loop.o device busy after umount

[Kareem Dana]

Hello,

I've noticed in kernel 2.4.18 that my loop module remains busy after I umount the device using it. For example

mount -t iso9660 -o loop file.iso /mnt
* loop module gets loaded
* lsmod shows "loop                    7952   1 (autoclean)"
* ps ax shows [loop0] process

then
umount /mnt
lsmod shows the same thing - specifically the use of loop as 1 and the [loop0] process remains open. Trying to rmmod loop gives me a device or resource busy error.

lsof gives the following output:

loop0     3765 root  cwd    DIR        8,1    4096         2 /
loop0     3765 root  rtd    DIR        8,1    4096         2 /

So I'm wondering why the loop module still remains in use after I umount the file that required it? Should it stay in use? Is there a way to change that behavoir or be able to rmmod the module without a reboot?

(Please CC replies to me personally)

Thank You
Kareem