Trying to expand linux experience, need help with some simple stuff...

[sytheii]

From a quick search, it seems this is a gnome / device-kit bug. (See refs. #1, #2). The recipe given (there and also in this thread) is to manually mount the floppy from the command line.

I give steps for this below, using the floppy group as a means for access control.

1. Make sure your account is member of the floppy group. To do this open a terminal window and type:

cat /etc/group | grep floppy

If should output a line similar to "floppy:x:25:" and then either nothing or a comma separated list of account login names.

If your account login is in there, then there is no need to do anything; you are member of the group. If not, at the same terminal type:

sudo adduser [your-account-login-name] floppy

2. Make the mount point for the floppy:

sudo mkdir -p /media/floppy
sudo chmod 775 /media/floppy
sudo chown root:floppy /media/floppy

3. Modify your /etc/fstab so that users can mount / unmount the floppy:

sudo nano /etc/fstab

Inside the editor, go to last line, press ENTER and type this:

/dev/fd0  /media/floppy  auto  rw,user,noauto  0  0

Then press Ctrl+O and then yes at the prompt, to write the file. Then Ctrl+X to close nano.

4. Mount the floppy as your normal login user:

mount /dev/fd0

If this works, the floppy should now appear at desktop and you can copy the files to it using the normal nautilus methods (drag n' drop, Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V, etc.)

]Hmmm...I followed your instructions, and @ the last step I receive this message in the terminal:

mount: special device /dev/fd0 does not exist

There is a floppy icon in places now...but it just says it cant mount that...

The only thing I might have done incorrectly is where to put that line you have.

/dev/fd0  /media/floppy  auto  rw,user,noauto  0  0

You say "go to the last line, press ENTER and type this"

I am assuming you just meant to add that line underneath the final line that is there...which is not what happens if i navigate to the last line and then hit enter...what would happen then is that line of code would be written in directly in front of original last line of code.

Perhaps I did it wrong...thoughts?

PS: How do you pinpoint find all this info? You must just know what to type in the search box.
Also...I looked for a refrence to my laptop in that Army DOC, but couldnt find it...which page is it on? LOL

[gzarkadas]

Hmm, it must be that it is a pcmcia floppy. Try to change /dev/fd0 to /dev/sdc (since this is the device name that appears in disk utility). Please note that this is a hack, it is not guaranteed to work; we 'll have to go by trial and error (and guessing, because I have not such stuff any more).

It doesn't matter the order of the lines (there was an implicit "go to end of line before hitting enter" in that instruction, but since it was implicit it naturally didn't happen ); as long as each line is separate you should be fine.

The reference is in the last page, right above the image. It is just a label in the middle of a line, so look carefully.

[sytheii]

Hmm, it must be that it is a pcmcia floppy. Try to change /dev/fd0 to /dev/sdc (since this is the device name that appears in disk utility). Please note that this is a hack, it is not guaranteed to work; we 'll have to go by trial and error (and guessing, because I have not such stuff any more).

It doesn't matter the order of the lines (there was an implicit "go to end of line before hitting enter" in that instruction, but since it was implicit it naturally didn't happen ); as long as each line is separate you should be fine.

The reference is in the last page, right above the image. It is just a label in the middle of a line, so look carefully.

Just to reiterate, this is a USB floppy drive. I did what you suggested, and to be honest i didnt notice if it was on the desktop right after i booted...but after i made that edit, a USB icon with "1.5 MB filesystem" appeared on the desktop. I was able to open a nautilus window to see the file on the disk.

I then tried taking the disk out, but it wouldnt respond. Then I tried rightclicking and going to "eject" and that didnt work either, I actually got some kind of error message about it not being able to. I then repeatedly tried to push the button on the drive to eject the disk...wouldnt work.

I rebooted, and then tried to hit the eject button on the drive, and it did eject. I was able to do this with a few different disks.

My question is...did we get it to work? is there a command I will have to perform each time i put in a new disk? that would be awful

My patience with this is wearing thin I have to say...If you don't feel like trying to figure out new ways to get this drive to work, please don't feel obligated to do so.

Thanks again.

[gzarkadas]

I guess you will have to execute

mount /media/floppy

to mount the disk after you have put it in and

umount -l /media/floppy

before you eject it. This is the price to pay for your floppy drive not behaving well with your ubuntu version.

However, you can create two launchers for these commands and put them wherever it suits you (at the deskbar, on the desktop, etc) so that the only additional work is a couple of double-clicks.

Note that you need not sudo for this, since the floppy is specified to mount with the user option in /etc/fstab.

PS: Patience ; driver problems are the most annoying, since they are difficult to fix. But most things at the end are indeed doable.

[sytheii]

I guess you will have to execute

mount /media/floppy

to mount the disk after you have put it in and

umount -l /media/floppy

before you eject it. This is the price to pay for your floppy drive not behaving well with your ubuntu version.

However, you can create two launchers for these commands and put them wherever it suits you (at the deskbar, on the desktop, etc) so that the only additional work is a couple of double-clicks.

Note that you need not sudo for this, since the floppy is specified to mount with the user option in /etc/fstab.

PS: Patience ; driver problems are the most annoying, since they are difficult to fix. But most things at the end are indeed doable.

I tried "mount /media/floppy

and i get this message in terminal
" dev/sdc is not a valid block device"


How do I create a "launcher"? That would be helpful to know...Nevermind, found instructions.

So...that didnt work. Any other ideas?

[gzarkadas]

I tried "mount /media/floppy

and i get this message in terminal
" dev/sdc is not a valid block device"

...

Did you had a floppy inside the device when you issued the command? If not, put one inside and repeat.

[sytheii]

Did you had a floppy inside the device when you issued the command? If not, put one inside and repeat.

Yes, floppy is inside when I try the command, same error message.

[gzarkadas]

Ok, we need to search deeper. Get the attached script, put it somewhere, open a terminal and go to the directory where you have placed it. Then type:

mv greplogs.sh greplogs
chmod u+x greplogs
sudo  ./greplogs  <your-account-login-name>

Use your real account name instead of "<your-account-login-name>".

The script greps a number of key log files (as well as their compressed older versions; hence the complexity) for strings relating to the problem and puts the result in `/tmp/diag/mergelog.gz'.
After posting that file here you can safely delete /tmp/diag.

Do this procedure twice:
-- First with your current setup, right now. Post mergelog.gz and delete /tmp/diag.
-- Then, remove the floppy line from /etc/fstab and also delete /media/floppy, to restore the changes I suggested in the previous posts.
-- Then reboot and try to use the device to read a floppy. Do this a couple of times.
-- Then, finally, run the greplogs script for second time. Post the new mergelog.gz and delete /tmp/diag.

Hopefully, these files will provide enough insight to the problem, without having to exchange a lot of question/answer posts.

A final question: did this floppy ever worked right? if yes, then maybe we have to look better in what changes you have done to loaded modules, just before this issue appeared here.

[sytheii]

Ok, we need to search deeper. Get the attached script, put it somewhere, open a terminal and go to the directory where you have placed it. Then type:

mv greplogs.sh greplogs
chmod u+x greplogs
sudo  ./greplogs  <your-account-login-name>

Use your real account name instead of "<your-account-login-name>".

The script greps a number of key log files (as well as their compressed older versions; hence the complexity) for strings relating to the problem and puts the result in `/tmp/diag/mergelog.gz'.
After posting that file here you can safely delete /tmp/diag.

Do this procedure twice:
-- First with your current setup, right now. Post mergelog.gz and delete /tmp/diag.
-- Then, remove the floppy line from /etc/fstab and also delete /media/floppy, to restore the changes I suggested in the previous posts.
-- Then reboot and try to use the device to read a floppy. Do this a couple of times.
-- Then, finally, run the greplogs script for second time. Post the new mergelog.gz and delete /tmp/diag.

Hopefully, these files will provide enough insight to the problem, without having to exchange a lot of question/answer posts.

A final question: did this floppy ever worked right? if yes, then maybe we have to look better in what changes you have done to loaded modules, just before this issue appeared here.

K. Got that file uploaded for the initial post. I actually just started the process, and realize that I have to leave. I will finish this when I get home in a couple of hours.

[sytheii]

Hey. I found something out that is interesting. I rebooted my machine, since I had to put it into windows for a bit, and after booting up and going to ubuntu, I realised that I had unplugged the USB for the floppy drive.

So what I did was I plugged the USB back in the computer, and then the drive started to read the disk in it, and "floppy" was mounted and placed on the desktop! I was able to delete whatever was on there...format it...and then copy the first file out the the 36 xx00's. I then "unmounted it" after a right click, And then I was able to eject the disk from the drive itself. Note: Shuttle Technology Inc. E-USB Bridge still appears in the Computer places, in addition to "floppy" on the desktop.

I then put in another disk...but it would not go through the same process of mounting it. Strange no? Perhaps this will give you some insight into what needs to be changed. I believe if I did the same thing again, rebooting, and then plugging in the drive, it would be reproduced.

I will finish the process you wanted me to do earlier now, and see if that can give you some insight.