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On Thursday, 2 January 2020 00:09:14 GMT Dale wrote: |
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> Howdy, |
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> |
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> As some may recall, I have a 8TB external SATA hard drive that I do back |
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> ups on. Usually, I back up once a day, more often if needed. Usually I |
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> turn the power on, mount it, do the back ups, unmount and turn the power |
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> back off. Usually it is powered up for 5 minutes or so. When I unmount |
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> it tho, I sometimes notice it is still doing something. I can feel the |
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> mechanism for the heads moving. It has a slight vibration to it. |
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> Questions are, what is it doing and should I let it finish before |
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> powering it off? I'd assume that once it in unmounted, the copy process |
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> is done so the files are safe. I guess it is doing some sort of |
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> internal checks or something but I'm not sure. |
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There is some delay with data still in the buffers between rsync/cp/tar/what- |
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ever saying it's finished on your terminal and the drive itself finishing |
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storing the data on the platters. |
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If you look at vmstat, or keep an eye on Gkrelm you'll see what I mean. |
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Normally, if you try to unmount a drive while it is still being written to, |
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the umount/udisks command will complain the drive is busy. |
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> Is it safe to turn it off even tho it is doing whatever it is doing? |
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> Should I wait? Does it matter? |
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> |
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> Thanks. |
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> |
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> Dale |
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> |
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> :-) :-) |
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If you wait for a few seconds after the backup is completed before you unmount |
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the drive, you should be OK. Although it may slow down or any LEDs flash less |
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frequently the drive may not stop spinning, unless there is some power save |
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process taking control of it. |
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> P. S. Down to last router that was discussed in another thread so I |
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> bought it while they had it. Price may go up if I didn't. Did more |
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> research on old modem, it is risky to try to convert to AT&T. Some say |
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> not possible. |
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Right, ISP controlled firmware typically requires re-flashing the device with |
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the new ISP's firmware version. In some cases even the boot code needs |
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replacing. Should you flash the router with a wrong firmware build, you could |
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sometimes derive a door stop without additional cost. In this case you'll |
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need a JTAG and access to its circuit board with an OEM boot/firmware version |
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to recover it. In most cases OEMs support lines will redirect you to your |
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ISP, who run an overseas support line and will ask you to reboot your |
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MSWindows PC ... O_o |
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This is a reason I avoid these kind of routers as much as I can. |
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-- |
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Regards, |
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Mick |
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