Comment 51 for bug 441835

I will try to see this problem with the computers knowledge:
Logical or idiotic, computers continue to do, what they have been ordered to.
In linux and unix it has been an order, that everything has to be mounted before use and unmounted after use. The computer knows this, and if a floppy disk is removed and replaced with another one without mounting, the computer must consider it a failure of the drive, because the contents in the media has changed without reason. (Floppy drives does not automatically tells the computer, that the media is changed.)
Therefore the computer marks the floppy drive at that position as unreliable, and prohibits the use.
We cannot use the drive at that position, but we can mount and use it in another position, because it might be another drive according the computers knowledge.

I think this explains, what we have experienced, and this might help to find the orders, which could change the knowledge of the computer.