diff --git a/lib/ext2fs/initialize.c b/lib/ext2fs/initialize.c
index 7c38975..1d2927c 100644
--- a/lib/ext2fs/initialize.c
+++ b/lib/ext2fs/initialize.c
@@ -46,19 +46,6 @@
 #endif /* defined(__linux__)   && defined(EXT2_OS_LINUX) */
 
 /*
- * Note we override the kernel include file's idea of what the default
- * check interval (never) should be.  It's a good idea to check at
- * least *occasionally*, specially since servers will never rarely get
- * to reboot, since Linux is so robust these days.  :-)
- *
- * 180 days (six months) seems like a good value.
- */
-#ifdef EXT2_DFL_CHECKINTERVAL
-#undef EXT2_DFL_CHECKINTERVAL
-#endif
-#define EXT2_DFL_CHECKINTERVAL (86400L * 180L)
-
-/*
  * Calculate the number of GDT blocks to reserve for online filesystem growth.
  * The absolute maximum number of GDT blocks we can reserve is determined by
  * the number of block pointers that can fit into a single block.
@@ -155,7 +142,7 @@ errcode_t ext2fs_initialize(const char *name, int flags,
 	set_field(s_log_block_size, 0);	/* default blocksize: 1024 bytes */
 	set_field(s_log_frag_size, 0); /* default fragsize: 1024 bytes */
 	set_field(s_first_data_block, super->s_log_block_size ? 0 : 1);
-	set_field(s_max_mnt_count, EXT2_DFL_MAX_MNT_COUNT);
+	set_field(s_max_mnt_count, 0);
 	set_field(s_errors, EXT2_ERRORS_DEFAULT);
 	set_field(s_feature_compat, 0);
 	set_field(s_feature_incompat, 0);
@@ -189,7 +176,7 @@ errcode_t ext2fs_initialize(const char *name, int flags,
 		super->s_inode_size = EXT2_GOOD_OLD_INODE_SIZE;
 	}
 
-	set_field(s_checkinterval, EXT2_DFL_CHECKINTERVAL);
+	set_field(s_checkinterval, 0);
 	super->s_mkfs_time = super->s_lastcheck = fs->now ? fs->now : time(NULL);
 
 	super->s_creator_os = CREATOR_OS;
diff --git a/misc/mke2fs.c b/misc/mke2fs.c
index 0ba4a4c..2910e6e 100644
--- a/misc/mke2fs.c
+++ b/misc/mke2fs.c
@@ -2105,13 +2105,31 @@ int main (int argc, char *argv[])
 	uuid_generate((unsigned char *) fs->super->s_hash_seed);
 
 	/*
-	 * Add "jitter" to the superblock's check interval so that we
-	 * don't check all the filesystems at the same time.  We use a
-	 * kludgy hack of using the UUID to derive a random jitter value.
+	 * Periodic checks can be enabled/disabled via config file.
+	 * Note we override the kernel include file's idea of what the default
+	 * check interval (never) should be.  It's a good idea to check at
+	 * least *occasionally*, specially since servers will never rarely get
+	 * to reboot, since Linux is so robust these days.  :-)
+	 *
+	 * 180 days (six months) seems like a good value.
 	 */
-	for (i = 0, val = 0 ; i < sizeof(fs->super->s_uuid); i++)
-		val += fs->super->s_uuid[i];
-	fs->super->s_max_mnt_count += val % EXT2_DFL_MAX_MNT_COUNT;
+#ifdef EXT2_DFL_CHECKINTERVAL
+#undef EXT2_DFL_CHECKINTERVAL
+#endif
+#define EXT2_DFL_CHECKINTERVAL (86400L * 180L)
+
+	if (get_bool_from_profile(fs_types, "enable_periodic_fsck", 0)) {
+		fs->super->s_checkinterval = EXT2_DFL_CHECKINTERVAL;
+		fs->super->s_max_mnt_count = EXT2_DFL_MAX_MNT_COUNT;
+		/*
+		 * Add "jitter" to the superblock's check interval so that we
+		 * don't check all the filesystems at the same time.  We use a
+		 * kludgy hack of using the UUID to derive a random jitter value
+		 */
+		for (i = 0, val = 0 ; i < sizeof(fs->super->s_uuid); i++)
+			val += fs->super->s_uuid[i];
+		fs->super->s_max_mnt_count += val % EXT2_DFL_MAX_MNT_COUNT;
+	}
 
 	/*
 	 * Override the creator OS, if applicable
diff --git a/misc/mke2fs.conf b/misc/mke2fs.conf
index a7dd1c7..a96251e 100644
--- a/misc/mke2fs.conf
+++ b/misc/mke2fs.conf
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 [defaults]
 	base_features = sparse_super,filetype,resize_inode,dir_index,ext_attr
+	enable_periodic_fsck = 0
 	blocksize = 4096
 	inode_size = 256
 	inode_ratio = 16384
diff --git a/misc/mke2fs.conf.5.in b/misc/mke2fs.conf.5.in
index e9913cb..1e777cd 100644
--- a/misc/mke2fs.conf.5.in
+++ b/misc/mke2fs.conf.5.in
@@ -107,6 +107,17 @@ command-line option
 to 
 .BR mke2fs (8).
 .TP
+.I enable_periodic_fsck
+This relation specifies whether periodic filesystem checks should be
+enforced at boot time.  If enabled, checks will be forced every
+180 days, or after a random number of mounts.  These values may
+be changed later via the
+.B -i
+and
+.B -c
+command-line options to
+.BR tune2fs (8).
+.TP
 .I force_undo
 This relation, if set to a boolean value of true, forces
 .B mke2fs
