Linux, disable /dev/fd0 (floppy)

Question

Is it possible to make Linux kernel completely ignore the floppy disk controller? I do not have the drive but obviously my motherboard does contain the controller. I would like to disable the /dev/fd0 device node somehow to avoid Thunar and other tools detecting it and probing it.

Solution 1

On Ubuntu, the floppy driver is loaded as a module. You can blacklist this module so it doesn't get loaded:

echo "blacklist floppy" | sudo tee /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-floppy.conf
sudo rmmod floppy
sudo update-initramfs -u

Immediately and upon rebooting, the floppy driver should be banished for good.

Solution 2

The presence or absence of a floppy drive is something that is configured in the system's BIOS. You have to manually tell the BIOS what type of floppy you have, and it in turn tells the OS. This is because the hardware is not actually capable of being auto detected.

So you need to go into your BIOS and tell it that you have no floppy.

Comments

[cheshirecatalyst]

Hence the line "immediately and upon rebooting". The point was that it works immediately, and it will also persist after a reboot, so you don't need to keep doing it.

[derobert]

My apologies, I read that wrong.

[user1106106]

This answer of yours is more like a comment on the answer of the other person than a proper answer to the question. It would be good to "relocate" it.

[jw013]

I think the answer being suggested here is to remove /dev/fd0 from /etc/fstab. I don't think that actually addresses the original question, since fstab is not entirely related to GUI environment auto-mounting.