On Wednesday 18 July 2007 17:41:04 Oliver Fromme wrote: > As Josh wrote, it's expected. The problem is known > to exist for a long time already (probably as long > as FreeBSD itself exists), and if there was an easy > solution, certainly someone would have fixed it. > > Just remember to always umount first, and you're safe. > In the early 90s I panicked a FreeBSD machine by > removing a floppy disk that was mounted. I did that > mistake only once -- afterwards I always remembered. > > If you have problems remembering, another work-around > is to use the auto mounter daemon (amd(8)). It umounts > file systems automatically that are not in use. > Another nice feature of amd(8) is that you don't have > to mount the file system either -- Simply plug the USB > stick in, then access it, and amd(8) will automatically > mount it for you. > > Best regards > Oliver
I started the thread just because it hit me today. I wanted to disconnect my mouse and forgot that the hdd is connected to the same hub, I realized that after having unplugged the usb hub and saw the system freeze. I know that this has been an issue for a long time. With cdroms it`s easy, the tray won`t open until you umount the cd fs, floppies......... nowadays they have been replaced by usb sticks, but they have no trays as cdroms do :) moreover people use other usb storages too and unplugging those is just as simple as unpluging the cable. I think this is a critical problem and needs to be addressed, avoiding it doesn`t solve it. As technology advances I think FreeBSD has to advance too. You said you paniced a system in the early 90s, which is more than 10 years from now. In the past floppy disks were maybe the only problem, but nowadays as storage is cheap more and more people use USB storage devices, and these are easy to unplug. It`s even worse if you have a laptop, since it`s easier to connect everything to a hub (mouse, hdds, other usb stuff) and connect/disconnect it. In the days before common storage devices (hard drives) where fixed inside the computer`s case, so unpluging a hard drive when the computer was running was considered as "insane", so panicing is ok. Nowadays things have changed. USB (maybe Firewire too, have no experience with that) offers a simple way to connect/disconnect devices to your computer (here I have to note: not just one!), having a laptop and 1,2,3 or even more external storage devices is something usual. That`s why I think this particular problem needs to be addressed. Thanks for the tip about amd(8) I will give it a try. -- PGP KeyID: 0x3118168B Keyserver: pgp.mit.edu Key fingerprint BB50 2983 0714 36DC D02E 158A E03D 56DA 3118 168B
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