I just set up a new system which boots Linux off a USB drive. The drive is set up for access like a hard drive normally would be. I am able to boot fine and it stays up and running for 1~2 days, but then the drive stops responding (programs in memory continue to run, anything that needs to read files off the drive hangs or gives I/O error).
If I simply restart the computer, it does not fix the problem…the BIOS does not even seem to enumerate it properly. I have to either power off the computer or the drive (by unplugging). After cycling power or re-plugging the drive, I can reboot and continue the boot process. The drive continues to run for a a day or two and then I have the same problem.
I’ve tried disabling ACPI in case it’s not waking up from a power-down event, but it didn’t make a difference.
Any chance the drive itself is overheating? If not, it must have buggy firmware or USB driver. I might try to take it apart in case it’s overheating… Any one with similar experience leaving their drive plugged in for a long period of time?
