10-26-2019, 04:38 PM
SD Cards and write-protect
When I first started CPAP therapy, I was running Microsoft Windows 7. The warning in Sleepyhead & OSCAR to write-protect your SD card is absolutely needed for Windows users, any version I know of. When my Windows notebook died, I went to a backup Windows 7 machine, then migrated everything to a Linux (Mint 18.3) unit. As an IT professional, I had watched Microsoft's antics/insanity with Windows 10, and decided I would never trust my data or functionality to Microsoft again.
Over the years using Windows, I lost several SD cards to a failure of the write-protect slider. It slides on a thin and fragile plastic rib, which can break, the slider can pop off, etc. If anything happens like this, the card appears as permanently write-protected to any device, CPAP or computer. I know its possible to use tape to fake the slider, but I was never willing to risk the tape coming loose and getting caught in a card slot. So I have a collection of useless SD cards I'll probably throw away some day.
However, now that I am running Linux, there is no need to change the write-protect slider at all, as Linux does not attempt to write anything to the card when it is inserted for reading. I can't speak for Mac users, as I have never used that OS in a meaningful way. But Linux users can dispense with the write-protect setting, and extend the life of their SD cards by doing so.
And the OSCAR team can consider removing the warning for the Linux builds.
Over the years using Windows, I lost several SD cards to a failure of the write-protect slider. It slides on a thin and fragile plastic rib, which can break, the slider can pop off, etc. If anything happens like this, the card appears as permanently write-protected to any device, CPAP or computer. I know its possible to use tape to fake the slider, but I was never willing to risk the tape coming loose and getting caught in a card slot. So I have a collection of useless SD cards I'll probably throw away some day.
However, now that I am running Linux, there is no need to change the write-protect slider at all, as Linux does not attempt to write anything to the card when it is inserted for reading. I can't speak for Mac users, as I have never used that OS in a meaningful way. But Linux users can dispense with the write-protect setting, and extend the life of their SD cards by doing so.
And the OSCAR team can consider removing the warning for the Linux builds.
A.Becker
PAPing in NE Ohio, with a pack of Cairn terriers
PAPing in NE Ohio, with a pack of Cairn terriers
