Can't unmount USB volume

[Ed Fletcher]

Laurent CHARLES wrote:
> Hello,
> 
> I'm facing a problem with my newly installed warty on a laptop HP zd7000 
> (zd7320ea). I can't unmount USB volume, neither from the gnome desktop, 
> nor from the command line.
>  % sudo umount /media/sda1
>  Password:
>  umount: /media/sda1: device is busy
>  umount: /media/sda1: device is busy
>  %
> 
> And when I try to get further information from the system...
>  % fuser -m -u /media/sda1
>  %
>  % lsof | grep sda1
>  %
> ...nothing
> The device is mounted and contains data
>  % ls /media/sda1
>  img_1631.jpg  img_1656.jpg  img_1675.jpg
>  %
> 
> Did anyone face the same problem (and solve it)?
> 
> Thank you for your help.
> 
> Regards
> 
> -- Laurent
> 

I've had this problem on my laptop too.  I was trying to unmount by 
right-clicking on the desktop icon for sda1 and the icon wouldn't always 
disappear.  When I got tired of trying, I just pulled it and let the usb 
drivers figure it out.  Didn't always have the files on the thumb drive 
afterwards, though.  So I'd sometimes have to stick it back in and copy 
the files again.  Seemed to be pretty random whether or not the files 
would be there and whether or not it would unmount.  And the two 
problems didn't always go together.  Then sometimes everything worked 
like it should.

I didn't have anything accessing sda1.  I just plugged it in, opened a 
file browser in my home directory, copied the files I wanted, closed the 
file browser, double clicked on the sda1 icon, pasted the files and 
closed the sda1 browser.

I probably should have looked for a real solution but I was working and 
people were waiting to get the files.  Next time the right click fails 
I'll try unmounting from a terminal just to see if that works.

Ed
-- 
Ed Fletcher
ed at fletcher.ca

What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans and the homeless,
whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism
or the holy name of liberty or democracy?  -  Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)