git a/fs/ncpfs/inode.c b/fs/ncpfs/inode.c
index 202f370..5b5fa33 100644
--- a/fs/ncpfs/inode.c
+++ b/fs/ncpfs/inode.c
@@ -228,7 +228,7 @@
 
 	DDPRINTK("ncp_read_inode: inode->i_mode = %u\n", inode->i_mode);
 
-	inode->i_nlink = 1;
+	set_nlink(inode, 1);
 	inode->i_uid = server->m.uid;
 	inode->i_gid = server->m.gid;
 
diff --git a/fs/nfs/inode.c b/fs/nfs/inode.c
index 4dc6d07..c07a55a 100644
--- a/fs/nfs/inode.c
+++ b/fs/nfs/inode.c
@@ -320,7 +320,7 @@
 		memset(&inode->i_ctime, 0, sizeof(inode->i_ctime));
 		inode->i_version = 0;
 		inode->i_size = 0;
-		inode->i_nlink = 0;
+		clear_nlink(inode);
 		inode->i_uid = -2;
 		inode->i_gid = -2;
 		inode->i_blocks = 0;
@@ -355,7 +355,7 @@
 				| NFS_INO_INVALID_DATA
 				| NFS_INO_REVAL_PAGECACHE;
 		if (fattr->valid & NFS_ATTR_FATTR_NLINK)
-			inode->i_nlink = fattr->nlink;
+			set_nlink(inode, fattr->nlink);
 		else if (nfs_server_capable(inode, NFS_CAP_NLINK))
 			nfsi->cache_validity |= NFS_INO_INVALID_ATTR;
 		if (fattr->valid & NFS_ATTR_FATTR_OWNER)
@@ -1361,7 +1361,7 @@
 			invalid |= NFS_INO_INVALID_ATTR;
 			if (S_ISDIR(inode->i_mode))
 				invalid |= NFS_INO_INVALID_DATA;
-			inode->i_nlink = fattr->nlink;
+			set_nlink(inode, fattr->nlink);
 		}
 	} else if (server->caps & NFS_CAP_NLINK)
 		invalid |= save_cache_validity & (NFS_INO_INVALID_ATTR
diff --git a/fs/nilfs2/inode.c b/fs/nilfs2/inode.c
index 666628b..b50ffb7 100644
--- a/fs/nilfs2/inode.c
+++ b/fs/nilfs2/inode.c
@@ -354,7 +354,7 @@
 
  failed_acl:
  failed_bmap:
-	inode->i_nlink = 0;
+	clear_nlink(inode);
 	iput(inode);  /* raw_inode will be deleted through
 			 generic_delete_inode() */
 	goto failed;
@@ -396,7 +396,7 @@
 	inode->i_mode = le16_to_cpu(raw_inode->i_mode);
 	inode->i_uid = (uid_t)le32_to_cpu(raw_inode->i_uid);
 	inode->i_gid = (gid_t)le32_to_cpu(raw_inode->i_gid);
-	inode->i_nlink = le16_to_cpu(raw_inode->i_links_count);
+	set_nlink(inode, le16_to_cpu(raw_inode->i_links_count));
 	inode->i_size = le64_to_cpu(raw_inode->i_size);
 	inode->i_atime.tv_sec = le64_to_cpu(raw_inode->i_mtime);
 	inode->i_ctime.tv_sec = le64_to_cpu(raw_inode->i_ctime);
diff --git a/fs/nilfs2/namei.c b/fs/nilfs2/namei.c
index a314199..768982d 100644
--- a/fs/nilfs2/namei.c
+++ b/fs/nilfs2/namei.c
@@ -289,7 +289,7 @@
 		nilfs_warning(inode->i_sb, __func__,
 			      "deleting nonexistent file (%lu), %d\n",
 			      inode->i_ino, inode->i_nlink);
-		inode->i_nlink = 1;
+		set_nlink(inode, 1);
 	}
 	err = nilfs_delete_entry(de, page);
 	if (err)
diff --git a/fs/ntfs/inode.c b/fs/ntfs/inode.c
index 1371487..97e2dac 100644
--- a/fs/ntfs/inode.c
+++ b/fs/ntfs/inode.c
@@ -612,7 +612,7 @@
 	 * might be tricky due to vfs interactions. Need to think about this
 	 * some more when implementing the unlink command.
 	 */
-	vi->i_nlink = le16_to_cpu(m->link_count);
+	set_nlink(vi, le16_to_cpu(m->link_count));
 	/*
 	 * FIXME: Reparse points can have the directory bit set even though
 	 * they would be S_IFLNK. Need to deal with this further below when we
@@ -634,7 +634,7 @@
 		vi->i_mode &= ~vol->dmask;
 		/* Things break without this kludge! */
 		if (vi->i_nlink > 1)
-			vi->i_nlink = 1;
+			set_nlink(vi, 1);
 	} else {
 		vi->i_mode |= S_IFREG;
 		/* Apply the file permissions mask set in the mount options. */
@@ -1242,7 +1242,7 @@
 	vi->i_version	= base_vi->i_version;
 	vi->i_uid	= base_vi->i_uid;
 	vi->i_gid	= base_vi->i_gid;
-	vi->i_nlink	= base_vi->i_nlink;
+	set_nlink(vi, base_vi->i_nlink);
 	vi->i_mtime	= base_vi->i_mtime;
 	vi->i_ctime	= base_vi->i_ctime;
 	vi->i_atime	= base_vi->i_atime;
@@ -1508,7 +1508,7 @@
 	vi->i_version	= base_vi->i_version;
 	vi->i_uid	= base_vi->i_uid;
 	vi->i_gid	= base_vi->i_gid;
-	vi->i_nlink	= base_vi->i_nlink;
+	set_nlink(vi, base_vi->i_nlink);
 	vi->i_mtime	= base_vi->i_mtime;
 	vi->i_ctime	= base_vi->i_ctime;
 	vi->i_atime	= base_vi->i_atime;
diff --git a/fs/ocfs2/dir.c b/fs/ocfs2/dir.c
index 8582e3f..e2878b5 100644
--- a/fs/ocfs2/dir.c
+++ b/fs/ocfs2/dir.c
@@ -2292,7 +2292,7 @@
 	ocfs2_journal_dirty(handle, di_bh);
 
 	i_size_write(inode, size);
-	inode->i_nlink = 2;
+	set_nlink(inode, 2);
 	inode->i_blocks = ocfs2_inode_sector_count(inode);
 
 	ret = ocfs2_mark_inode_dirty(handle, inode, di_bh);
@@ -2354,7 +2354,7 @@
 	ocfs2_journal_dirty(handle, new_bh);
 
 	i_size_write(inode, inode->i_sb->s_blocksize);
-	inode->i_nlink = 2;
+	set_nlink(inode, 2);
 	inode->i_blocks = ocfs2_inode_sector_count(inode);
 	status = ocfs2_mark_inode_dirty(handle, inode, fe_bh);
 	if (status < 0) {
diff --git a/fs/ocfs2/dlmglue.c b/fs/ocfs2/dlmglue.c
index 7642d7c..e1ed5e5 100644
--- a/fs/ocfs2/dlmglue.c
+++ b/fs/ocfs2/dlmglue.c
@@ -2092,7 +2092,7 @@
 	inode->i_uid     = be32_to_cpu(lvb->lvb_iuid);
 	inode->i_gid     = be32_to_cpu(lvb->lvb_igid);
 	inode->i_mode    = be16_to_cpu(lvb->lvb_imode);
-	inode->i_nlink   = be16_to_cpu(lvb->lvb_inlink);
+	set_nlink(inode, be16_to_cpu(lvb->lvb_inlink));
 	ocfs2_unpack_timespec(&inode->i_atime,
 			      be64_to_cpu(lvb->lvb_iatime_packed));
 	ocfs2_unpack_timespec(&inode->i_mtime,
diff --git a/fs/ocfs2/inode.c b/fs/ocfs2/inode.c
index b4c8bb6..a22d2c0 100644
--- a/fs/ocfs2/inode.c
+++ b/fs/ocfs2/inode.c
@@ -291,7 +291,7 @@
 		     (unsigned long long)OCFS2_I(inode)->ip_blkno,
 		     (unsigned long long)le64_to_cpu(fe->i_blkno));
 
-	inode->i_nlink = ocfs2_read_links_count(fe);
+	set_nlink(inode, ocfs2_read_links_count(fe));
 
 	trace_ocfs2_populate_inode(OCFS2_I(inode)->ip_blkno,
 				   le32_to_cpu(fe->i_flags));
@@ -1290,7 +1290,7 @@
 	OCFS2_I(inode)->ip_dyn_features = le16_to_cpu(fe->i_dyn_features);
 	ocfs2_set_inode_flags(inode);
 	i_size_write(inode, le64_to_cpu(fe->i_size));
-	inode->i_nlink = ocfs2_read_links_count(fe);
+	set_nlink(inode, ocfs2_read_links_count(fe));
 	inode->i_uid = le32_to_cpu(fe->i_uid);
 	inode->i_gid = le32_to_cpu(fe->i_gid);
 	inode->i_mode = le16_to_cpu(fe->i_mode);
diff --git a/fs/ocfs2/namei.c b/fs/ocfs2/namei.c
index 53aa41e..a8b2bfe 100644
--- a/fs/ocfs2/namei.c
+++ b/fs/ocfs2/namei.c
@@ -199,9 +199,7 @@
 	 * these are used by the support functions here and in
 	 * callers. */
 	if (S_ISDIR(mode))
-		inode->i_nlink = 2;
-	else
-		inode->i_nlink = 1;
+		set_nlink(inode, 2);
 	inode_init_owner(inode, dir, mode);
 	dquot_initialize(inode);
 	return inode;
@@ -1379,7 +1377,7 @@
 	}
 
 	if (new_inode) {
-		new_inode->i_nlink--;
+		drop_nlink(new_inode);
 		new_inode->i_ctime = CURRENT_TIME;
 	}
 	old_dir->i_ctime = old_dir->i_mtime = CURRENT_TIME;
@@ -1387,9 +1385,9 @@
 	if (update_dot_dot) {
 		status = ocfs2_update_entry(old_inode, handle,
 					    &old_inode_dot_dot_res, new_dir);
-		old_dir->i_nlink--;
+		drop_nlink(old_dir);
 		if (new_inode) {
-			new_inode->i_nlink--;
+			drop_nlink(new_inode);
 		} else {
 			inc_nlink(new_dir);
 			mark_inode_dirty(new_dir);
@@ -2018,7 +2016,7 @@
 	orphan_fe = (struct ocfs2_dinode *) orphan_dir_bh->b_data;
 	if (S_ISDIR(inode->i_mode))
 		ocfs2_add_links_count(orphan_fe, 1);
-	orphan_dir_inode->i_nlink = ocfs2_read_links_count(orphan_fe);
+	set_nlink(orphan_dir_inode, ocfs2_read_links_count(orphan_fe));
 	ocfs2_journal_dirty(handle, orphan_dir_bh);
 
 	status = __ocfs2_add_entry(handle, orphan_dir_inode, name,
@@ -2116,7 +2114,7 @@
 	orphan_fe = (struct ocfs2_dinode *) orphan_dir_bh->b_data;
 	if (S_ISDIR(inode->i_mode))
 		ocfs2_add_links_count(orphan_fe, -1);
-	orphan_dir_inode->i_nlink = ocfs2_read_links_count(orphan_fe);
+	set_nlink(orphan_dir_inode, ocfs2_read_links_count(orphan_fe));
 	ocfs2_journal_dirty(handle, orphan_dir_bh);
 
 leave:
@@ -2282,7 +2280,7 @@
 		goto leave;
 	}
 
-	inode->i_nlink = 0;
+	clear_nlink(inode);
 	/* do the real work now. */
 	status = __ocfs2_mknod_locked(dir, inode,
 				      0, &new_di_bh, parent_di_bh, handle,
@@ -2437,7 +2435,7 @@
 	di = (struct ocfs2_dinode *)di_bh->b_data;
 	le32_add_cpu(&di->i_flags, -OCFS2_ORPHANED_FL);
 	di->i_orphaned_slot = 0;
-	inode->i_nlink = 1;
+	set_nlink(inode, 1);
 	ocfs2_set_links_count(di, inode->i_nlink);
 	ocfs2_journal_dirty(handle, di_bh);
 
diff --git a/fs/openpromfs/inode.c b/fs/openpromfs/inode.c
index a2a5bff..e4e0ff7 100644
--- a/fs/openpromfs/inode.c
+++ b/fs/openpromfs/inode.c
@@ -242,7 +242,7 @@
 		inode->i_mode = S_IFDIR | S_IRUGO | S_IXUGO;
 		inode->i_op = &openprom_inode_operations;
 		inode->i_fop = &openprom_operations;
-		inode->i_nlink = 2;
+		set_nlink(inode, 2);
 		break;
 	case op_inode_prop:
 		if (!strcmp(dp->name, "options") && (len == 17) &&
@@ -251,7 +251,7 @@
 		else
 			inode->i_mode = S_IFREG | S_IRUGO;
 		inode->i_fop = &openpromfs_prop_ops;
-		inode->i_nlink = 1;
+		set_nlink(inode, 1);
 		inode->i_size = ent_oi->u.prop->length;
 		break;
 	}
diff --git a/fs/proc/base.c b/fs/proc/base.c
index 8f0087e..851ba3d 100644
--- a/fs/proc/base.c
+++ b/fs/proc/base.c
@@ -2248,7 +2248,7 @@
 	ei = PROC_I(inode);
 	inode->i_mode = p->mode;
 	if (S_ISDIR(inode->i_mode))
-		inode->i_nlink = 2;	/* Use getattr to fix if necessary */
+		set_nlink(inode, 2);	/* Use getattr to fix if necessary */
 	if (p->iop)
 		inode->i_op = p->iop;
 	if (p->fop)
@@ -2642,7 +2642,7 @@
 
 	inode->i_mode = p->mode;
 	if (S_ISDIR(inode->i_mode))
-		inode->i_nlink = 2;
+		set_nlink(inode, 2);
 	if (S_ISLNK(inode->i_mode))
 		inode->i_size = 64;
 	if (p->iop)
@@ -2981,8 +2981,8 @@
 	inode->i_fop = &proc_tgid_base_operations;
 	inode->i_flags|=S_IMMUTABLE;
 
-	inode->i_nlink = 2 + pid_entry_count_dirs(tgid_base_stuff,
-		ARRAY_SIZE(tgid_base_stuff));
+	set_nlink(inode, 2 + pid_entry_count_dirs(tgid_base_stuff,
+						  ARRAY_SIZE(tgid_base_stuff)));
 
 	d_set_d_op(dentry, &pid_dentry_operations);
 
@@ -3233,8 +3233,8 @@
 	inode->i_fop = &proc_tid_base_operations;
 	inode->i_flags|=S_IMMUTABLE;
 
-	inode->i_nlink = 2 + pid_entry_count_dirs(tid_base_stuff,
-		ARRAY_SIZE(tid_base_stuff));
+	set_nlink(inode, 2 + pid_entry_count_dirs(tid_base_stuff,
+						  ARRAY_SIZE(tid_base_stuff)));
 
 	d_set_d_op(dentry, &pid_dentry_operations);
 
diff --git a/fs/proc/generic.c b/fs/proc/generic.c
index 9d99131..10090d9 100644
--- a/fs/proc/generic.c
+++ b/fs/proc/generic.c
@@ -283,7 +283,7 @@
 	struct inode *inode = dentry->d_inode;
 	struct proc_dir_entry *de = PROC_I(inode)->pde;
 	if (de && de->nlink)
-		inode->i_nlink = de->nlink;
+		set_nlink(inode, de->nlink);
 
 	generic_fillattr(inode, stat);
 	return 0;
diff --git a/fs/proc/inode.c b/fs/proc/inode.c
index 7ed72d6..7737c54 100644
--- a/fs/proc/inode.c
+++ b/fs/proc/inode.c
@@ -445,7 +445,7 @@
 		if (de->size)
 			inode->i_size = de->size;
 		if (de->nlink)
-			inode->i_nlink = de->nlink;
+			set_nlink(inode, de->nlink);
 		if (de->proc_iops)
 			inode->i_op = de->proc_iops;
 		if (de->proc_fops) {
diff --git a/fs/proc/proc_sysctl.c b/fs/proc/proc_sysctl.c
index 1a77dbe..b441132 100644
--- a/fs/proc/proc_sysctl.c
+++ b/fs/proc/proc_sysctl.c
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@
 		inode->i_fop = &proc_sys_file_operations;
 	} else {
 		inode->i_mode |= S_IFDIR;
-		inode->i_nlink = 0;
+		clear_nlink(inode);
 		inode->i_op = &proc_sys_dir_operations;
 		inode->i_fop = &proc_sys_dir_file_operations;
 	}
diff --git a/fs/qnx4/inode.c b/fs/qnx4/inode.c
index 2b06466..3bdd214 100644
--- a/fs/qnx4/inode.c
+++ b/fs/qnx4/inode.c
@@ -379,7 +379,7 @@
 	inode->i_mode    = le16_to_cpu(raw_inode->di_mode);
 	inode->i_uid     = (uid_t)le16_to_cpu(raw_inode->di_uid);
 	inode->i_gid     = (gid_t)le16_to_cpu(raw_inode->di_gid);
-	inode->i_nlink   = le16_to_cpu(raw_inode->di_nlink);
+	set_nlink(inode, le16_to_cpu(raw_inode->di_nlink));
 	inode->i_size    = le32_to_cpu(raw_inode->di_size);
 	inode->i_mtime.tv_sec   = le32_to_cpu(raw_inode->di_mtime);
 	inode->i_mtime.tv_nsec = 0;
diff --git a/fs/reiserfs/inode.c b/fs/reiserfs/inode.c
index 9b0d4b7..950f13a 100644
--- a/fs/reiserfs/inode.c
+++ b/fs/reiserfs/inode.c
@@ -1154,7 +1154,7 @@
 		set_inode_item_key_version(inode, KEY_FORMAT_3_5);
 		set_inode_sd_version(inode, STAT_DATA_V1);
 		inode->i_mode = sd_v1_mode(sd);
-		inode->i_nlink = sd_v1_nlink(sd);
+		set_nlink(inode, sd_v1_nlink(sd));
 		inode->i_uid = sd_v1_uid(sd);
 		inode->i_gid = sd_v1_gid(sd);
 		inode->i_size = sd_v1_size(sd);
@@ -1199,7 +1199,7 @@
 		struct stat_data *sd = (struct stat_data *)B_I_PITEM(bh, ih);
 
 		inode->i_mode = sd_v2_mode(sd);
-		inode->i_nlink = sd_v2_nlink(sd);
+		set_nlink(inode, sd_v2_nlink(sd));
 		inode->i_uid = sd_v2_uid(sd);
 		inode->i_size = sd_v2_size(sd);
 		inode->i_gid = sd_v2_gid(sd);
@@ -1444,7 +1444,7 @@
 		/* a stale NFS handle can trigger this without it being an error */
 		pathrelse(&path_to_sd);
 		reiserfs_make_bad_inode(inode);
-		inode->i_nlink = 0;
+		clear_nlink(inode);
 		return;
 	}
 
@@ -1832,7 +1832,7 @@
 #endif
 
 	/* fill stat data */
-	inode->i_nlink = (S_ISDIR(mode) ? 2 : 1);
+	set_nlink(inode, (S_ISDIR(mode) ? 2 : 1));
 
 	/* uid and gid must already be set by the caller for quota init */
 
@@ -1987,7 +1987,7 @@
 	make_bad_inode(inode);
 
       out_inserted_sd:
-	inode->i_nlink = 0;
+	clear_nlink(inode);
 	th->t_trans_id = 0;	/* so the caller can't use this handle later */
 	unlock_new_inode(inode); /* OK to do even if we hadn't locked it */
 	iput(inode);
diff --git a/fs/reiserfs/namei.c b/fs/reiserfs/namei.c
index ef39232..80058e8 100644
--- a/fs/reiserfs/namei.c
+++ b/fs/reiserfs/namei.c
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
 #include <linux/reiserfs_xattr.h>
 #include <linux/quotaops.h>
 
-#define INC_DIR_INODE_NLINK(i) if (i->i_nlink != 1) { inc_nlink(i); if (i->i_nlink >= REISERFS_LINK_MAX) i->i_nlink=1; }
+#define INC_DIR_INODE_NLINK(i) if (i->i_nlink != 1) { inc_nlink(i); if (i->i_nlink >= REISERFS_LINK_MAX) set_nlink(i, 1); }
 #define DEC_DIR_INODE_NLINK(i) if (i->i_nlink != 1) drop_nlink(i);
 
 // directory item contains array of entry headers. This performs
@@ -622,7 +622,7 @@
 			       dentry->d_name.len, inode, 1 /*visible */ );
 	if (retval) {
 		int err;
-		inode->i_nlink--;
+		drop_nlink(inode);
 		reiserfs_update_sd(&th, inode);
 		err = journal_end(&th, dir->i_sb, jbegin_count);
 		if (err)
@@ -702,7 +702,7 @@
 			       dentry->d_name.len, inode, 1 /*visible */ );
 	if (retval) {
 		int err;
-		inode->i_nlink--;
+		drop_nlink(inode);
 		reiserfs_update_sd(&th, inode);
 		err = journal_end(&th, dir->i_sb, jbegin_count);
 		if (err)
@@ -787,7 +787,7 @@
 			       dentry->d_name.len, inode, 1 /*visible */ );
 	if (retval) {
 		int err;
-		inode->i_nlink = 0;
+		clear_nlink(inode);
 		DEC_DIR_INODE_NLINK(dir);
 		reiserfs_update_sd(&th, inode);
 		err = journal_end(&th, dir->i_sb, jbegin_count);
@@ -964,7 +964,7 @@
 		reiserfs_warning(inode->i_sb, "reiserfs-7042",
 				 "deleting nonexistent file (%lu), %d",
 				 inode->i_ino, inode->i_nlink);
-		inode->i_nlink = 1;
+		set_nlink(inode, 1);
 	}
 
 	drop_nlink(inode);
@@ -1086,7 +1086,7 @@
 				    dentry->d_name.len, inode, 1 /*visible */ );
 	if (retval) {
 		int err;
-		inode->i_nlink--;
+		drop_nlink(inode);
 		reiserfs_update_sd(&th, inode);
 		err = journal_end(&th, parent_dir->i_sb, jbegin_count);
 		if (err)
@@ -1129,7 +1129,7 @@
 
 	retval = journal_begin(&th, dir->i_sb, jbegin_count);
 	if (retval) {
-		inode->i_nlink--;
+		drop_nlink(inode);
 		reiserfs_write_unlock(dir->i_sb);
 		return retval;
 	}
@@ -1144,7 +1144,7 @@
 
 	if (retval) {
 		int err;
-		inode->i_nlink--;
+		drop_nlink(inode);
 		err = journal_end(&th, dir->i_sb, jbegin_count);
 		reiserfs_write_unlock(dir->i_sb);
 		return err ? err : retval;
diff --git a/fs/romfs/super.c b/fs/romfs/super.c
index 2305e31..8b4089f 100644
--- a/fs/romfs/super.c
+++ b/fs/romfs/super.c
@@ -337,7 +337,7 @@
 	inode->i_metasize = (ROMFH_SIZE + nlen + 1 + ROMFH_PAD) & ROMFH_MASK;
 	inode->i_dataoffset = pos + inode->i_metasize;
 
-	i->i_nlink = 1;		/* Hard to decide.. */
+	set_nlink(i, 1);		/* Hard to decide.. */
 	i->i_size = be32_to_cpu(ri.size);
 	i->i_mtime.tv_sec = i->i_atime.tv_sec = i->i_ctime.tv_sec = 0;
 	i->i_mtime.tv_nsec = i->i_atime.tv_nsec = i->i_ctime.tv_nsec = 0;
diff --git a/fs/squashfs/inode.c b/fs/squashfs/inode.c
index 04bebca..fd7b3b3 100644
--- a/fs/squashfs/inode.c
+++ b/fs/squashfs/inode.c
@@ -159,7 +159,7 @@
 			frag_offset = 0;
 		}
 
-		inode->i_nlink = 1;
+		set_nlink(inode, 1);
 		inode->i_size = le32_to_cpu(sqsh_ino->file_size);
 		inode->i_fop = &generic_ro_fops;
 		inode->i_mode |= S_IFREG;
@@ -203,7 +203,7 @@
 		}
 
 		xattr_id = le32_to_cpu(sqsh_ino->xattr);
-		inode->i_nlink = le32_to_cpu(sqsh_ino->nlink);
+		set_nlink(inode, le32_to_cpu(sqsh_ino->nlink));
 		inode->i_size = le64_to_cpu(sqsh_ino->file_size);
 		inode->i_op = &squashfs_inode_ops;
 		inode->i_fop = &generic_ro_fops;
@@ -232,7 +232,7 @@
 		if (err < 0)
 			goto failed_read;
 
-		inode->i_nlink = le32_to_cpu(sqsh_ino->nlink);
+		set_nlink(inode, le32_to_cpu(sqsh_ino->nlink));
 		inode->i_size = le16_to_cpu(sqsh_ino->file_size);
 		inode->i_op = &squashfs_dir_inode_ops;
 		inode->i_fop = &squashfs_dir_ops;
@@ -257,7 +257,7 @@
 			goto failed_read;
 
 		xattr_id = le32_to_cpu(sqsh_ino->xattr);
-		inode->i_nlink = le32_to_cpu(sqsh_ino->nlink);
+		set_nlink(inode, le32_to_cpu(sqsh_ino->nlink));
 		inode->i_size = le32_to_cpu(sqsh_ino->file_size);
 		inode->i_op = &squashfs_dir_inode_ops;
 		inode->i_fop = &squashfs_dir_ops;
@@ -284,7 +284,7 @@
 		if (err < 0)
 			goto failed_read;
 
-		inode->i_nlink = le32_to_cpu(sqsh_ino->nlink);
+		set_nlink(inode, le32_to_cpu(sqsh_ino->nlink));
 		inode->i_size = le32_to_cpu(sqsh_ino->symlink_size);
 		inode->i_op = &squashfs_symlink_inode_ops;
 		inode->i_data.a_ops = &squashfs_symlink_aops;
@@ -325,7 +325,7 @@
 			inode->i_mode |= S_IFCHR;
 		else
 			inode->i_mode |= S_IFBLK;
-		inode->i_nlink = le32_to_cpu(sqsh_ino->nlink);
+		set_nlink(inode, le32_to_cpu(sqsh_ino->nlink));
 		rdev = le32_to_cpu(sqsh_ino->rdev);
 		init_special_inode(inode, inode->i_mode, new_decode_dev(rdev));
 
@@ -349,7 +349,7 @@
 			inode->i_mode |= S_IFBLK;
 		xattr_id = le32_to_cpu(sqsh_ino->xattr);
 		inode->i_op = &squashfs_inode_ops;
-		inode->i_nlink = le32_to_cpu(sqsh_ino->nlink);
+		set_nlink(inode, le32_to_cpu(sqsh_ino->nlink));
 		rdev = le32_to_cpu(sqsh_ino->rdev);
 		init_special_inode(inode, inode->i_mode, new_decode_dev(rdev));
 
@@ -370,7 +370,7 @@
 			inode->i_mode |= S_IFIFO;
 		else
 			inode->i_mode |= S_IFSOCK;
-		inode->i_nlink = le32_to_cpu(sqsh_ino->nlink);
+		set_nlink(inode, le32_to_cpu(sqsh_ino->nlink));
 		init_special_inode(inode, inode->i_mode, 0);
 		break;
 	}
@@ -389,7 +389,7 @@
 			inode->i_mode |= S_IFSOCK;
 		xattr_id = le32_to_cpu(sqsh_ino->xattr);
 		inode->i_op = &squashfs_inode_ops;
-		inode->i_nlink = le32_to_cpu(sqsh_ino->nlink);
+		set_nlink(inode, le32_to_cpu(sqsh_ino->nlink));
 		init_special_inode(inode, inode->i_mode, 0);
 		break;
 	}
diff --git a/fs/stack.c b/fs/stack.c
index b4f2ab48..9c11519 100644
--- a/fs/stack.c
+++ b/fs/stack.c
@@ -71,6 +71,6 @@
 	dest->i_ctime = src->i_ctime;
 	dest->i_blkbits = src->i_blkbits;
 	dest->i_flags = src->i_flags;
-	dest->i_nlink = src->i_nlink;
+	set_nlink(dest, src->i_nlink);
 }
 EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(fsstack_copy_attr_all);
diff --git a/fs/stat.c b/fs/stat.c
index 78a3aa8..8806b89 100644
--- a/fs/stat.c
+++ b/fs/stat.c
@@ -294,15 +294,16 @@
 {
 	struct path path;
 	int error;
+	int empty = 0;
 
 	if (bufsiz <= 0)
 		return -EINVAL;
 
-	error = user_path_at(dfd, pathname, LOOKUP_EMPTY, &path);
+	error = user_path_at_empty(dfd, pathname, LOOKUP_EMPTY, &path, &empty);
 	if (!error) {
 		struct inode *inode = path.dentry->d_inode;
 
-		error = -EINVAL;
+		error = empty ? -ENOENT : -EINVAL;
 		if (inode->i_op->readlink) {
 			error = security_inode_readlink(path.dentry);
 			if (!error) {
diff --git a/fs/super.c b/fs/super.c
index 32a81f3..afd0f1a 100644
--- a/fs/super.c
+++ b/fs/super.c
@@ -727,8 +727,13 @@
 
 	if (sb->s_op->remount_fs) {
 		retval = sb->s_op->remount_fs(sb, &flags, data);
-		if (retval)
-			return retval;
+		if (retval) {
+			if (!force)
+				return retval;
+			/* If forced remount, go ahead despite any errors */
+			WARN(1, "forced remount of a %s fs returned %i\n",
+			     sb->s_type->name, retval);
+		}
 	}
 	sb->s_flags = (sb->s_flags & ~MS_RMT_MASK) | (flags & MS_RMT_MASK);
 
diff --git a/fs/sysfs/inode.c b/fs/sysfs/inode.c
index e23f288..c81b22f3 100644
--- a/fs/sysfs/inode.c
+++ b/fs/sysfs/inode.c
@@ -218,7 +218,7 @@
 	}
 
 	if (sysfs_type(sd) == SYSFS_DIR)
-		inode->i_nlink = sd->s_dir.subdirs + 2;
+		set_nlink(inode, sd->s_dir.subdirs + 2);
 }
 
 int sysfs_getattr(struct vfsmount *mnt, struct dentry *dentry, struct kstat *stat)
diff --git a/fs/sysv/inode.c b/fs/sysv/inode.c
index 0630eb96..25ffb3e 100644
--- a/fs/sysv/inode.c
+++ b/fs/sysv/inode.c
@@ -219,7 +219,7 @@
 	inode->i_mode = fs16_to_cpu(sbi, raw_inode->i_mode);
 	inode->i_uid = (uid_t)fs16_to_cpu(sbi, raw_inode->i_uid);
 	inode->i_gid = (gid_t)fs16_to_cpu(sbi, raw_inode->i_gid);
-	inode->i_nlink = fs16_to_cpu(sbi, raw_inode->i_nlink);
+	set_nlink(inode, fs16_to_cpu(sbi, raw_inode->i_nlink));
 	inode->i_size = fs32_to_cpu(sbi, raw_inode->i_size);
 	inode->i_atime.tv_sec = fs32_to_cpu(sbi, raw_inode->i_atime);
 	inode->i_mtime.tv_sec = fs32_to_cpu(sbi, raw_inode->i_mtime);
diff --git a/fs/ubifs/super.c b/fs/ubifs/super.c
index b281212..20403dc 100644
--- a/fs/ubifs/super.c
+++ b/fs/ubifs/super.c
@@ -129,7 +129,7 @@
 		goto out_ino;
 
 	inode->i_flags |= (S_NOCMTIME | S_NOATIME);
-	inode->i_nlink = le32_to_cpu(ino->nlink);
+	set_nlink(inode, le32_to_cpu(ino->nlink));
 	inode->i_uid   = le32_to_cpu(ino->uid);
 	inode->i_gid   = le32_to_cpu(ino->gid);
 	inode->i_atime.tv_sec  = (int64_t)le64_to_cpu(ino->atime_sec);
diff --git a/fs/ubifs/xattr.c b/fs/ubifs/xattr.c
index 16f19f5..bf18f7a 100644
--- a/fs/ubifs/xattr.c
+++ b/fs/ubifs/xattr.c
@@ -558,10 +558,10 @@
 	}
 
 	ubifs_assert(inode->i_nlink == 1);
-	inode->i_nlink = 0;
+	clear_nlink(inode);
 	err = remove_xattr(c, host, inode, &nm);
 	if (err)
-		inode->i_nlink = 1;
+		set_nlink(inode, 1);
 
 	/* If @i_nlink is 0, 'iput()' will delete the inode */
 	iput(inode);
diff --git a/fs/udf/inode.c b/fs/udf/inode.c
index 329e7a1..4fd1d80 100644
--- a/fs/udf/inode.c
+++ b/fs/udf/inode.c
@@ -1241,6 +1241,7 @@
 	int offset;
 	struct udf_sb_info *sbi = UDF_SB(inode->i_sb);
 	struct udf_inode_info *iinfo = UDF_I(inode);
+	unsigned int link_count;
 
 	fe = (struct fileEntry *)bh->b_data;
 	efe = (struct extendedFileEntry *)bh->b_data;
@@ -1323,9 +1324,10 @@
 	inode->i_mode &= ~sbi->s_umask;
 	read_unlock(&sbi->s_cred_lock);
 
-	inode->i_nlink = le16_to_cpu(fe->fileLinkCount);
-	if (!inode->i_nlink)
-		inode->i_nlink = 1;
+	link_count = le16_to_cpu(fe->fileLinkCount);
+	if (!link_count)
+		link_count = 1;
+	set_nlink(inode, link_count);
 
 	inode->i_size = le64_to_cpu(fe->informationLength);
 	iinfo->i_lenExtents = inode->i_size;
diff --git a/fs/udf/namei.c b/fs/udf/namei.c
index 78d59eb..4639e13 100644
--- a/fs/udf/namei.c
+++ b/fs/udf/namei.c
@@ -577,8 +577,7 @@
 
 	fi = udf_add_entry(dir, dentry, &fibh, &cfi, &err);
 	if (!fi) {
-		inode->i_nlink--;
-		mark_inode_dirty(inode);
+		inode_dec_link_count(inode);
 		iput(inode);
 		return err;
 	}
@@ -618,8 +617,7 @@
 	init_special_inode(inode, mode, rdev);
 	fi = udf_add_entry(dir, dentry, &fibh, &cfi, &err);
 	if (!fi) {
-		inode->i_nlink--;
-		mark_inode_dirty(inode);
+		inode_dec_link_count(inode);
 		iput(inode);
 		return err;
 	}
@@ -665,12 +663,11 @@
 	inode->i_fop = &udf_dir_operations;
 	fi = udf_add_entry(inode, NULL, &fibh, &cfi, &err);
 	if (!fi) {
-		inode->i_nlink--;
-		mark_inode_dirty(inode);
+		inode_dec_link_count(inode);
 		iput(inode);
 		goto out;
 	}
-	inode->i_nlink = 2;
+	set_nlink(inode, 2);
 	cfi.icb.extLength = cpu_to_le32(inode->i_sb->s_blocksize);
 	cfi.icb.extLocation = cpu_to_lelb(dinfo->i_location);
 	*(__le32 *)((struct allocDescImpUse *)cfi.icb.impUse)->impUse =
@@ -683,7 +680,7 @@
 
 	fi = udf_add_entry(dir, dentry, &fibh, &cfi, &err);
 	if (!fi) {
-		inode->i_nlink = 0;
+		clear_nlink(inode);
 		mark_inode_dirty(inode);
 		iput(inode);
 		goto out;
@@ -839,7 +836,7 @@
 	if (!inode->i_nlink) {
 		udf_debug("Deleting nonexistent file (%lu), %d\n",
 			  inode->i_ino, inode->i_nlink);
-		inode->i_nlink = 1;
+		set_nlink(inode, 1);
 	}
 	retval = udf_delete_entry(dir, fi, &fibh, &cfi);
 	if (retval)
diff --git a/fs/ufs/ialloc.c b/fs/ufs/ialloc.c
index 2eabf04..78a4c70 100644
--- a/fs/ufs/ialloc.c
+++ b/fs/ufs/ialloc.c
@@ -341,7 +341,7 @@
 
 fail_remove_inode:
 	unlock_super(sb);
-	inode->i_nlink = 0;
+	clear_nlink(inode);
 	iput(inode);
 	UFSD("EXIT (FAILED): err %d\n", err);
 	return ERR_PTR(err);
diff --git a/fs/ufs/inode.c b/fs/ufs/inode.c
index b4d791a..879b134 100644
--- a/fs/ufs/inode.c
+++ b/fs/ufs/inode.c
@@ -589,7 +589,7 @@
 	 * Copy data to the in-core inode.
 	 */
 	inode->i_mode = mode = fs16_to_cpu(sb, ufs_inode->ui_mode);
-	inode->i_nlink = fs16_to_cpu(sb, ufs_inode->ui_nlink);
+	set_nlink(inode, fs16_to_cpu(sb, ufs_inode->ui_nlink));
 	if (inode->i_nlink == 0) {
 		ufs_error (sb, "ufs_read_inode", "inode %lu has zero nlink\n", inode->i_ino);
 		return -1;
@@ -637,7 +637,7 @@
 	 * Copy data to the in-core inode.
 	 */
 	inode->i_mode = mode = fs16_to_cpu(sb, ufs2_inode->ui_mode);
-	inode->i_nlink = fs16_to_cpu(sb, ufs2_inode->ui_nlink);
+	set_nlink(inode, fs16_to_cpu(sb, ufs2_inode->ui_nlink));
 	if (inode->i_nlink == 0) {
 		ufs_error (sb, "ufs_read_inode", "inode %lu has zero nlink\n", inode->i_ino);
 		return -1;
diff --git a/fs/xfs/xfs_iops.c b/fs/xfs/xfs_iops.c
index 9ba2a07..23ce927 100644
--- a/fs/xfs/xfs_iops.c
+++ b/fs/xfs/xfs_iops.c
@@ -1153,7 +1153,7 @@
 	hlist_add_fake(&inode->i_hash);
 
 	inode->i_mode	= ip->i_d.di_mode;
-	inode->i_nlink	= ip->i_d.di_nlink;
+	set_nlink(inode, ip->i_d.di_nlink);
 	inode->i_uid	= ip->i_d.di_uid;
 	inode->i_gid	= ip->i_d.di_gid;
 
diff --git a/include/linux/dcache.h b/include/linux/dcache.h
index 62157c0..4df9261 100644
--- a/include/linux/dcache.h
+++ b/include/linux/dcache.h
@@ -165,6 +165,7 @@
 			unsigned int, const char *, const struct qstr *);
 	int (*d_delete)(const struct dentry *);
 	void (*d_release)(struct dentry *);
+	void (*d_prune)(struct dentry *);
 	void (*d_iput)(struct dentry *, struct inode *);
 	char *(*d_dname)(struct dentry *, char *, int);
 	struct vfsmount *(*d_automount)(struct path *);
@@ -184,8 +185,9 @@
 #define DCACHE_OP_COMPARE	0x0002
 #define DCACHE_OP_REVALIDATE	0x0004
 #define DCACHE_OP_DELETE	0x0008
+#define DCACHE_OP_PRUNE         0x0010
 
-#define	DCACHE_DISCONNECTED	0x0010
+#define	DCACHE_DISCONNECTED	0x0020
      /* This dentry is possibly not currently connected to the dcache tree, in
       * which case its parent will either be itself, or will have this flag as
       * well.  nfsd will not use a dentry with this bit set, but will first
@@ -196,8 +198,8 @@
       * dentry into place and return that dentry rather than the passed one,
       * typically using d_splice_alias. */
 
-#define DCACHE_REFERENCED	0x0020  /* Recently used, don't discard. */
-#define DCACHE_RCUACCESS	0x0040	/* Entry has ever been RCU-visible */
+#define DCACHE_REFERENCED	0x0040  /* Recently used, don't discard. */
+#define DCACHE_RCUACCESS	0x0080	/* Entry has ever been RCU-visible */
 
 #define DCACHE_CANT_MOUNT	0x0100
 #define DCACHE_GENOCIDE		0x0200
diff --git a/include/linux/fs.h b/include/linux/fs.h
index 78af938..0c4df26 100644
--- a/include/linux/fs.h
+++ b/include/linux/fs.h
@@ -768,7 +768,17 @@
 
 	/* Stat data, not accessed from path walking */
 	unsigned long		i_ino;
-	unsigned int		i_nlink;
+	/*
+	 * Filesystems may only read i_nlink directly.  They shall use the
+	 * following functions for modification:
+	 *
+	 *    (set|clear|inc|drop)_nlink
+	 *    inode_(inc|dec)_link_count
+	 */
+	union {
+		const unsigned int i_nlink;
+		unsigned int __i_nlink;
+	};
 	dev_t			i_rdev;
 	struct timespec		i_atime;
 	struct timespec		i_mtime;
@@ -1755,6 +1765,19 @@
 }
 
 /**
+ * set_nlink - directly set an inode's link count
+ * @inode: inode
+ * @nlink: new nlink (should be non-zero)
+ *
+ * This is a low-level filesystem helper to replace any
+ * direct filesystem manipulation of i_nlink.
+ */
+static inline void set_nlink(struct inode *inode, unsigned int nlink)
+{
+	inode->__i_nlink = nlink;
+}
+
+/**
  * inc_nlink - directly increment an inode's link count
  * @inode: inode
  *
@@ -1764,7 +1787,7 @@
  */
 static inline void inc_nlink(struct inode *inode)
 {
-	inode->i_nlink++;
+	inode->__i_nlink++;
 }
 
 static inline void inode_inc_link_count(struct inode *inode)
@@ -1786,7 +1809,7 @@
  */
 static inline void drop_nlink(struct inode *inode)
 {
-	inode->i_nlink--;
+	inode->__i_nlink--;
 }
 
 /**
@@ -1799,7 +1822,7 @@
  */
 static inline void clear_nlink(struct inode *inode)
 {
-	inode->i_nlink = 0;
+	inode->__i_nlink = 0;
 }
 
 static inline void inode_dec_link_count(struct inode *inode)
diff --git a/include/linux/namei.h b/include/linux/namei.h
index 409328d..ffc0213 100644
--- a/include/linux/namei.h
+++ b/include/linux/namei.h
@@ -67,6 +67,7 @@
 #define LOOKUP_EMPTY		0x4000
 
 extern int user_path_at(int, const char __user *, unsigned, struct path *);
+extern int user_path_at_empty(int, const char __user *, unsigned, struct path *, int *empty);
 
 #define user_path(name, path) user_path_at(AT_FDCWD, name, LOOKUP_FOLLOW, path)
 #define user_lpath(name, path) user_path_at(AT_FDCWD, name, 0, path)
diff --git a/mm/shmem.c b/mm/shmem.c
index fa4fa6c..45b9acb 100644
--- a/mm/shmem.c
+++ b/mm/shmem.c
@@ -2503,7 +2503,7 @@
 
 	d_instantiate(path.dentry, inode);
 	inode->i_size = size;
-	inode->i_nlink = 0;	/* It is unlinked */
+	clear_nlink(inode);	/* It is unlinked */
 #ifndef CONFIG_MMU
 	error = ramfs_nommu_expand_for_mapping(inode, size);
 	if (error)