nfs unmount: can it be done from (to) a croaked system?

[Mike Riechers <mlr%rse.com@localhost>]

Hello, all.

A few weeks ago one of our computers bit the big one: the root disc
drive croaked (bad).  One of these days I'll get to replacing the
drive, but I'm not shedding too many tears, for 1)it's a little used
system, and 2) the important data was on other drives.

What is annoying is, however, the fact that we had files nfs mounted
on our network that were serviced from this computer.  Now any time we
do a "df", an unmount, or any operation that references the nfs from
that computer, the program "locks up," and ps shows:

             D       Marks a process in device or other short term,
                     uninterruptible wait.

I did a "df" on one of our computers a couple of weeks ago, and ps
still shows the process in device or other short term, uninterruptible
wait.  So much for short term.

I believe that the df inquiry is going to wait forever, demanding to
palaver with the nfs that isn't there anymore.  (It's inconvenient to
try to remember to do a "df -l," and of course, there goes info
concerning my other nfs mounts.)

I tried a "umount -fh mydeadcomputer.com" on the nfs mount, but all
that got me was a locked-up "umount."

I've rebooted one computer, and of course that worked, but I'd rather
not do the same thing to all the rest.  Is there a more elegant
solution I'm missing?

I've tried starting up another computer to imitate the failed one as
to IP and interface name, but that didn't work.  It looks like the
only thing that will satisfy my live computers is an actual commune
with the dead nfs system (or a reboot).

Any help?  Thanks in advance,

Yours,

-Mike

-- 
Kind Regards, I am

 /s/ Michael L. Riechers

Michael L. Riechers,
Owner,					M L Riechers Systems Engineering
513/844-2220 (voice)			530 Main Street
513/205-5589 (cell)			Hamilton, Ohio 45013
mlr%rse.com@localhost  (internet)
www.rse.com  (WEB)

Systems Programming: The three most adverse malignancies in life are:
  1)signed numbers,  2)floating point numbers, and  3)little endians.

"Defend the Spirit of the Enlightenment."  Macron, 2017