Wait for HW encrypted USB disk
Originally created by @indolering on #8501 (Redmine)
I use hardware encrypted USB disks to thwart evil maid attacks. The boot process briefly disconnects the USB disk, resetting the encrypted disk. One must reenter the decryption pin before the blue boot status bar finishes loading or you have to reboot and try again.
The boot process should detect when the boot disk is no longer accessible and wait for reinsertion. Note that it is very easy to put the disk into a different USB port on accident; I would discourage an implementation that relies on just checking a specific USB port. It would be best if the USB disk never lost power to begin with, but I’m guessing that this is a hardware issue.
I originally labeled this a feature request but unplugging a disk, punching in the correct 16 digit pin, and reinserting the disk in time is just barely feasible on my 4-year-old laptop. It may already be impossible on current hardware and it will become impossible as boot times improve.
Hardware
I’ve run into this problem on a “MacBook Pro 15 Inch, Early 2011” and a “MacBook Air 11-inch, Mid 2011”.
While in the locked mode, my Corsair Padlock 2 does not show up on OS X’s System Information utility. I would be happy to report back information on a Linux system. I’m comfortable around a command line, just let me know what commands to run.