storage media problems in Slackware 11.00

[ozgeek]

I seem to remember having this problem before. I can't mount either my CDROM or Floppy in my user account. If I log out and then into Root I have no trouble mounting both of them.Why do I have to do this? Is there a way of configuring something ?? I tried Bruno's ideas in his tips section but they didn't work.Slackware is a very fast distro but it's annoyances are still outweighing it's speed.By the way, the toolbar fonts in both Firefox and Thunderbird are too small for me. I tried "swaret --install gtk-qt-engine" to no avail. Anyone got any thoughts as to how I can enlarge these fonts?Sorry this is a whinge session

[V.T. Eric Layton]

If you're more comfortable with Gnome than KDE, Jan, you can install Dropline Gnome into your Slack installation. I did this the other day... no going back. I LOVE the simplicity of Gnome.As far as the CD/Floppy situation, that's strange. I can mount both with no problems from my user account in Slack 11.0. Are you running 11.0?

[ozgeek]

If you're more comfortable with Gnome than KDE, Jan, you can install Dropline Gnome into your Slack installation. I did this the other day... no going back. I LOVE the simplicity of Gnome.As far as the CD/Floppy situation, that's strange. I can mount both with no problems from my user account in Slack 11.0. Are you running 11.0?

Yes, Eric, I just installed version 11.0. I usually install KDE because that's the DM I find best suits the way I work. However, I usually find that the CDROM and floppy media work straight away. I also prefer a more person friendly install/upgrade programme than Swaret.I think I might be talking myself into an uninstall session

[quint]

Jan,Before you uninstall, can you post your "/etc/fstab" file? It may just require a simple edit. Here's one of mine (from Slack 11.0 /w Dropline):Are your CD & Floppy lines similar? This works perfectly ... as "quint" or "root". HTH.

Edited November 12, 2006 by quint

[V.T. Eric Layton]

Yes, Eric, I just installed version 11.0. I usually install KDE because that's the DM I find best suits the way I work. However, I usually find that the CDROM and floppy media work straight away. I also prefer a more person friendly install/upgrade programme than Swaret.I think I might be talking myself into an uninstall session

Sorry, Jan. I should have paid more attention to the title of this thread. :(Ah... well, if you're more comfortable with KDE, then stick with that, by all means. That was mostly the reason I installed D-line Gnome in Slack. I think KDE is a really nice GUI, but it's so unfamiliar to me that it was hindering me in Slack.Don't give up on Slack. It's a really great distro, in my humble (and not too experienced) opinion. It is a tad more difficult to manipulate than other distros I'm used to. By the way, you don't absolutely have to use Swaret to install applications in Slack. All you need to do is download the app in the .tgz format from places like LinuxPackages and use the "installpkg" command from the root prompt. I've installed a lot of goodies in my Slack 11 in just the past couple days using that command.

[ozgeek]

By the way, you don't absolutely have to use Swaret to install applications in Slack. All you need to do is download the app in the .tgz format from places like LinuxPackages and use the "installpkg" command from the root prompt. I've installed a lot of goodies in my Slack 11 in just the past couple days using that command.

Eric, many thanks for that piece of good news. I'll certainly have a go at installing new stuff using that method

[V.T. Eric Layton]

Believe me, Jan, when I tell you that I'm no Swaret expert. However, a quick look at THIS current Swaret source list will show you that it's definitely not all inclusive. However, there are bunches of good apps over at the LinuxPackages site. Just d-load them to your favorite directory, then navigate there in the terminal and use the "installpkgbla-bla-application-v1.0.tgz" command.Now if I could just figure out why I can't open .pdfs in FF 2.0 in Slack???

Edited November 12, 2006 by V.T. Eric Layton

[ozgeek]

Believe me, Jan, when I tell you that I'm no Swaret expert. However, a quick look at THIS current Swaret source list will show you that it's definitely not all inclusive. However, there are bunches of good apps over at the LinuxPackages site. Just d-load them to your favorite directory, then navigate there in the terminal and use the "installpkg<space>bla-bla-application-v1.0.tgz" command.Now if I could just figure out why I can't open .pdfs in FF 2.0 in Slack???

Well, Eric, you've solved my major problem. I was able to download and install the GTK-qt-engine which helps me resize the fonts in Thunderbird. Your advice was the best I do hope you find a solution to your problem.

[V.T. Eric Layton]

Woo-hoo! Glad to be of some help to you! :)I used Swaret to uninstall FF 2.0 and install FF 1.5.07. However, it went buggy on me and got very ugly. I ended up unistalling 1.5x and reinstalling 2.0. Oh well, I'll deal with it. I'm getting used to it, actually. When I get back to Ubuntu, I'll probably upgrade my 1.5x there also. That's progress, I guess.

[Urmas]

When I get back to Ubuntu, I'll probably upgrade my 1.5x there also. That's progress, I guess.

Read this first (I did it the "script way"):http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/firefox

[Bruno]

Hi JanGlad a few problems are solved, but how is the mounting of CDROM & Floppy ? Any progress there ? Bruno

[V.T. Eric Layton]

Read this first (I did it the "script way"):http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/firefox

Myeh... I'm in Ubuntu right now, and I like 1.5x, darn it!

[Urmas]

Myeh... I'm in Ubuntu right now, and I like 1.5x, darn it!

If it ain't why it?

[V.T. Eric Layton]

I figure it'll upgrade in the Ubuntu repositories pretty soon, anyway. I'll just wait.Have you installed Slack yet? I think you'd make a great slacker.

[Urmas]

1) I figure it'll upgrade in the Ubuntu repositories pretty soon, anyway. I'll just wait.2) Have you installed Slack yet? I think you'd make a great slacker.

1) Possible... not sure, though. In earlier versions of Ubuntu that was not the case... security updates only. But Dapper being "LTS"... we'll see...2) I'm sooooo tempted - let's hope Bruno doesn't read this, and decide to take an unscheduled, looooooooong holiday.

[V.T. Eric Layton]

Don't be afraid. Just follow the light...

[Urmas]

Don't be afraid.

Oh, I'm not... just need to get my "own system" here, up, and running... and I'll probably need a 2nd HD to install all the distros I'd like to try. Oops! Did I just see Bruno taking a taxi to Schiphol?

[V.T. Eric Layton]

You know, I've got a ASUS Pro mobo w/ AMD Athlon XP CPU installed. I'm not using it for anything. All it needs is RAM and your other hardware. You wanna' play with it? I'll ship it to you. Let me know...

[Urmas]

Thanks... that's not the problem, though... I have an AMD 3000+/1Gb/120Gb system... haven't just gotten around to get it here.

[V.T. Eric Layton]

In the infamous words of Duke Nukem, "What are you waitin' for? Christmas?"

[ozgeek]

Hi JanGlad a few problems are solved, but how is the mounting of CDROM & Floppy ? Any progress there ? Bruno

Hi Bruno,Afraid not. It just refuses to mount either the CDROM or floppy in the user mode. In root there is no problem. Weird

[V.T. Eric Layton]

Jan, can you paste a copy of your fstab file here?

$kedit /etc/fstab

[striker]

Make that

$ su$ password# /opt/kde/bin/kedit /etc/fstab

Slack uses the " real" way of placing external execs in the /opt directory... ;)Or just do a

$ cat /etc/fstab

[ozgeek]

Jan, can you paste a copy of your fstab file here?

$kedit /etc/fstab

Here it is, Eric./dev/hda8 / reiserfs defaults 1 1/dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom auto noauto,owner,ro 0 0/dev/fd0 /mnt/floppy auto noauto,owner 0 0devpts /dev/pts devpts gid=5,mode=620 0 0proc /proc proc defaults 0 0

Make that

$ su$ password# /opt/kde/bin/kedit /etc/fstab

Slack uses the " real" way of placing external execs in the /opt directory... ;)Or just do a

$ cat /etc/fstab

/dev/hda8 / reiserfs defaults 1 1/dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom auto noauto,owner,ro 0 0/dev/fd0 /mnt/floppy auto noauto,owner 0 0devpts /dev/pts devpts gid=5,mode=620 0 0proc /proc proc defaults 0 0ozgeek@geek:~$How does this look Striker ?

[striker]

Nice...When opening that file with kedit or kate it implies you want to edit it.You can open it and make it visible this way, but you can' t edit it - it doesn' t save the file. (you don' t have permission to save it.) Try it and you' ll see soon...Now try it as root :

$ su$ password[root@localhost]$kate /etc/fstabbash: kate: command not found[root@localhost]$kedit /etc/fstabbash: kedit: command not found

You see, kedit nor kate is there like I told you.Let' s see where it hides it face:

[user@localhost]$whereis keditkedit: /opt/kde/bin/kedit[user@localhost]$whereis katekate: /opt/kde/bin/kate

Aha, so there it is.So to make the file visible use cat, to edit and save the file - in this case the fstab file in the /etc directory - you need to have root privileges. Otherwise you just can' t save the file.Try the same command you used as root...you' ll get this:

# kedit /etc/fstabbash: kedit: command not found

The best command to be used in these situations however is this:

$ kdesu kedit /etc/fstab

That will work : you make it visible, you can edit it and save it.

[Urmas]

In the infamous words of Duke Nukem, "What are you waitin' for? Christmas?"

In the infamous words of the Droopster...... "Haste makes waste!"

[ross549]

Read this first (I did it the "script way"):http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/firefox

That's the way I did it... worked like a champ.

[Urmas]

Yeah... works like a chimp... feels faster than the "original", too.

[ebrke]

I edit fstab and add the user option for the floppy drive so I can mount it as myself without being root.Orig:

/dev/fd0			 /media/floppy		subfs	  noauto,fs=floppyfss,procuid,nodev,nosuid,sync 0 0

New:

/dev/fd0			 /media/floppy		subfs	  noauto,user,fs=floppyfss,procuid,nodev,nosuid,sync 0 0

Edited November 12, 2006 by ebrke

[V.T. Eric Layton]

Actually, I suggested Kedit in usermode just so Jan could copy/paste here. In user mode, Kedit won't let you edit anything (even by accident ).Jan,Choose your favorite editor in root and edit the fstab to show these changes:

/dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom auto noauto,owner,ro 0 0/dev/fd0 /mnt/floppy auto noauto,owner 0 0/dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom auto noauto,user,ro 0 0/dev/fd0 /mnt/floppy auto noauto,user 0 0

Try that and see if you can access your floppy/CD. Whooops! Elizabeth beat me to it. I should remember to read to the end of the thread before posting.