Re: Query on adding a USB hdd
andy wrote:
Hi all
I am thinking of getting an external/USB2.0 hard-drive.
This is entirely new to me, so I have a load of questions if you guys
don't mind throwing your opinions into the pot on this?
1. Is this a device that can/should be rw via other (possibly
non-GNU/Linux) machines? If yes, then what are the best avenues for a
decent encryption set-up on this USB drive?
2. Does this need to be made bootable? And if so, what of those BIOS
that don't have the option for USB boots?
3. How would I go about cfdisking it? Would I need to change something
in /etc/fstab and create a mount point (which would seem logical)? How
could I set this up so that it automounts when plugged in?
4. Any gotchas or dire warnings? Any alternative ideas about obtaining
portable storage space?
Thanks for any thoughts on this. There's a good deal on locally and I am
just wondering how feasible it would be to take advantage because an
external drive makes good sense as a system back-up repository, as well
as for additional data.
One thing that needed solving for me is that "natively" when you boot
from an USB disk there is no sufficiently long wait for the device data
to show up for the kernel, which in my case takes on the average 6 seconds.
If the kernel boots before that the root device will not be found.
I "solved" it by changing initramfs-tools and adding an arbitrary wait
of 10 seconds. This is the patch:
--- local.orig 2006-10-17 02:26:00.000000000 -0500
+++ local 2007-03-07 13:24:53.000000000 -0600
@@ -7,6 +7,9 @@
run_scripts /scripts/local-top
[ "$quiet" != "y" ] && log_end_msg
+ echo "Self-imposed wait of 10s..."
+ /bin/sleep 10.0
+
# If the root device hasn't shown up yet, give it a little while
# to deal with removable devices
if [ ! -e "${ROOT}" ]; then
Now when I boot a kernel from the USB disk, he first waits 10 seconds
and during that wait the device data shows up. Is foolproof...
Hugo
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