UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

I'm confused using hdparm -r1 /dev/sda9

although it shows readonly set to 1 (on) - I can touch a file and edit and save it.

why?

What Operating System are you running when you type this command?
Not expecting "-r" to have another parameter.

I'm still using Linux 2.6.32-33-server (Ubuntu 4.4.3) here.

I read the hdparm manual and found out to set parameter with this syntax ( -r1 ).

hdparm /dev/sda9 showed readonly set to 0.

after hdparm -r1 /dev/sda9 it showed readonly = 1 (on)

but still write operations allowed. also tried with another user than 'root'.

Unless anybody here has any better suggestions, I'd take it up with the software authors.
Personally I'd use the read-only option to "mount".

Setting read-only on a mounted disk tears the floor out from under the operating system, because you're telling the disk itself, not OS, to act in a read-only fashion. I suspect it would cause write-errors much later, not immediate 'permission denied'. Only when the OS tries to sync cache to disk would it realize it can't write.

That's if it realizes the write failed at all -- if it doesn't, very inexplicable behavior and crashes are probably in the near future when the contents on disk end up having less and less resemblance to what the kernel believes they should!

Not all disks support the read-only feature, as well.

I don't understand.
If a program tries to write on a disk it doesn't call a system function to get if it is writeenabled? why it doesn't check for this disk setting too?

I tested the creation and editing of a file and OS told me the file is there and changed. After restart the file was still there.

I'll check mount to set readonly flag..

It calls a system call, yes.

The system call puts the changes in memory. It doesn't go directly to the disk. This is not an operating system setting. It's not even a setting stored on the disk itself. This is a hard drive setting where if you took the drive out and put it in a different system, it would theoretically persist there. Very low level. Poking this and then complaining that it doesn't work would be like manually tristating the lines then complaining it can't communicate. Then I don't think your drive supports the hardware read-only feature.