> > That wasn't the point. What if I have a stable non-busy system? sync(8)
> > lies currently and doesn't force all data out to the disk...
> 
> It always lied, thus "sync, sync, halt".

The best explanation I was ever able to get for the "sync, sync, halt"
rule of thumb was that the extra typing gave you something to do during
any time it might take for the writes initiated by 'sync' to complete.
Therefore, it may be that sync was never perfectly able to guarantee
that the writes it initiated were physically final by the time it exited,
but it did initiate the necessary writes.

Do we now have sync lying about something different and more fundamental?

-Chap

"It's not the slippery slope that hurts, it's those rocks at the bottom."