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Atapi ZIP 100 w/ Ubuntu 6.06


V.T. Eric Layton

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V.T. Eric Layton

Hello fellow travelers!This forum comes highly recommended in the GNU/Linux community. I was sent here by friend Urmas to pick the Professor's brain a bit.I'm currently having troubles getting my Zip 100 to work with Ubuntu. Here's a posting that I posted at the Ubuntu Support Forums:

I'm in ZIP drive ****!Hi Ubuntu community!I'm a very, very newbie Ubuntu user (approximately 1 week). I've been pulling my hair out trying to get my ZIP 100 to work with 6.06. I've searched this forum thoroughly and performed all of the tutorials and steps posted regarding ZIP drives, even though some of the advice was for much older versions of Ubuntu. Using THIS tutorial by pseudonym, I was able to mount and access the drive with the one-time mod he talks about in that post. However, his advice on setting up Ubuntu to create the mount point each time at boot-up is not working.I'll admit that I have a lot of hair, but would someone please point me in the right direction before I pull much more of it out?!Thanks in advance for any and all advice for this newbie.
Since posting that there (no worthwhile aid was forthcoming), I've searched high and low for other sources of information on this situation. I've found many other methods and tutorials that apply. However, none seem to create that much wanted mounting node (/dev/hdb4) at boot up. Any help/suggestions would be much appreciated.Thanks,~Eric
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Hi EricWelcome to the forum !!!! Your friend Urmas already told us you were coming, see: http://forums.scotsnewsletter.com/index.php?showtopic=15875What Urmas told us is that you have problems booting too . . . maybe you can tell us first how bad it is ( the booting )Next I want you to open a terminal ( kind of DOS window ) and type the following command and copy and paste us here on the forum what the output is.

$ sudo fdisk -l

( the -l is the letter L not the number 1 :) )NOTE: you do not type the $ it is only there as last part of the prompt and showing us that you are logged in as "user"NOTE2: Make sure the zip is connected and has a zip-disk loadedNOTE3: Copy and paste in Linux goes like: http://forums.scotsnewsletter.com/index.ph...;t=503&st=3:hysterical: BrunoPS: Just a few remarks, the tutorial here you linked to is for Ubuntu Hoary ( an older version ) . . the thread ends with the question: "Does anyone know of a newer version of this howto for 6.06 ?" . . . and there is no reply to that question :'(I suppose some things got fixed for 6.06 . . . . ( let's hope ) and mabe the /dev blockdevice is now made . . . . Anyway, in a nutshell: we will have to do our own research all over again :hysterical:

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V.T. Eric Layton

OK, Professor... Here's the output from that command:

Disk /dev/sda: 81.9 GB, 81964302336 bytes255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 9964 cylindersUnits = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes   Device Boot	  Start		 End	  Blocks   Id  System/dev/sda1   *		   1		9963	80027766	7  HPFS/NTFSDisk /dev/hda: 120.0 GB, 120034123776 bytes255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 14593 cylindersUnits = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes   Device Boot	  Start		 End	  Blocks   Id  System/dev/hda1			   1		2550	20482843+  83  Linux/dev/hda2			2551	   14278	94205160   83  Linux/dev/hda3		   14279	   14593	 2530237+  82  Linux swap / Solaris

As you can see, /dev/hdb4 is just not there. :(I've had my face in this computer for the last week. I'm going out for a little socialization this evening. I'll be back in here later... around 2AM EDT. I'll see what your next step is then.And thanks, sincerely! I am a Mod at the Avant Browser Support Forums and the ePrompter Users' Forums. I know the value of assistance from a knowledgeable person when trying to debug applications. :) ~Eric

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As you can see, /dev/hdb4 is just not there. :(
How sure are you it is indeed /dev/hdb4 we are looking for ??Also, in the text it says: "The major and minor numbers for hd*4 are listed under your zip drive's entry in Device Manager (Advanced tab). " Can you look up the major and minor numbers for me ???Also What does
$ sudo mknod --version

return on your system ??B) Bruno

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V.T. Eric Layton

Hiya Bruno!I'm home again. OK... according to the something I read somewhere else, the Linux OS sets the "hd*" designation based on where it finds the drive located, eg. primary or secondary IDE buss, master or slave, etc. This ZIP is on the primary IDE as a slave to my 120Gig hard drive. My CDROM and CDRW are on the secondary IDE as master and slave to each other. My other hard drive is on a RAID (0) input on the mobo. According to what I read, the slave on the primary IDE gets the designation "hdb". I have an hdb node in the /dev folder. However, when I try to mount the ZIP, it's looking for hdb4. I can create the hdb4 per session and the ZIP works fine, but once I re-boot that node is gone. I've also seen elsewhere where folks are mounting their ZIPs on sda. Whatever way you think we can do this is fine with me. I'd just like to get the thing working. I'm one of those diehard ZIP fans. I love mine... lot quicker than burning CDs.Anyway, here's the output to the command you asked about above:

mknod (GNU coreutils) 5.93Copyright (C) 2005 Free Software Foundation, Inc.This is free software.  You may redistribute copies of it under the terms ofthe GNU General Public License <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>.There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.Written by David MacKenzie.

So, whaddya' think? :)Oh, almost forgot... my major/minor for the ZIP are 3 and 64.

Edited by V.T. Eric Layton
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Okay . . that does sound good . . . . hdb makes sense . . why hdb4 ( and not hdb1 ) is still a question . . but let us build on what you already have.

I can create the hdb4 per session and the ZIP works fine
So, what command are you using to create the hdb4 ?Is it something like: "sudo mknod /dev/hdb4 b 3 64" ??I think the easiest way out is to make a little bash-script that is activated at boot . . . we just need to put in the correct commands and "Bob's you're uncle" ;)I will be back online at 19:00 CET.B) Bruno
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V.T. Eric Layton

I used gedit to create this line in the fstab:

/dev/hdd4 /media/zip0 auto rw,user,noauto,sync 0 0

Then I used "fdisk -l" to recognize the ZIP afterwhich it creates the node hdb4 in the /dev folder. Once that's done, the ZIP will mount and function fine... until re-boot, of course.The "4" designation is what Linux uses for the FAT file system, according to Iomega's support site. I did not use the mknod command. Should I? Will this command set the node permanently?

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I used gedit to create this line in the fstab:
/dev/hdd4 /media/zip0 auto rw,user,noauto,sync 0 0

I suppose you mean "/dev/hdb4 /media/zip0 auto rw,user,noauto,sync 0 0"??
I did not use the mknod command. Should I?
Please try if that works. It would be easier.
Will this command set the node permanently?
Nope . . but a small script we make will do it at every boot ;)B) Bruno
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V.T. Eric Layton

Heh! Yes, I meant "hdb4". And yes, mknod works (much easier too)!I was on Google just now searching for start-up script how-tos. I'm with you, though. How can we do this?

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Excelllent . . . . now here is what we do:Read here for the bash script: http://forums.scotsnewsletter.com/index.ph...t=503&st=56 ( don't use "Vi" if "gedit" is easier for you B) )The only text in the script is:

#!/bin/bashmknod /dev/hdb4 b 3 64#End script
( no "sudo" in the script !! )Call the script "S95zipnode" ( exactly like that !! ) and place it in /etc/rcS.d/ . . . so the full path to the script is /etc/rcS.d/S95zipnodeMake the script executable:
$ sudo chmod 755 /etc/rcS.d/S95zipnode

Next reboot . . .and the node should be there :) . . . . need more detailed help ? let me know!B) Bruno>>>> For Your Info: Startup-scripts: http://brunolinux.com/06-Fine_Tuning_Your_System/Init.html :)

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V.T. Eric Layton

Well, it seems my Finish brother Urmas, who recommended you as a genius at this stuff, was absolutely CORRECT! Dank u wel! Dank u wel! Dank u wel! It works with one minor little bug that I can deal with... it doesn't always mount on the first try. However, it does mount on the second and all other tries. I can live with that! :)Again, thanks so much Professor!Now, just to further my understanding here... What we actually did was:1) Determine the proper node for the ZIP2) Used the mknod command to manually create the node (per session)3) Created a BASH start up script using the mknod command that initializes at boot up and creates the specified node for the ZIPThat about cover it? This is VERY useful to others who are stuck in ZIP drive ****. Would you mind if I referred others to this thread (or to your method) so they can use your fix here to get their ZIPs working properly?I think I'm going to like Linux. I was always a tinkerer with Windows. Unfortunately, there's only so much "under the hood (bonnet)" work you can do with Windows. That's not the case with GNU/Linux. COOL! :)Well, it's almost 4AM here. I'm off to bed...Oh, before I go though, I'll post another thread about the boot up problems I seem to be having. Maybe we can troubleshoot that when you have some time.Thanks, Professor and good night!~Eric

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GREAT !!! . . . Glad we got that hacked B)

Now, just to further my understanding here... What we actually did was:1) Determine the proper node for the ZIP2) Used the mknod command to manually create the node (per session)3) Created a BASH start up script using the mknod command that initializes at boot up and creates the specified node for the ZIP
Correct 100% !!Sure you can refer to this thread B) . . no problem !Now I need to do some shopping else I won have anything to eat the next week :) . . Will be back at 19:00 CET.Good night to you, and sleep well !:) BrunoPS: It's not "professor" but "professeur" . . . the French word for "teacher" . . . . LOL
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V.T. Eric Layton

I was never any good with French. Spanish and Latin are more my forte. Professor means "teacher" in Latin. Or we can do maestro in Spanish. It's a derivative of the Latin magister, which means "master". You're ****** good at it regardless of which language we use! ;)Enjoy your shopping! B)

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Enjoy your shopping!
Thanks ! ;)
It works with one minor little bug that I can deal with... it doesn't always mount on the first try.
Well we could try to work around that one . . . . . . maybe if you add 2 lines to the script:
#!/bin/bashmknod /dev/hdb4 b 3 64mount /dev/hdb4 /media/zip0umount /media/zip0#End script
See if we just mount it and unmount ( command is called umount without the "n" ) it in the script once . . . maybe after that it will mount the first time you need it to mount.No need to make the file executable again, because it still is. Just add the two lines and reboot to see if it works.B) Bruno
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V.T. Eric Layton

I'll give it a try, but wouldn't the mount command fail at start-up unless I had a disk in the drive?I'll let you know if this had any effect... stay tuned.

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V.T. Eric Layton

Nope. That didn't have any effect, Bruno. I reverted the script back to its original condition. Like I said... no biggie. This one I can live with. Thanks! ;)~Eric

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Eric, you would want a disk in the drive from bootup probably to have it mount better. Linux drives are funny about not mounting empty drives. ;)

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V.T. Eric Layton

Hi Julia,Yeah. I learned that trick right off. If I have a disk in the Zip when I boot up, it automatically creates the hdb4 node without all the steps that Bruno had me do. However, even though I love my Zip, I may only use it 2 or 3 times a week. I would prefer not to have to keep a disk in it for each boot up, hence Bruno's method.Thanks for your input anyway. :)Regards,~Eric

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V.T. Eric Layton
EricJust put it in before you power up the time you want to use it! Then it should be ok.
Heh! I'm almost 45 years old. I'd have to make a sticky note to remind me to do that. :hysterical:
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Youngster!You can do it! I've got five years on you and I can remember some basics. It will come ot you after awhile.

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You would be surprised at how many of us old folks around here use Linux. B) Just goes to show it is never too late to learn something new!

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V.T. Eric Layton

I firmly believe it has something to do with being older AND wiser that leads us to GNU/Linux eventually. B)

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  • 13 years later...
V.T. Eric Layton

This is a new posting on a very old thread.

 

~vtel 021420:1953hrsEST

 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

I've had a couple bourbons and am a bit mellow tonight. This got me reminiscing. I hunted down this thread because it was my very first posting here at Scot's almost 14 years ago. The legendary @Urmas, who was/is a member on my private board (The Cabin In the Woods) sent me here initially. He and another member of my board had been encouraging me to make the jump over to GNU/Linux. I was so sick of Win XP and all the service pack crashes at that time.

 

Anyway, so I finally let them pressure me into it. I downloaded and installed Ubuntu 6.06 Dapper Drake in the summer of '06. I spent a few months distro-farming after that and eventually settled on Slackware, on a recommendation from who else? Bruno Knaapen. HA! There's a thread around here somewhere where he tells me, "I think you'd make a great Slacker, Eric." And the rest be history, as they say.

 

I've had some really wonderful times here at Scot's. I cannot even begin to thank all the kind and generous and compassionate folks I met here; they've become good friends to me over the years. Sadly, some, like Bruno, are gone from this plane of existence, but I remember, as I'm sure you all do.

 

I've never been the "perfect" penguin here. I've been a bit of a trouble-maker and poop stirrer at times. @Corrine

 and @LilBambi could attest to this. I hope that in the bigger picture, I've been of some value to my fellow Highlanders and to so many folks; members and guests searching this place for assistance. I've spent my entire two decades on the modern Internet in BBS's, Boards/Forums, USENET Newsgroups, etc. There is NO OTHER PLACE IN THE WORLD LIKE SCOT'S NEWSLETTER FORUMS! Thank you, Scot! And thank ALL of you who strive daily to make this place a home, a library of knowledge, a safe haven, etc.

 

Alright, put the tissue boxes away now. I'm outta' here. ;)

 

I'll revive this post again in another decade or so.

 

Love you all! And miss so many of the ones who've left us.

 

~Eric

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 2/15/2020 at 12:58 AM, V.T. Eric Layton said:

The legendary @Urmas

 

More like "infamous" :hysterical:

 

On 2/15/2020 at 12:58 AM, V.T. Eric Layton said:

I've never been the "perfect" penguin here. I've been a bit of a trouble-maker and poop stirrer at times.

 

So that is where I went wrong. I have been modelling my behaviour on your example. :tongue:

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V.T. Eric Layton
4 hours ago, abarbarian said:

So that is where I went wrong. I have been modelling my behaviour on your example.

 

Oh, for sure. This is NOT a good idea at all. ;)

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