diskd
=====

The diskd command has the following syntax:

     diskd [-d DRIVE] [-i INTERVAL] [-e COMMAND]

Diskd waits for a disk to be inserted into a given DRIVE, and then either executes the COMMAND or exits. This program can be used to automatically mount a disk as soon as it is inserted.

Warning
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This program works by switching the motor on for a very short interval, and then seeking to track -1. This might damage hardware in the long run. Amigas, which also use these techniques, are known for having problems with their disk drives no longer spinning up properly after a few month of usage.

Options
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-d DRIVE
     Selects the drive to observe for disk insertion. By default, drive 0 (/dev/fd0) is observed.

-i INTERVAL
     Selects the polling interval. The interval is given in tenths of seconds. Default is 10 (one second).

-e COMMAND
     Gives the command to be executed when a disk is inserted. If no command is given the program simply exits. Typically, the command mounts the disk. It can be a shell scripts which probes for several filesystems and disk geometries until it succeeds.

Bugs
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  * Automatic unmounting cannot yet be handled. It is indeed not enough to scan for disk removal, because when the disk is removed, it is already too late: There might be some buffers needing flushing.  However, the fdmountd program allows automatic unmounting by using the SYNC mount options, which switches off write buffering (see fdmount).

  * The drive motor is running all the time, and on some computers, the drive led flickers at each time the drive is polled.