[Pan-users] Re: data=writeback might be recommended...

[Duncan]

Loki Harfagr <address@hidden> posted
address@hidden, excerpted below, on 
Sun, 12 Jul 2009 09:20:30 +0200:

> On Sat, 11 Jul 2009 21:17:32 -0500
> Ron Johnson <address@hidden> wrote:
> 
>> But when vlc (really, an X bug) froze the system and I had to reboot,
>> my tasks.nzb was littered with garbage.
> 
> did you try to use SysReq+S (and other SRQ combos) and it failed?

The standard Alt-SysRQ- S,U,B

(That's sync-to-disk, remoUnt-ro (or just think of it as Unmount if you 
like), reBoot.

It doesn't /always/ work, and Magic SysRQ is a kernel config option so 
some folks might not have it enabled in their kernel (or the default 
might be off), but when it's enabled and it /does/ work, it can save MANY 
the HUGE headache!

For more details, /usr/src/linux/Documentation/sysrq.txt if your kernel 
sources are in the standard location, or google it:

http://www.google.com/linux?lr=lang_en&hl=en&q=%22magic+sysrq%22

>> Grrrrr.
>> 
>> Back to data=ordered for me!!!!
> 
> well, why not ;-)

That's why I'm warning people.

I had my fill of data=writeback with reiserfs back before it got 
data=ordered as the default, and know the evils of data=writeback from 
first hand experience.  That is, I'm sure, the biggest reason reiserfs 
has the reputation for lack of reliability it does, because back before 
data=ordered, it COULD and often DID eat people's files for breakfast!

-- 
Duncan - List replies preferred.   No HTML msgs.
"Every nonfree program has a lord, a master --
and if you use the program, he is your master."  Richard Stallman