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Idea #21081: New users don't necessarily know to unmount external drives before removing the

Written by jrothwell97 the 16 Aug 09 at 14:47. Related project: Nautilus. Status: New
Rationale
New users might not realise that an external disk (such as a USB drive) must be unmounted before it is removed. As Ubuntu does not remove the icon from the desktop, this has the potential to be confusing, along with the fact that data could be lost.
Tags: (none)

119
votes
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Solution #1: Remove the icon and display a warning when an external drive isn't unmounted
Written by jrothwell97 the 16 Aug 09 at 14:47.
I would propose removing the icon on the desktop and displaying a notification (using an alert box, because notify-osd is too transient) along the lines of this.


49
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Solution #2: Use tray icon and osd instead
Written by kreep the 17 Aug 09 at 12:59.
i think an osd is allright, and a window automatically popping up would be annoying. instead, show an icon in tray which would pop up the window when clicked (in a fashion similar to a crash alert icon).
146
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Solution #3: Use the notification system
Written by Akerbos the 17 Aug 09 at 19:09.
You want to notify the user of a problem? Use the notification system!
-5
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Solution #4: Disk mounter panel applet present by default
Written by Clorox the 21 Aug 09 at 05:39.
There is a Gnome Panel applet installed by default which shows an icon for every mounted disk, with an easy way to unmount each disk. Simply put it on the panel by default.
59
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Solution #5: Repair the data when the device is plugged back in
Written by Cé the 2 Sep 09 at 17:43.
All the data is still there, it's just not (yet) on the USB drive.

Ask the user to re-insert the USB drive, and then sync the drive.

Then tell the user that the USB drive can be savely removed.
-6
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Solution #6: Change unmount to eject
Written by aardvark the 5 Sep 09 at 06:23.
New users coming from windows platform aren't used to the word "unmount". They are probably more familiar with the term "eject".
3
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Solution #7: Mouseover on the desktop icon should indicate what you can or can not do
Written by mikerobinson the 10 Sep 09 at 22:59.
When a user inserts the drive it should be auto mounted and the icon on the desktop should have a "warning" flag in the corner of the icon (similar to the icon in solution #1) and when the user hovers their mouse over the icon, a popup will appear saying something along the lines of "Warning this drive is mounted. Do not unplug it."

When the drive is unmounted, it should have about a 50% transparency and a green check flag on the icon. The mouseover should say "Unmounted USB drive: Safe to remove". The transparency will differentiate between the mounted and unmounted drive.

When the drive is removed, the icon should disappear completely. If it is removed without being unmounted use solution #1
0
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Solution #8: Extends Nautilus and Save Dialog.
Written by Lachu the 8 Nov 09 at 20:28.
Nautilus should show information, when write operation are performed. When any write operations have ended, it should show unmount button. I think about top information box, like is displayed in trash, etc.

Also, Save File Dialog could been extended too.
1
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Solution #9: Create external journal
Written by Lachu the 6 Feb 10 at 22:37.
Create external journal mechanism for virtual file system. After user removes storage device without unmount operation, we can asks him to put drive back and write all operations onto drive again.

Propose your solution

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Comments
cheesehead (Brainstorm moderator) wrote on the 17 Aug 09 at 01:05
In the past, I've gotten an error that 'File foo failed to write'. Shouldn't the user know which file(s) they just borked?

arand wrote on the 17 Aug 09 at 03:39
Good idea, apart from the "You may have lost data", that'd be unnecessary scary for such a warning, I think.

Ssdg wrote on the 17 Aug 09 at 09:52
This isn't scarry, this is REAL.
It's the only problem that can happen when you "hard(ly) unmount" a storage device. so if you don't want to show this warning then just remove the whole warning and wait for users complaining about data loss.

Shady3D wrote on the 17 Aug 09 at 11:28
this will be better as a notification

kreep wrote on the 17 Aug 09 at 12:57
yea, i'm also not sure about a window instead of an osd. if anything, i think an osd + a tray icon (like a crash alert) which would pop up the aforementioned window would be a better alternative.

Darwin Survivor wrote on the 17 Aug 09 at 16:56
People tend to ignore OSD type message that go away (or not even notice them if they get a lot from IM people signing in/out). Not knowing to unmount flash drives is BIG problem with new linux users (especially those that came from Windows) and can cause SERIOUS data loss. This is not something we should leave up to a small black notification that dissapears in 3 seconds.

Akerbos wrote on the 17 Aug 09 at 19:17
Does the notification system not allow to control the time frame in which the notification is visible? If so, it should be extended by that possibility.

Lachu wrote on the 18 Aug 09 at 18:32
Second idea is great! Ubuntu should keep tray icon (presents device actions). It should show animation, when writing operation is in process. It should change icon for few seconds when all operations are done. On mousehover it should explanation:

When device is working this icon will show you animation
Once you can remove device you should see special icon
Properly unmount devices!

Lachu wrote on the 18 Aug 09 at 18:35
Ubuntu can also shows notification when internal storage device is pluged first time.

jrothwell97 wrote on the 18 Aug 09 at 19:23
The rationale for _not_ using notify-osd is because

(a) it is transient and could be ignored, and
(b) unplugging things without dismounting them is as dangerous as hell, and it needs to be discouraged.

Which is why you have alert boxes. Also, I wouldn't like to see a full explanation of the problem squeezed into a super-long notify-osd notification.

Peter-Alexander wrote on the 20 Aug 09 at 06:23
I like the idea of using the notification system.

Please also show the message "It's save to remove the device now." via the notification system.

Jon Monreal wrote on the 23 Aug 09 at 15:08
There is a major problem in the fact that Windows gets people used to just unplugging their drives. While "Add or Remove Hardware" used to show a little pop-up (like the notify-osd solution), this is no longer the case.

Back when I had Windows Server 2003 running on one of my workstation boxes, I remember that you could even change an option so that no reads or writes would occur outside of those initiated by the user (there was also another option where drives would have to be unmounted before being removed).

Exozito wrote on the 28 Aug 09 at 11:50
To add on to solution 1, I think that a "Do not show me this again" checkbox should be included as well for those who are too lazy to unmount their thumbdrives and just want to pull it out straight away when they're done.

Penguin Guy wrote on the 7 Sep 09 at 09:18
'New users might not realise that an external disk (such as a USB drive) must be unmounted before it is removed.'

That's because it doesn't - unmounting is a precaution only. The only good solution is #6: if it is unplugged while in use, bring up a notification to plug it back in and continue operation.

Penguin Guy wrote on the 7 Sep 09 at 09:23
'Unplugging things without dismounting them is as dangerous as hell, and it needs to be discouraged.'

The worst thing that can happen is if you pull it out while you're writing a file to the drive is that you loose half of the file and have to fsck the drive.

mikerobinson wrote on the 10 Sep 09 at 23:12
"The worst thing that can happen is if you pull it out while you're writing a file to the drive is that you loose half of the file and have to fsck the drive."

If that half of a file is your master's thesis that you've spent 6 months on and stupidly don't have a backup you wouldn't be saying that.


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