Difference between eject and unmount

[aussieskin]

Thought this would go in the 'Help the new guy' section.

What is the difference between ejecting media and unmounting it?

I just got myself an external hard drive and I clicked on the 'safely remove' link and it said that the drive was unmounted but could not be ejected. What does that mean? Does it matter?

Thanks

[Princey]

Re: Difference between eject and unmount

Ejecting media is the same as well, ejecting media and it's a term used when removable media is placed in optical drives. Unmounting can be used for all removable media. In your case, unmounting the drive is the safest thing to do before unplugging it and you really can't eject an external drive in the same sense you eject say a CD or DVD.

If I were you, I wouldn't worry too much about saying the drive wasn't ejected. I get the same message for my usb flash drives. Once it's unmounted it's "safe" to unplug.

[aussieskin]

Re: Difference between eject and unmount

Cool thanks. I thought that may have been the case.

Pretty self explainitory when you think about it. lol.

One thing though in regards to my iPod. Should I 'eject' it through gtkpod or 'unmount' it through dolphin? Or again doesn't it really matter as long as I do one of them?

[Qqmike]

Re: Difference between eject and unmount

In my opinion, that's a good example where K can be improved through more clear communication with the user. That message is confusing, and it's natural to infer that it implies that there's a {possible} problem. Too geeked-out, I think. I noticed it, also with 8.04 (not so with 7.10).

[Princey]

Re: Difference between eject and unmount

Cool thanks. I thought that may have been the case.

Pretty self explainitory when you think about it. lol.

One thing though in regards to my iPod. Should I 'eject' it through gtkpod or 'unmount' it through dolphin? Or again doesn't it really matter as long as I do one of them?

It would be wise to first eject it through gtkpod then unmount in dolphin. By the way, as an off coment, amorak also handles ipods well.