[svlug] fstab, fstab-sync and hald

[norm@dad.org]

Something or somethings are writing to my /etc/fstab and mounting file systems
when I do things like insert a USB.

Call me an old fuddy duddy, but I don't want anything  except me mounting or
unmounting temporary files systems or messing with /etc/fstab.

'man fstab-sync' suggests to me that a daemon, hald, is indirectly responsible.
There is a file, /etc/hal/hald.conf, but I can't understand it and I can't find
any documentation for it.

What I'm tempted to do, is now and whenever I reboot:

    sudo /etc/rc.d/init.d/haldaemon stop

But I'm not sure what else hald is doing for me and if there would be any
deleterious consequences.

I'm using a badly out-of-date Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS release 4, Kernel
version, 2.6.9-89.ELsmp.

    Norman Shapiro
    798 Barron Avenue
    Palo Alto CA 94306-3109
    (650) 565-8215
    norm at dad.org