ATAPI dvdrom/cdrw automounting, slackware 9.1
 

OK, I'm new to slackware. I've always been using baby distros like mdk, and now I'm having trouble configuring the automounting of my floppy/dvdrom/cdrw drives. Please don't just tell me to look for an "automount HOWTO", because I've already tried that, but the only howto I've found was not clear enough for me (I was not sure what I had to do). Also the info I've found in the LQ forum archives hasn't helped me out of this problem.

So far, here's what I've done. My drives are ATAPI.
In lilo.conf, i've enabled the ide-scsi kernel option for hdc (dvd-rom) and hdd (cdrw).
question : are there any other kernel options I should pass here ?
I've changed the /dev/cdrom,/dev/dvd symlinks, and created /dev/cdrw, this way :
I've changed my /etc/fstab to :
My drives are well detected. But I have to mount them manually.

I would like them to be automounted. I know there is something called automount which should do that. But I don't know how to use it.
Could you please help ? Any tutorial ?

PS : i've read this howto :
tldp.org/HOWTO/Automount.html
but it refers to files (/etc/auto.master and /etc/auto.misc) that don't exist on my drive.... so I'm not sure this Howto applies to my system....

I think you need to use 'defaults' for the things you are trying to have mounted automatically on boot, if you want to do it that way.

Putting them in /etc/fstab doesn't necessarily mean they are automatically mounted. The fstab file is just there to help out when you do mount them.

Still, automount may be more appropriate, but can't help with that.

Supermount
 

Hi,

I think that what you are looking for is not automount but supermount (http://supermount-ng.sourceforge.net/).

The kernels supplied by mandrake are patched with supermount. This way you don't need to mount/umount you drives. It works great for floppys and cd/dvd (not so good for usb devices since it seems it does not detects that I unplug the device).

I'm affraid that you won't find an already patched kernel for Slackware (but I may be wrong). You'll have to compile one (which is not so hard, I think).

I've a 2.6.2 kernel patched with supermount and it works great. Supermount should be included in stock kernels! I think it's "prehistoric" having to type "umount /mnt/cdrom" before being able to eject a cd. And don't you ever missed "umount /mnt/fd0" ? I did and I found out that nothing was written to the floppy...

Hope this helps.

Bye

SnOp

Thanks for the quick and very informative replies !

snop, i'm very interested in the supermount feature you're mentionning. If I understand well, I only have to recompile my kernel with this option, and everything will work ? Or will I also have to edit some config files... like the modification in /etc/fstab MichaelHall is suggesting to me ?

also, I've got another question about recompiling kernels for slackware : can I compile any kernel version without problems ? (or is it better to only try a kernel found in a slackware archive ?) I mean, what does it mean that in the 'current' archive, they only have a 2.4.25 kernel, whereas the 2.6.3 is available ? does it mean that only 2.4.25 has been tested to be stable in a slackware environment, and that it is at my own risk that I will run a newer kernel ?

Could also someone answer the question I've colored in blue in my first post ?

Many thanks !

Some answers
 

Hi Ben2210,

Well, first you need to patch your kernel with supermount patch found at the adress mentioned in my last post. Then you have to configure your kernel to enable this option and then recompile and install it. You can use any kernel you want. The hardest part should be configuring the kernel properly. I'm using 2.6.2 and it's working great. Rock solid.

You'll find more docs at supermount website or kernel docs (take a look at README and you'll find how to patch your kernel).

Once supermount has been installed you'll have to modify your /etc/fstab. Here's an example:

(...)
none /mnt/cdrom supermount dev=/dev/hdd,fs=iso9660,--,exec,ro,umask=0 0 0
none /mnt/floppy supermount fs=vfat,dev=/dev/fd0,-- 0 0
none /mnt/usb supermount dev=/dev/sda1,ro,fs=vfat,--,user,umask=0 0 0
(...)

Since 2.6.x kernel series scsi emulation is no longer needed for atapi drives. I'm able to burn cd's without it. So it means no kernel parameters. The only "trick" is that you'll need a beta version of cdrdao in order to burn in dao mode (disk at once). You'll find a package at www.linuxpackages.net.

In order to use features such as "clone" that are enabled in k3b you'll need also a beta version of cdrtools. You'll find a package at... well... I don't remember. ;)

Anyway, hope this helps.

Bye

SnOp

Hi Snop !

And, many thanks for all these detailed explanations ! I appreciate it a lot !!

Just a few more questions :

1) since ide-scsi emulation is no longer needed, should I cancel the modifications I had done on the symlinks in /dev ? You know, I mentionned in my first post that I had put, for instance, /dev/cdrom -> /dev/scd0. Should I get back to /dev/cdrom -> /dev/hdc ?

2) Currently there is only a patch for kernel 2.6.2. I'm quite interested in 2.6.3, since I've got an emu10k1 and it appears many times in the 2.6.2 -> 2.6.3 changelog. Do you think it is safe to use the supermount patch for 2.6.2 with a 2.6.3 kernel ?

3) many thanks for the fstab example . However you haven't shown me an entry for a cdrw drive. I'd like very much to see one. In particular, I don't know whether I should use the "ro" flag like for a cdrom drive...

Thanks for your time !
Benoît

oops.

I just saw that the patch for 2.6.3 has just been released. So, that answers already one of my questions.

Then I read more carefully the cdrom entry in your fstab example, and it is plain from it that I should actually cancel my symlink modifications.

So, there remains only question 3...
any CD-RW fstab example ?
Thanks :

Hi again,

First of all: you're welcome.

Yes, as you guessed.

Good to know this! Now I dare to try 2.6.3 and see if this damn usb bug that annoies me is already there...

Edit:
Where did you find it ?!? I can't see it at supermount-ng.sf.net


The entry of my cdrw is the same as my cdrom. I think it does not matter if you put "ro" or not because this is just for the directory where the device is mounted. When burning, the device is accessed directly (/dev/hdc or whatever you have).

I'm pretty sure you won't need so many options but I left'em there when trying to correct a problem with my cd. I finally found out that was a supermount's parsing error (that has been already corrected) but I left all the options there since then.

Bye

SnOp

P.D.: Let me know if you finally dare to try to compile a custom kernel.

Hi Snop

thanks again for your help ! This does answer all of my questions !

Here's where I've found the patch for kernel 2.6.3 :

http://sourceforge.net/project/showf...ckage_id=84521

I'm going to try to compile my custom 2.6.3 kernel very soon, maybe today.
I've read the "sticky" threads on this subjects and I'm aware I should carefully check I've got all the required software before going on. However, if you have something else to warn me about before I start, it'll be very useful for me ! There seem to be really a lot of people who have junked their system trying to build a kernel...

also, do you know about this ?

http://members.optusnet.com.au/ckolivas/kernel/

do you think it's safe ? and worth it ?
(I don't have hyperthreading hardware anyway)

Hi,

I did know about Con Kolivas kernel patches but I haven't tried any of them. They look good by the way.

I think that what is unsafe is not keeping a backup of your data. When trying different kernels it's worth to set a new entrance in lilo called "secure", "working" or whatever you want with a kernel that you know that works. Also keep in mind that you can boot your system from Slack. cd 1 and copy the original kernel.

Well, I know you get the idea. I always (and I said ALWAYS) make a copy of a configuration file if I intend to make any modification on it.

If you want another advice I'll recommend to create a partiton of 700mb (if you have a cd burner) or 4Gb (if you own a dvd burner). Set it as fat32 (in order to make it accesible from windows in case you need it) and put there al the docs you create, some stuff you download and whatever you want to keep "secure". Wants that partition is full burn all the contents and delete all the files.

Finaly you could list all your files and put the lists in a database (let's say mysql) so you can easly find in which cd/dvd the file you are looking for is at. This database part is what I'm trying to build know ;)

Bye

P.D.: Sorry for this looong post and for talking about unrelated questions...

It was my understanding that for doing things like watching dvds or listening to music cds you didn't want your cds to automount because you don't want to mount them at all. Is this correct?

Hi Snop

thanks for the ideas ... since I haven't left free formatted space on my disk, I won't try it now (that would involve resizing a partition... toooooo risky !), but I might try this next time I'm partitionning a disk.

I also tend to make backups of my config file when I edit them, unless this is a minor modification I could easily cancel by running vi from a boot floppy or slack cd .... I mean, I don't think it's worth backing up my /etc/inittab each time I'm changing the runlevel....

don't worry, I'll keep my old 2.4.22 kernel a few days after I've installed the 2.6.3 one !

Thanks for all your help !
This has helped a lot !
If you're representative of the slackware community, then this is a very helpful and skilled one !
Benoît

Atmchicago,

I'm sure supermount works fine for dvds because I've had no problems watching ones under mdk 9.2. (once libdvdcss installed of course)

However I don't know anything about automount.