Firewire drive only seen by Slackware

mostlyharmless · 12-02-2012, 10:55 AM

I have a 1.5 T external Firewire drive (Newegg ministack v3) connected using a ieee1394b cable. I don't always have it turned on, but turn it on first before booting if I want to back things up. I dual boot Windows XP SP3 as well as Ubuntu 12.04LTS but recently reinstalled Slackware 14. I had a broken Slackware 13.37 setup.

Here's where it gets weird: sometime ago, Windows and Ubuntu stopped recognizing the presence of the Firewire drive. It was though it wasn't plugged in or turned on. I tried a different port, same result. I have an old ieee1394a camera, still recognized by both. I checked dmesg, checked lspci, lsmod, forced module loading of the firewire modules in Ubuntu, still as though it wasn't there. No hardware detection under Windows either, although it used to be reliably detected. Of course Ubuntu and Windows get "updated" regularly, so the software on both could have gotten simultaneously hosed by some update, but how likely is that? So I assumed that the PCI firewire card or drive had failed.

But Slackware 14 finds it and mounts it as though nothing is wrong.

So aside from the obvious conclusion, (Slackware rules) what the devil is going on?

Here's fdisk -l; essentially identical to Ubuntu's report except for the presence of sdf.

Code:

bash-4.2# fdisk -l

Disk /dev/sda: 320.1 GB, 320072933376 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 38913 cylinders, total 625142448 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xf539481b

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sda1   *          63   204796619   102398278+   7  HPFS/NTFS/exFAT
/dev/sda2       204797952   208795647     1998848   82  Linux swap
/dev/sda3       208797694   625141759   208172033    5  Extended
/dev/sda5       208797696   625141759   208172032   83  Linux
Warning: ignoring extra data in partition table 5
Warning: ignoring extra data in partition table 5
Warning: invalid flag 0x003f of partition table 5 will be corrected by w(rite)

Disk /dev/sdc: 160.0 GB, 160041885696 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 19457 cylinders, total 312581808 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x0004eed3

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sdc1             256     3999999     1999872   82  Linux swap
/dev/sdc2         4000254   625161983   310580865    5  Extended
/dev/sdc5   ?     8145150  1065125948   528490399+  3f  Unknown

Disk /dev/sdb: 250 MB, 250640384 bytes
64 heads, 32 sectors/track, 239 cylinders, total 489532 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x19cb014e

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sdb4   *          32      489471      244720    6  FAT16

Disk /dev/sdd: 160.0 GB, 160041885696 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 19457 cylinders, total 312581808 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes


Disk /dev/sde: 300.1 GB, 300090728448 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 36483 cylinders, total 586114704 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x25241fff

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sde1   *          63   122881184    61440561    7  HPFS/NTFS/exFAT
/dev/sde2       122881185   125949599     1534207+  83  Linux
/dev/sde3       125949600   586099394   230074897+  83  Linux

Disk /dev/sdf: 1500.3 GB, 1500301910016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 182401 cylinders, total 2930277168 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x5d5bd477

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sdf1            2048  2930276351  1465137152   83  Linux

Here's lspci"

Code:

00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation 82845 845 [Brookdale] Chipset Host Bridge (rev 04)
00:01.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82845 845 [Brookdale] Chipset AGP Bridge (rev 04)
00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 PCI Bridge (rev 05)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation 82801BA ISA Bridge (LPC) (rev 05)
00:1f.1 IDE interface: Intel Corporation 82801BA IDE U100 Controller (rev 05)
00:1f.2 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801BA/BAM USB Controller #1 (rev 05)
00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation 82801BA/BAM SMBus Controller (rev 05)
00:1f.4 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801BA/BAM USB Controller #1 (rev 05)
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation NV25 [GeForce4 Ti 4600] (rev a3)
02:01.0 Modem: Agere Systems Venus Modem (V90, 56KFlex)
02:02.0 FireWire (IEEE 1394): Texas Instruments TSB82AA2 IEEE-1394b Link Layer Controller (rev 01)
02:03.0 Ethernet controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL-8169 Gigabit Ethernet (rev 10)
02:04.0 PCI bridge: Hint Corp HB6 Universal PCI-PCI bridge (non-transparent mode) (rev 15)
02:05.0 RAID bus controller: Promise Technology, Inc. PDC20271 (FastTrak TX2000) (rev 02)
02:07.0 Multimedia audio controller: C-Media Electronics Inc CM8738 (rev 10)
02:08.0 Ethernet controller: Intel Corporation 82801BA/BAM/CA/CAM Ethernet Controller (rev 03)
02:09.0 FireWire (IEEE 1394): Texas Instruments TSB43AB22A IEEE-1394a-2000 Controller (PHY/Link) [iOHCI-Lynx]
03:08.0 USB controller: NEC Corporation USB (rev 41)
03:08.1 USB controller: NEC Corporation USB (rev 41)
03:08.2 USB controller: NEC Corporation USB 2.0 (rev 02)
03:0c.0 FireWire (IEEE 1394): Texas Instruments TSB43AB23 IEEE-1394a-2000 Controller (PHY/Link)

Here's lsmod:

Code:

bash-4.2# lsmod
Module                  Size  Used by
snd_seq_dummy           1119  0 
snd_seq_oss            24956  0 
snd_seq_midi_event      4568  1 snd_seq_oss
snd_seq                41599  5 snd_seq_midi_event,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_dummy
snd_pcm_oss            33254  0 
snd_mixer_oss          12984  1 snd_pcm_oss
ipv6                  238549  16 
ext2                   55374  1 
lp                      7119  0 
btusb                  10108  0 
bluetooth             132835  1 btusb
rfkill                 12432  2 bluetooth
fuse                   58282  3 
usbhid                 31118  1 
hid                    65824  1 usbhid
nvidia               4659673  32 
snd_cmipci             26507  2 
snd_mpu401_uart         4967  1 snd_cmipci
snd_rawmidi            14662  1 snd_mpu401_uart
snd_opl3_lib            7210  1 snd_cmipci
snd_hwdep               4802  1 snd_opl3_lib
snd_seq_device          4276  5 snd_opl3_lib,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_dummy
snd_pcm                59013  2 snd_cmipci,snd_pcm_oss
snd_page_alloc          5925  1 snd_pcm
snd_timer              14798  3 snd_pcm,snd_opl3_lib,snd_seq
snd                    43657  16 snd_timer,snd_pcm,snd_seq_device,snd_hwdep,snd_opl3_lib,snd_rawmidi,snd_mpu401_uart,snd_cmipci,snd_mixer_oss,snd_pcm_oss,snd_seq,snd_seq_oss
firewire_sbp2          11385  0 
r8169                  42347  0 
soundcore               4570  1 snd
gameport                6288  1 snd_cmipci
firewire_ohci          28434  0 
i2c_i801                6952  0 
ohci_hcd               20884  0 
ssb                    41404  1 ohci_hcd
mmc_core               69202  1 ssb
pcmcia                 31533  1 ssb
pcmcia_core            10137  1 pcmcia
intel_agp               8712  1 
intel_gtt              11571  1 intel_agp
i2c_core               16454  2 i2c_i801,nvidia
firewire_core          43399  2 firewire_ohci,firewire_sbp2
ppdev                   4710  0 
e100                   27105  0 
agpgart                22087  3 intel_gtt,intel_agp,nvidia
uhci_hcd               19736  0 
mii                     3335  2 e100,r8169
parport_pc             16755  1 
shpchp                 22649  0 
fan                     1894  0 
psmouse                54408  0 
ehci_hcd               36304  0 
thermal                 6587  0 
processor              23020  0 
serio_raw               3349  0 
thermal_sys            12122  3 processor,thermal,fan
parport                26159  3 parport_pc,ppdev,lp
hwmon                   1033  1 thermal_sys
evdev                   7314  5 
button                  3665  0 
loop                   14650  0 
ext3                  163741  1 
mbcache                 4209  2 ext3,ext2
jbd                    48787  1 ext3

Yeah, I know, I've got some old hardware. I'll reboot and post the Ubuntu versions...

H_TeXMeX_H · 12-02-2012, 11:24 AM

I would backup all the data on the drive before anything else. It's great that Slackware recognizes the drive, but if Window$ and other distros don't then I wouldn't trust it.

markush · 12-02-2012, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by H_TeXMeX_H

I would backup all the data on the drive before anything else. It's great that Slackware recognizes the drive, but if Window$ and other distros don't then I wouldn't trust it.

That's quite a good advice, but before beeing pessimistic I would check if there is a more simple explanation for this issue.

You could check if the Ubuntu-kernel has the module for the firewire device available. In Slackware execute

Code:

lspci -k | grep -iA3 fire

this will show you which module is loaded for the firewiredevice. Afterwards you can check in Ubuntu if the module is present. As an example on my system (Slackware64-14.0)

Code:

zgrep -i fire /proc/config.gz 
# IEEE 1394 (FireWire) support
CONFIG_FIREWIRE=m
CONFIG_FIREWIRE_OHCI=m
CONFIG_FIREWIRE_SBP2=m
CONFIG_FIREWIRE_NET=m
CONFIG_FIREWIRE_NOSY=m
CONFIG_ATM_FIRESTREAM=m
CONFIG_ADAPTEC_STARFIRE=m
# Supported FireWire (IEEE 1394) Adapters
CONFIG_DVB_FIREDTV=m
CONFIG_DVB_FIREDTV_INPUT=y
CONFIG_SND_USB_6FIRE=m
CONFIG_SND_FIREWIRE=y
CONFIG_SND_FIREWIRE_LIB=m
CONFIG_SND_FIREWIRE_SPEAKERS=m
# CONFIG_FIREWIRE_OHCI_REMOTE_DMA is not set

as you can see firewire is available in Slackware's kernel, as you already said. But please use the modulename instead of "fire".

Markus

mostlyharmless · 12-02-2012, 04:06 PM

Gentlemen,

Thank you for your response. H_TexMex_H, I'm guessing the PCI card/motherboard, not the drive, as the drive and enclosure are new and infrequently used, whereas the mobo is 10+ years old. Having said that, it is a backup drive, and the data is being backed up elsewhere as this one has been unusable for a while.

Markus,

The Ubuntu output for Slackware and Ubuntu was identical for lspci -k:

Code:

Slackware version

02:02.0 FireWire (IEEE 1394): Texas Instruments TSB82AA2 IEEE-1394b Link Layer Controller (rev 01)
	Subsystem: Syba Tech Ltd Device 0005
	Kernel driver in use: firewire_ohci
02:03.0 Ethernet controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL-8169 Gigabit Ethernet (rev 10)
	Subsystem: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8169/8110 Family PCI Gigabit Ethernet NIC
	Kernel driver in use: r8169
--
02:09.0 FireWire (IEEE 1394): Texas Instruments TSB43AB22A IEEE-1394a-2000 Controller (PHY/Link) [iOHCI-Lynx]
	Kernel driver in use: firewire_ohci
03:08.0 USB controller: NEC Corporation USB (rev 41)
	Subsystem: Adaptec Device 1135
	Kernel driver in use: ohci_hcd
--
03:0c.0 FireWire (IEEE 1394): Texas Instruments TSB43AB23 IEEE-1394a-2000 Controller (PHY/Link)
	Subsystem: Texas Instruments Device 8010
	Kernel driver in use: firewire_ohci


Ubuntu version


02:02.0 FireWire (IEEE 1394): Texas Instruments TSB82AA2 IEEE-1394b Link Layer Controller (rev 01)
	Subsystem: Syba Tech Ltd Device 0005
	Kernel modules: firewire-ohci
02:03.0 Ethernet controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL-8169 Gigabit Ethernet (rev 10)
	Subsystem: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8169/8110 Family PCI Gigabit Ethernet NIC
	Kernel driver in use: r8169
--
02:09.0 FireWire (IEEE 1394): Texas Instruments TSB43AB22A IEEE-1394a-2000 Controller (PHY/Link) [iOHCI-Lynx]
	Kernel modules: firewire-ohci
03:08.0 USB controller: NEC Corporation USB (rev 41)
	Subsystem: Adaptec Device 1135
	Kernel driver in use: ohci_hcd
--
03:0c.0 FireWire (IEEE 1394): Texas Instruments TSB43AB23 IEEE-1394a-2000 Controller (PHY/Link)
	Subsystem: Texas Instruments Device 8010
	Kernel modules: firewire-ohci

On Slackware the config shows:

Code:

# IEEE 1394 (FireWire) support
CONFIG_FIREWIRE=m
CONFIG_FIREWIRE_OHCI=m
CONFIG_FIREWIRE_OHCI_DEBUG=y
CONFIG_FIREWIRE_SBP2=m
CONFIG_FIREWIRE_NET=m
CONFIG_FIREWIRE_NOSY=m
CONFIG_ATM_FIRESTREAM=m
CONFIG_ADAPTEC_STARFIRE=m
# Supported FireWire (IEEE 1394) Adapters
CONFIG_DVB_FIREDTV=m
CONFIG_DVB_FIREDTV_INPUT=y
CONFIG_SND_USB_6FIRE=m
CONFIG_SND_FIREWIRE=y
CONFIG_SND_FIREWIRE_LIB=m
CONFIG_SND_FIREWIRE_SPEAKERS=m
# CONFIG_FIREWIRE_OHCI_REMOTE_DMA is not set

whereas that command does not work under Ubuntu.. there is no /proc/config.gz

However, lsmod shows

Code:

Module                  Size  Used by
ext2                   67987  1 
pci_stub               12550  1 
vboxpci                22882  0 
vboxnetadp             13328  0 
vboxnetflt             27211  0 
vboxdrv               252189  3 vboxpci,vboxnetadp,vboxnetflt
rfcomm                 38139  23 
bnep                   17830  2 
ipt_MASQUERADE         12663  1 
iptable_nat            13016  1 
nf_nat                 24959  2 ipt_MASQUERADE,iptable_nat
nf_conntrack_ipv4      19084  3 iptable_nat,nf_nat
nf_conntrack           73847  4 ipt_MASQUERADE,iptable_nat,nf_nat,nf_conntrack_ipv4
nf_defrag_ipv4         12649  1 nf_conntrack_ipv4
ip_tables              18106  1 iptable_nat
x_tables               21974  3 ipt_MASQUERADE,iptable_nat,ip_tables
bridge                 79601  0 
stp                    12811  1 bridge
dm_crypt               22528  0 
snd_cmipci             35513  2 
gameport               15060  1 snd_cmipci
snd_pcm                80845  1 snd_cmipci
snd_page_alloc         14115  1 snd_pcm
snd_opl3_lib           18863  1 snd_cmipci
snd_hwdep              13276  1 snd_opl3_lib
snd_mpu401_uart        13865  1 snd_cmipci
snd_seq_midi           13132  0 
snd_rawmidi            25424  2 snd_mpu401_uart,snd_seq_midi
snd_seq_midi_event     14475  1 snd_seq_midi
nvidia               4708655  22 
btusb                  17948  4 
snd_seq                51567  2 snd_seq_midi,snd_seq_midi_event
bluetooth             158438  25 rfcomm,bnep,btusb
snd_timer              28931  3 snd_pcm,snd_opl3_lib,snd_seq
snd_seq_device         14172  4 snd_opl3_lib,snd_seq_midi,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq
snd                    62064  13 snd_cmipci,snd_pcm,snd_opl3_lib,snd_hwdep,snd_mpu401_uart,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq,snd_timer,snd_seq_device
soundcore              14635  1 snd
psmouse                96684  0 
shpchp                 32325  0 
ppdev                  12849  0 
serio_raw              13027  0 
mac_hid                13077  0 
dm_multipath           22710  0 
parport_pc             32114  1 
binfmt_misc            17292  1 
nfsd                  229850  13 
nfs                   307376  1 
lockd                  78865  2 nfsd,nfs
fscache                50642  1 nfs
auth_rpcgss            39597  2 nfsd,nfs
nfs_acl                12771  2 nfsd,nfs
sunrpc                205991  25 nfsd,nfs,lockd,auth_rpcgss,nfs_acl
lp                     17455  0 
parport                40930  3 ppdev,parport_pc,lp
raid10                 34917  0 
raid456                61445  0 
async_raid6_recov      12906  1 raid456
async_pq               12959  2 raid456,async_raid6_recov
raid6_pq               88268  2 async_raid6_recov,async_pq
async_xor              12738  3 raid456,async_raid6_recov,async_pq
async_memcpy           12481  2 raid456,async_raid6_recov
async_tx               13123  5 raid456,async_raid6_recov,async_pq,async_xor,async_memcpy
raid1                  34983  0 
raid0                  17031  0 
multipath              12977  0 
linear                 12766  0 
dm_raid45              76451  0 
xor                    25987  2 async_xor,dm_raid45
dm_mirror              21822  0 
dm_region_hash         16065  1 dm_mirror
dm_log                 18193  3 dm_raid45,dm_mirror,dm_region_hash
vesafb                 13516  1 
usbhid                 41906  2 
hid                    77392  1 usbhid
e100                   36289  0 
r8169                  56321  0 
pata_pdc2027x          13350  5 
floppy                 60310  0

which is lacking any firewire modules (except r8169), why, I don't know. I can try forcing

sudo insmod /lib/modules/3.2.0-34-generic/kernel/drivers/firewire/firewire-core.ko

which gets me

insmod: error inserting 'firewire-core.ko': -1 Unknown symbol in module

even though uname -r gives 3.2.0-34-generic

I did this instead of /proc/config.gz
cat /usr/src/linux-headers-3.2.0-34-generic/.config | grep -iA3 fire

Code:

# IEEE 1394 (FireWire) support
#
CONFIG_FIREWIRE=m
CONFIG_FIREWIRE_OHCI=m
CONFIG_FIREWIRE_OHCI_DEBUG=y
CONFIG_FIREWIRE_SBP2=m
CONFIG_FIREWIRE_NET=m
CONFIG_FIREWIRE_NOSY=m
CONFIG_I2O=m
CONFIG_I2O_LCT_NOTIFY_ON_CHANGES=y
CONFIG_I2O_EXT_ADAPTEC=y
--
CONFIG_ATM_FIRESTREAM=m
CONFIG_ATM_ZATM=m
# CONFIG_ATM_ZATM_DEBUG is not set
CONFIG_ATM_NICSTAR=m
--
CONFIG_ADAPTEC_STARFIRE=m
CONFIG_NET_VENDOR_ALTEON=y
CONFIG_ACENIC=m
# CONFIG_ACENIC_OMIT_TIGON_I is not set
--
# Supported FireWire (IEEE 1394) Adapters
#
CONFIG_DVB_FIREDTV=m
CONFIG_DVB_FIREDTV_INPUT=y

#
# Supported Earthsoft PT1 Adapters
--
CONFIG_SND_USB_6FIRE=m
CONFIG_SND_FIREWIRE=y
CONFIG_SND_FIREWIRE_LIB=m
CONFIG_SND_FIREWIRE_SPEAKERS=m
CONFIG_SND_ISIGHT=m
CONFIG_SND_PCMCIA=y
CONFIG_SND_VXPOCKET=m
--
# CONFIG_FIREWIRE_OHCI_REMOTE_DMA is not set
# CONFIG_DYNAMIC_DEBUG is not set
# CONFIG_DMA_API_DEBUG is not set
# CONFIG_ATOMIC64_SELFTEST is not set

mostlyharmless · 12-02-2012, 04:08 PM

And why the heck is firefox reporting that I'm posting from Windows 7? Oi! Got to change browsers again. Or distros, as firefox didn't do that under Slackware.

markush · 12-02-2012, 04:24 PM

Can't you try to load the missing modules (in Ubuntu) with modprobe?

Code:

modprobe firewire_ohci

for example, if modprobe doesn't show any messages it was successful.

btw: for such old hardware Slackware is the far better choice than Ubuntu!

Markus

mostlyharmless · 12-02-2012, 05:01 PM

Duh modprobe not insmod, showing my age.
Well,I can do

Code:

sudo modprobe firewire_ohci
sudo modprobe firewire_core
sudo modprobe firewire_sbp2

and they all work without a hitch; in fact I have to do those if I want to use coriander to view my ieee1394a camera. BUT, still no drive appears...

Quote:

btw: for such old hardware Slackware is the far better choice than Ubuntu!

Yes, as I said originally, the obvious conclusion is Slackware rules, but that doesn't really address the question here.

btw, lsmod now shows..

Code:

Module                  Size  Used by
firewire_sbp2          18346  0 
firewire_ohci          40180  0 
firewire_core          56906  2 firewire_sbp2,firewire_ohci
crc_itu_t              12627  1 firewire_core

markush · 12-03-2012, 12:31 AM

Maybe you'll have to mount the drive manually? did you look which drives are available?

Code:

ls /dev/sd*

will show you all drives, if it's there you can mount it.

Markus

H_TeXMeX_H · 12-03-2012, 02:52 AM

If the drive is new, and you think it is still good, then maybe remove it from the potentially faulty enclosure and test it using a SMART long test.

mostlyharmless · 12-04-2012, 09:40 AM

HTex: There's no drive showing in /dev, under sdd or anything else, such as /disk/by-uuid
Under Slackware it gets assigned sdf and shows up fine.

Markus, I'm pretty convinced that it's the mobo and the FireWire card. I've deferred investigation of the hardware for now as I have other backups and am probably needing a new computer anyway. I guess I could try plugging the thing in with one of its USB ports. It's just weird that Slackware picked it up.

mostlyharmless · 12-10-2012, 07:31 AM

Plugged a USB cable in, works perfectly.