linux-kernel - Re: [PATCH] ext2: Avoid WARN() messages when failing to write to the superblock

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Message-ID: <20091026040810.GE18523@mit.edu>
Date:	Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:08:10 -0400
From:	Theodore Tso <tytso@....edu>
To:	Pavel Machek <pavel@....cz>
Cc:	Linux Kernel Developers List <linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org>
Subject: Re: [PATCH] ext2: Avoid WARN() messages when failing to write to
	the superblock

On Sun, Oct 25, 2009 at 07:21:28AM +0100, Pavel Machek wrote:
> > +	if (buffer_write_io_error(sbh)) {
> > +		/*
> > +		 * Oh, dear.  A previous attempt to write the
> > +		 * superblock failed.  This could happen because the
> > +		 * USB device was yanked out.  Or it could happen to
> > +		 * be a transient write error and maybe the block will
> > +		 * be remapped.  Nothing we can do but to retry the
> > +		 * write and hope for the best.
> > +		 */
> > +		printk(KERN_ERR "EXT2-fs: %s previous I/O error to "
> > +		       "superblock detected", sb->s_id);
> 
> KERN_ALERT/KERN_CRITICAL?

Based on kerneloops.org logs, it's apparently very frequent that
clueless lusers rip out USB drives without bothering to unmount them
first.  (Or people by crappy laptops where the SD cards sticks out
slightly and is easily jostled.)  It's not clear we really want to be
issueing KERN_ALERT or KERN_CRITICAL messages when this very common
event happens.

						- TRed
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