Cannot Mount Floppy in PCLinuxOS 2009.1

[BillD]

I have installed PCLinuxOS 2009.1 on three computers, two of which have floppy drives. The first one worked fine. But on this second one, although the floppy appears in the media storage section of My Computer, when I try to mount it by right clicking and choosing "mount" I get an error message that says "ERROR - mount: you must specify the filesystem type". Unfortunately the properties box looks nothing like it does on the other computer with the floppy; it only has two tabs

http://img519.imageshack.us/my.php?image=snapshot4.png

How do I fix this? I have installed the thing twice and it works the same way both times.The one that works looks like this when I look at the properties:

http://img110.imageshack.us/my.php?image=snapshot5.png

Thank you,Bill Edited April 2, 2009 by BillD

[Bruno]

Hi BillIs the drive seen by the OS and is the /dev blockdevice created by udev ? Can you post the results of the next commands:

# dmesg | grep -i floppy# ls -al /dev/fd0

Bruno

[BillD]

# dmesg | grep -i floppyide-floppy driver 1.00Floppy drive(s): fd0 is 1.44M

ls -al /dev/fd0brw-rw---- 1 root floppy 2, 0 Apr  2 15:03 /dev/fd0

Results looks same on one that works. But the GUI certainly doesn't!As an experiment, I tried formatting a blank floppy:

fdformat /dev/fd0u1440Double-sided, 80 tracks, 18 sec/track. Total capacity 1440 kB.Formatting ... doneVerifying ... Read: : Input/output errorProblem reading cylinder 0, expected 18432, read -1

And it did not work. I have tried this in root because it would not let me do it as user, and it gave me the results above, and would not work . . .Thanks Bruno,Bill

Edited April 2, 2009 by BillD

[Bruno]

Hi Bill . . . seems that the software side of things is okay . . . maybe this is hardware related. Do you maybe have a spare floppy drive laying around . . or can you swap the ( good ) drive from the other computer so we can check ?? Bruno

[BillD]

Well, this is dual boot, and the floppy drive works fine in Windows . . . There is something wrong with this Linux installation someway.Thanks,Bill

[Bruno]

The fact that it runs fine on Windows is not really a reliable fact.Windows is less picky when it comes to failing hardware . . it will often notice days or even weeks later that the hardware is toast.I have seen it several times that Linux noticed a failing drive long before Windows did.Still . . . what happens if you run PCLos Live ?? Does it handle the floppy okay ?? Bruno

[V.T. Eric Layton]

I'd like to get Bill to clarify something for me. Are you saying here that you cannot mount the floppy as a user from the graphic interface? Can you mount from the command line as root? Also, can you please post the fstab for this system?

Edited April 2, 2009 by V.T. Eric Layton

[striker]

Also, can you please post the fstab for this system?

Makes me curious too.

[BillD]

1. Fstab does not mean much because it only shows mounted partitions and drives rather than the whole set up:

cat /etc/fstab# Entry for /dev/hda6 :UUID=8bd5e779-ffcb-49fd-a8c2-b594894dcb58 / ext3 defaults 1 1# Entry for /dev/hda8 :UUID=82b2a922-ff98-4665-867c-e81a98abefe0 /home ext3 defaults 1 2none /proc proc defaults 0 0# Entry for /dev/hda7 :UUID=999436ae-3bff-4200-9df5-5c5f46f9a4df swap swap defaults 0 0none /dev/pts devpts mode=0620 0 0none					/dev/shm	   tmpfs   defaults 0 0

2. I tried a new drive in place of the old floppy and it did not work either.3. I tried running live in PCLinuxOS and then Ubuntu 8.04.2 and neither of them would mount the floppy either.Yet both the original drive and the replacement work fine in Windows! Weird, huh?Thanks,Bill

Edited April 3, 2009 by BillD

[V.T. Eric Layton]

There is NO fstab entry for your floppy. I do not believe you will be able to use the graphical user mounting option without it. You would ONLY be able to mount the floppy as root naming the mount point in the command line:

# mount /dev/fd0 /media/floppy

Once you add a line for your floppy to your fstab, you should be able to mount as a user in the GUI. Here's a sample fstab floppy entry you can try. Note however, your system uses that aggravating and inane UUID feces. You may have to convert to the UUID for the floppy to get it to work. I don't know for sure... that would be Bruno's area of expertise.

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

Luck with it, Bill!

Edited April 3, 2009 by V.T. Eric Layton

[alphaomega]

Not sure if this will work on your system...but try the blkid command after mounting the fd as rootand see if it gives you the uuid for the fd.When I mount the floppy drive on my system under suand them issue the command:blkid /dev/fd0It spits out:/dev/fd0: SEC_TYPE="msdos" LABEL="FREEDOS" UUID="78E2-D1A5" TYPE="vfat"Hopefully once you have the uuid, you can make an appropriate entry in fstab.HTHCheers

Edited April 3, 2009 by alphaomega

[Bruno]

The use of the UUID is not needed . . . /dev/fd0 will do fine in the fstab.I would copy the fstab line from the good-working-computer to the one that is failing to mount the floppy and see if that helps.I will have to boot my test-computer to see what the PCLos fstab tells me . . but in Mandriva I see:

/dev/fd0 /media/floppy auto umask=0,users,iocharset=utf8,noauto,exec,flush 0 0

BrunoUPDATE: After booting PCLos: In PCLos the floppy and also the CD/DVD drives only show up in the fstab after they are mounted the first time . . . and because I do not have any floppies left I can not show the entry in my PCLos fstab.So you will have to copy the line from your other install.

[BillD]

The fstab is the same on the computer where the floppy works; whether it is mounted or unmounted, it is the same as the computer that cannot mount the floppy:

cat /etc/fstab# Entry for /dev/hda6 :UUID=6a8bf453-0c75-4bd4-925d-57c4e12e6993 / ext3 defaults 1 1# Entry for /dev/hda8 :UUID=b1b9f676-a7ca-4a91-835d-8142e782c07b /home ext3 defaults 1 2none /proc proc defaults 0 0# Entry for /dev/hda7 :UUID=80865ce2-9dce-11dd-b260-a72d439eaa3d swap swap defaults 0 0none /dev/pts devpts mode=0620 0 0none					/dev/shm	   tmpfs   defaults 0 0

Furthermore, I cannot mount it from a terminal command:

# mount /dev/fd0 /media/floppymount: you must specify the filesystem type

after the drive light comes on and it attempts to read the disk; which is the same thing that happened when I did it thru the GUI in storage media.This would not make any difference because I don't use floppy disks anymore either, but my wife does, and it is her computer!Thanks,Bill

[Bruno]

So even on the computer that does like the floppy there is no line for it in the fstab ?? That is very odd !Did you try adding the line

/dev/fd0 /media/floppy auto umask=0,users,iocharset=utf8,noauto,exec,flush 0 0

to the fstab ? And that did not help either ?The error-message you get "mount: you must specify the filesystem type" usually means in these conditions ( the /dev and the mount point exist ) that the filesystem on the floppy is corrupt . . . . . BUT since you can read them on the other computer this apparently is not the case.I would . . . copy all the floppies your wife uses to an USB-key and have her dump the floppies, it's old technology anyway and one day they will fail also on a Windows computer. The lifespan of a floppy is limited. Bruno

[BillD]

Well, I edited fstab, and the thing still gives me the filesystem error deal.

I would . . . copy all the floppies your wife uses to an USB-key and have her dump the floppies, it's old technology anyway and one day they will fail also on a Windows computer. The lifespan of a floppy is limited.

Yes, I know; I had one have a spring pop out one time just after removing it and placing it on my desk! I was just glad it did not pop out inside the drive when I inserted it.However, flash drives fail on occasion also.Thanks for the assistance; as I said above, it seems weird . . .Bill

[sunrat]

Try this in fstab:

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

[BillD]

Well, I tried it with vfat added and when that did not work, I tried it with just fat, since I notice that Linux just lists ext3, but none of this worked. Since I can run live on other computers and mount the floppy with no problem, but not on this one, I suspect there is something weird about this particular mobo that is somehow preventing the floppy from working in Linux. Since it works in Windows, I still think this is odd, but I do believe the flash drive is the proper route to go, and I have moved everything from floppy to a Sandisk mini cruzer that lights up when it is plugged in, so my wife is not likely to forget it is plugged in. I appreciate all the good suggestions that have gone into this thread, and I thank you people even tho we did not get there for some reason!Bill

[zlim]

I have a working floppy drive in PCLinux 2009.1 There is no fstab entry for my functioning floppy drive. I put an icon to always be on my desktop, currently showing unmounted; I clicked properties, General, and it is /(media) Note: it has parentheses. Maybe they disappear when a floppy is mounted. Let me check. Meta info: /dev/fd0Mounting: Under Generic Mount Options: Access time updates is selected and Mountpoint is /media but Automount is not selected - this is what I want.File system, Specific Mount Options both items are selected. In the dropdown box, Shortnames: lower is in and I'm not changing it.Okay, I just tried mounting it and it doesn't work. It did the last time I put a floppy in.The error I now get is: mount: you must specify the filesystem type , same as Bill. I studied his two shots and I have 3 tabs whereas he has 2 and 4 tabs. I'm missing the permissions tab but maybe that only appears when it is mounted?I wonder if one of the updates broke it?I looked around and it is linked to /dev/fd0I then opened konqueror and fd0 is linked to /dev/nullI looked in my xsession errors and I see thiskded: ERROR: mount failed for /org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/platform_floppy_0_storage_platform_floppy: org.freedesktop.Hal.Device.Volume.UnknownFailure - mount: you must specify the filesystem type Maybe that error tells someone something.

Edited April 5, 2009 by zlim

[Bruno]

I looked around and it is linked to /dev/fd0I then opened konqueror and fd0 is linked to /dev/null

Hu ??? Are you sure ? Please let me see

# ls -l /dev/null# ls -al /dev/fd0

Can't find anything in the updates that would have messed up HALB) Bruno

[BillD]

I think it is interesting (in an unfortunate way) that someone else is having problems mounting the floppy. However, I tried running live with both PCLinuxOS and Ubuntu, and both fail to mount the floppy on this computer (so it should not be an update), while they mount the floppy OK on the other computer I tried this on . . . Bill

Edited April 5, 2009 by BillD

[zlim]

ls -l /dev/nullcrw-rw-rw- 1 root root 1, 3 Apr 5 20:03ls -al /dev/fd0brw-rw---- 1 root floppy 2, 0 Apr 6 01:03

[Bruno]

I looked around and it is linked to /dev/fd0I then opened konqueror and fd0 is linked to /dev/null

That is weird, because the output of the commands I asked you to execute does not show any proof that fd0 is linked to /dev/null, nor the other way around:

ls -l /dev/nullcrw-rw-rw- 1 root root 1, 3 Apr 5 20:03ls -al /dev/fd0brw-rw---- 1 root floppy 2, 0 Apr 6 01:03

Bruno

[striker]

I think it is interesting (in an unfortunate way) that someone else is having problems mounting the floppy. However, I tried running live with both PCLinuxOS and Ubuntu, and both fail to mount the floppy on this computer (so it should not be an update), while they mount the floppy OK on the other computer I tried this on . . . Bill

weird... could it be the floppy drive itself is defective?

[BillD]

weird... could it be the floppy drive itself is defective?

Well, in my case, altho the floppy drive worked fine in Windows, I changed it out for another one, and the second one would not work in PCLinusOS either . . . Bill Edited April 6, 2009 by BillD

[striker]

Mmm, in Windows it works and not pclos. And you still stay with pclos?

[jolphil]

Bill FWIW I have PCLOS 2009 and I just checked again and again ...My floppy works OKIf any help heres my fstab# Entry for /dev/hda1 :UUID=26a0a27c-8db2-431b-b46a-aaf575eb1bc7 / ext3 defaults 1 1# Entry for /dev/hda6 :UUID=fa0c13a2-5688-4c6a-b696-480ea9f9cc1c /home ext3 defaults 1 2none /proc proc defaults 0 0# Entry for /dev/hda5 :UUID=124f4800-5e46-4146-bc95-845742ed0557 swap swap defaults 0 0none /dev/pts devpts mode=0620 0 0none /dev/shm tmpfs defaults 0 0It does not list the floppy drive alsojolphil

[striker]

The difference is that yours work, Bill's floppy does not. I would be curious if Mandriva would result in a working floppy for Bill. I wouldn't give up, and just try a couple of other distros.But that's me, stubborn striker going 33 times with the head through the wall...

[V.T. Eric Layton]

Look! I found a picture of Striker...

[striker]

yes! Where's my aspirine...

[BillD]

Well here is the thing: No it does not work with PCLinuxOS, but when I ran Ubuntu live on this same computer, the floppy would not work with Ubuntu either, whereas when I tried it on my other computer running PCLinuxOS where the floppy works OK, Ubuntu also worked the floppy OK when running live . . . so there is something weird about this computer (mobo, probably) and Linux. I have looked around the BIOS and I can find nothing odd looking there, the floppy is listed, etc., so it beats me what is wrong, but I see no reason to dump PCLinuxOS for something else, unless I know that that "something else" is going to work!Bill