On Mon, Dec 24, 2001 at 09:27:31AM -0600, Terry Houle wrote:
> Probably a dump question but I got some Linux decals that say
> "Warning:Turning off the power or pressing reset switch could lose contents
> of hard drive.  If you must restart this system, please get help or use
> Ctrl-Alt-Del".  My question is if Linux is more of a problem than Windows if
> shutdown improperly?

No, Linux is never *more* of a problem than Windows. :)

What you're running into here is called asynchronous disk buffering.
In Linux, when you hit "Save" in some program, the save is not
necessarily written to the disk immediately.  The OS builds up a
little stack of things to write to disk, and when it gets to a certain
size (or time since the last write) it writes to the disk.

If you turn off the power or reboot, you could lose data in the buffer
that you said "Save" to, but hadn't actually gotten written yet.  

If you're not used to the idea, this may sound loopy, but it's
necessary in a true multi-tasking environment in order to keep the
system running many tasks smoothly.  It's also an idea that's mature
and has been working right for longer than many on the list have been
alive ;)

The stickers are a little silly, though, but then again don't forget
that Linux is a copy of an operating system that was designed when
users never had physical access to the power switch.  Even so, they
are misleading, because there's no reason you should lose anything
that was *already* on the disk at the time the power quit.

> I know I will get the Linux is not Windows, but wondering if there is
> difference?

Just because a process (program) crashes, there's no reason the whole
system should stop under a real operating system.  Windows isn't a
real operating system.  Linux is sufficiently close to be considered a
real operating system (from a technical point of view) for many (but
not all) applications.

This post isn't as biased as it sounds. :)

Merry Christmas,
Phil

-- 
"Trying to do something with your life is like
sitting down to eat a moose." --Douglas Wood