Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!samsung!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!sdd.hp.com!ucsd!nosc!crash!pnet01!lkoop From: lkoop@pnet01.cts.com (Lamonte Koop) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.hardware Subject: Re: Quantum Hard Drives Message-ID: <4384@crash.cts.com> Date: 13 Sep 90 06:56:17 GMT Sender: root@crash.cts.com Organization: People-Net [pnet01], El Cajon CA Lines: 36 a218@mindlink.UUCP (Charlie Gibbs) writes: >In article <4306@crash.cts.com> lkoop@pnet01.cts.com (Lamonte Koop) >asks what that extra I/O operation is that occurs a second or so >after writing to his hard disk. > > Are you *sure* it's not the cache being dumped? This is a >file system function which happens on every Amiga disk drive (hard >or floppy) that I've ever seen. That this is what you're seeing >is confirmed by your report of extensive disk activity on a re-boot >where this final I/O wasn't performed. Without that final write to >flush the buffers, the disk is left in a compromised state. That >extra I/O on re-boot is just the disk-validator cleaning things up >again; you're fortunate that it was able to do so without putting >up all sorts of nasty requesters telling you to use DiskDoctor (ugh!). > >Charlie_Gibbs@mindlink.UUCP >Intel puts the "backward" in "backward compatible." No...it's not the buffers being flushed: I did find out what it was though; AmigaDOS updating the bitmap/hash tables (essentially what you are saying, with only a slight difference). Those long boot-up searches are indeed the validator, but it is basically going through all the files to update the hash tables, not write-out buffer data. [Else this same effect wouldn't occur during a power-down interruption, and it does indeed] One good point: NEVER DO THIS ON PURPOSE!!! You are right that even though what it is doing is slightly different, the requesters from the deep could easily still show up. --LaMonte "The most original .sig file yet: A non-existant one!" UUCP: {hplabs!hp-sdd ucsd nosc}!crash!pnet01!lkoop ARPA: crash!pnet01!lkoop@nosc.mil INET: lkoop@pnet01.cts.com