Quoting Carl Turney (carl@boms.com.au):
Sounds like you're doing things similar to what I've been doing and want to continue doing. We also treat USB storage the same way. (Don't think I've =ever= booted up with an external USB drive or USB memstick connected.)
You make it sound like you ONLY edit /etc/fstab
And I do exactly that.
But when I first got advice on how to edit my boot files (probably from a Linux boot-up contributor, if memory serves) he said I had to edit... /etc/fstab /etc/default/grub /usr/share/grub/grub-mkconfig_lib =and= /etc/initramfs-tools/conf.d/resume (or wherever they were located ~10 years ago).
Maybe you've been treading on thin ice and didn't know it?
Well, if I've been treading on thin ice, it's been holding since 1983. ;-> (Yes, I really _have_ been running Linux systems since then. Time flies when you're having fun.)
Maybe things have changed in the intervening years?
I really don't think so. To amplify on what I said about 'I reserve the right to change my mind if...': The same applies if I ever decide to use SD cards or similar things as main storage. (Which might be sufficient proof that I've lost my mind, but that's a different discussion.)