Couple of questions about this bug.

Looking at http://qa.mandriva.com/show_bug.cgi?id=10619 I see it's status is still NEW with no resolution. The kernel is 2.6.8-0.rc2.1mdk, does this mean that the bug was first found in this kernel and exists by default in the later ones ?

I installed kernel-source-2.6-2.6.8.1-12mdk and checked the status of the default config for the EFI partition type. It's selected. The following is in the Help for this item:

My desktop is an older Celeron 1GHz, most definitely not a 64 bit processor
The only option is to compile it staticly linked, or not at all - no module option.

Given the above help information, does this mean I've installed the wrong kernel source ? There were several options to choose from (it's Mandrake 10.1 Official if this makes any difference - so 4 CD's), and uname -r reports

I've compiled a kernel before on Mandrake 9.0 with options to seek multiple LUNs, and I don't recall there being this many kernel sources.

So in summary - is my assumption that the bug is still unresolved in the standard Mandrake 10.1 Official kernel correct ?
Is choosing a different kernel source likely to resolve this, and if so, is it likely to break other things ?

My reasons for asking - a friend is considering getting me one, but she knows I use linux as my primary OS, So I figured I'd look into potential problems before saying "Yes please"
[Edit to point to mandriva]

From that mandrake bug report there appears to be a solution here that you may (and others) want to try if feel up to it: http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/history/213012

(From our very own LQ.org! )

I've read through that, it's referenced in the Mandrake bug finder that I linked to, but it doesn't answer my questions about whether I chose the right kernel source, and whether the problem exists in later (ie official) kernel releases.
There is also another fix at http://www.mail-archive.com/linux-us.../msg12302.html
linked from the HCL at http://www.linuxquestions.org/hcl/sh...cat=479&page=1
But this still involved a kernel recompile, so re my original question - did I choose the right kernel ?

If you want todo a re-compile with the patch, then quoting from the HCL:

"It works in both 2.6 and 2.4.22 and later kernels."

I'd say that you've got a kernel that is able to be patched and recompiled, you may just run into problems with other H/W if you do not compile the correct drivers and modules for your PC/Laptop.

I'm not sure what you mean by 'official'? Are you talking about kernel releases from www.kernel.org or Mandrake? Judging from the distro's used by all those that have posted (Gentoo, RH, Mandrake, SUSE) it appears to be a problem across them all. Maybe future kernel releases will include (or already have the patch) in them, but for now you may be better sticking to the Mandrake kernels as they will also include all of their patches for their distro, patching it and then re-compiling.

HTH

I'm talking about the official Mandrake kernel.
The trouble is there are about 6 kernel sources, and I'm after confirmation that I've installed the correct one for compilation, should I ever acquire an ipod (this is assuming it's not fixed in any current release, which I'm also after confirmation for). Read the first half of my original post.

As long as the kernel source you choose is able to build successfully after you have configured it for your system and patched it so that it works with an ipod you have the right kernel.

It doesn't have to match your current kernel if thats what your worried about, as the newly compiled kernel will be used in place of that one.

I think you should be fine with the kernel source that you have. I'd be more worried about re-compiling with the correct config for your system.

I don't know if this is fixed in any recent kernel releases from Mandrake. If the bug is still open I'd say no.

Don't know if you have read this site yet, may help: http://pag.lcs.mit.edu/~adonovan/hacks/ipod.html

But aren't there different kernels for a reason ?
Having a look at that hack page...
Bummer. I've taken no care at all with tags, and I burn all the files to CDR.
I don't want to have to throw out another set of non-recyclable cd's just to get this functionality.

Yes

All I'm saying is for your problem there appears to be a generic patch or kernel configuration change which seems to have worked over a variety of kernels (judging by all the different distro kernels that people have used the patch/change on). It's not a guarantee it will work, just an educated guess.

As for your MP3 tag issue, I think most if not all MP3 HDD players use the ID3 tag for file information to group into albums/artists/genre etc... I know that mine does and it's not an ipod. Again, I'm just guessing.

A little over a year later and I've finally gone with an iAudio G3 due to COWON's official support for transfering files under linux, amungst other features. It doesn't support firmware upgrades with linux though, which is a pity.