[mdlug] ext2 on USB drive?

[Robert Meier]

Stan,

> I have an amazing ability to exponentially cause more
> problems for myself. This occurred because I think I
> edited a some file to permanently name my drive (I
> named it 'franz') instead of having it rename itself a
> different thing each time it gets remounted. Someone
> on this list gave directions on how to do this, but
> for the life of me I cannot remember what file I
> edited.

I suspect the file editted is /etc/fstab,
a configuration file for mount(8).
It is a DIF (Data Interchange Format) file with six fields.

  "The sixth field, (fs_passno), is used by the fsck(8) program to  deter-
   mine the order in which filesystem checks are done at reboot time.  The
   root filesystem should be specified with a fs_passno of  1,  ...
   If the sixth field is not present or zero, ... fsck will assume that
   the filesystem does not need to be checked."
     -- fstab(5)

Removable media does not nominally need to be checked at reboot.
>From the symptoms, I suspect that fs_passno is erroneously 1,
requiring its presence for boot.

See fstab(5), mount(8) for details.

Hopefully helpful,
-- 
Bob

  "There is a single light of science,
   and to brighten it anywhere is to brighten it everywhere."
     -- Isaac Asimov