[gentoo-amd64] Re: hardware clock often doesn't sync to system on shutdown

[Duncan]

Thanasis <thanasis@××××××××××.org> posted 48CE7EAE.9080404@××××××××××.org,
excerpted below, on  Mon, 15 Sep 2008 18:26:38 +0300:

> on 09/15/2008 05:57 PM Sebastian Redl wrote the following:
>> Thanasis wrote:
>>> I attach the /etc/init.d/clock which shows a local "readonly" variable
>>> that controls a "--noadjfile" option. What does the following test do?
>>>
>>> if ! touch /etc/adjtime 2>/dev/null ; then
>>>                readonly="yes"
>>> elif [[ ! -s /etc/adjtime ]] ; then
>>>                echo "0.0 0 0.0" > /etc/adjtime
>>> fi
>> First it tests if a touch of /etc/adjtime succeeds. If not, the file is
>> not writeable, and it sets the readonly variable.
>>
>> Then it tests if /etc/adjtime exists (it does, since the touch
>> succeeded) and has non-zero size. If not, it writes a zero adjust into
>> the file.
>>
>> Sebastian
> How can I make /etc/adjtime readonly? I tried "chmod a-w /etc/adjtime",
> but root can always write to it :-) , unless the init script doesn't run
> as root.

A caveat in that the below are all untested ideas.  I'm just throwing 
them out as possible solutions I'd explore further if it were me.  They 
may work, or not, but it's probably worth investigating them further and/
or testing them.

There's a spot in /etc/conf.d/clock to set your own options, right?  From 
the script, perhaps it's ${CLOCK_OPTS}.  If you can set your own 
arbitrary options, you can try adding --noadjfile to them.  Except 
hwclock is called several times (twice for start, once for stop if you 
have it set to do so) with different options, and I've not checked to see 
what effect setting --noadjfile will have in all those calls.  You could 
reason it out or just try it and see.

Alternatively, the manpage says there's an --adjfile=filename option.  
You could try adding that option and pointing it elsewhere, so the 
scripts don't look in the right place.

A third thing to try would be making the adjfile a directory (make it an 
empty one just in case) instead of a file.  Obviously it won't be 
possible to write a valid adjust into it then, but I'm not sure what the 
failure mode would be, tho it shouldn't blow up the system so it should 
be safe to try.

Finally, a combination of options two and three above, pointing 
--adjfile= at a different location, an empty directory, might work.

As I said, those are ideas I'd try.

Something else I HAVE done on occasion, is hack whatever initscript a bit 
to fit my needs.  If you do so, make sure portage's (assuming that's the 
PM you're using, others... I expect you'd know what to configure in them) 
CONFIG_PROTECT variables are set to include that dir (IIRC it does as 
it's under /etc, but the mask variable may unprotect it, so check that), 
so an update lets you manage the changes instead of overwriting it 
without asking.

-- 
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