[PATCH] hal: Allow vfat option 'usefree'

[Danny Kukawka]

On Dienstag, 23. Oktober 2007, Martin Pitt wrote:
> Hello hal developers,
>
> This patch allows users to set the VFAT mount option 'usefree'.
>
> Background: https://launchpad.net/bugs/133567
>   On current kernels, calling statfs() right after mounting a VFAT
>   partition (e. g. nautilus window opening for new mounts) blocks for
>   an awful amount of time (magnitude of a minute), during which the
>   nautilus window, df command, etc. is completely dead. Using this
>   option uses the old method of detecing free blocks (which might be
>   wrong under certain circumstances, but fast). Until the kernel is
>   fixed properly, this should be allowed. Please see the Ubuntu bug
>   above for links to some kernel background.

I would prefer to handle this patch as suggestion how to workaround the kernel 
bug, but would be against adding it to HAL. The distributors should fix their 
kernels (as we do now on SUSE) instead of add some patch to HAL we have to 
remove later again.

What do you think?

Danny