new DVD-ROM install
 

I installed a DVD-ROM today, it works fine under Windows ME so I know the thing works. I am running SuSE 8.0. The DVD is on IDE-2 as slave, there is a CDRW on the same cable as master. I unplugged the analog cable from my CDRW and plugged it into the new DVD. I right clicked and set up a new icon on the desktop. When I go into the "properties" tab there is a whole bunch of stuff listed under "device" none of it works. I have tried listing it as various things, mostly from reading threads on this forum, none of it works. Could anyone give me some simple directions on how to make a simple frigging DVD player work with Linux? I am not a programmer or a geek, just an old hillbilly so keep it simple please.

The actual device name would most likely be (assuming you have 2 drives on Primary cable as well) /dev/hdd

So, you have MANY choices now. Link straight to the DVD with /dev/hdd, or make symlinks to the device. You can add these if you like:
ln -sf /dev/hdd /dev/dvd
ln -sf /dev/hdd /dev/cdrom2
And you can also make directories and additions to your fstab.

Maybe this:
/dev/dvd /mnt/dvd iso9660 defaults 0 0
/dev/cdrom2 /mnt/cdrom2 iso9660 defaults 0 0
to your fstab, and make corresponding directories:
mkdir /mnt/dvd
mkdir /mnt/cdrom2

And finally, restart your X server, and see if they are listed in the drop down now.

Cool

MasterC,
You say:" So, you have MANY choices now. Link straight to the DVD with /dev/hdd, or make symlinks to the device. You can add these if you like:
ln -sf /dev/hdd /dev/dvd
ln -sf /dev/hdd /dev/cdrom2
And you can also make directories and additions to your fstab.

Maybe this:
/dev/dvd /mnt/dvd iso9660 defaults 0 0
/dev/cdrom2 /mnt/cdrom2 iso9660 defaults 0 0
to your fstab, and make corresponding directories:
mkdir /mnt/dvd
mkdir /mnt/cdrom2"

How and where do I put this stuff? Do I enter it into the shell-konsole? There is something here I am just not getting. I am not sure how to link to something and I can't find this info anywhere. What is a "symlink" and how do I do it? SuSE damn sure don't provide much in the way of instructions. Pardon my ignorance about this but I simply don't know.

No problem, and I am sorry for making it complicated. man symlink will give you an explaination of what a symlink is, and can do. The first you would just "put into a console" sure. It's the part where you create symlinks to your device. if you don't just copy and paste it, make sure you use the correct letters, it's lowercase LN -SF /DEV/HDD... etc, as shown above.

The second you would add those first two lines to your /etc/fstab file:
dev/dvd mnt/dvd iso9660 defaults 0 0
and the other.

The other part of the second part of instructions is what you will need to do to create the directories to mount your dvd drive to.

Hope that clarifies it a bit, and at least points you towards somewhere to get started on understanding how to setup new devices.

Cool

MasterC,
It worked! Thanks.
Now I only have one more thing to fix and it will be good to go. The way it is now I can only mount the DVD/CDROM2 while I am logged in as root. When I try to mount it logger in under my user name I get this:

"Could not mount device.
The reported error was:
mount: only root can mount /dev/cdrom2 on /mnt/cdrom2"

Does anyone know how to fix this so I can log in as user?

You're welcome ;) Not too sure on your next issue, I will leave that one for someone who actually knows rather than me giving you suggestions that might not work.

Good Luck, and Happy Linuxing!

Alright, well here are my not so great ideas since no one else has owned up to any:

If the permissions on /dev/cdrom2 and /mnt/cdrom2 say that only root can use em, type the following commands to allow full access by everyone:
chmod 777 /dev/cdrom2
chmod 777 /mnt/cdrom2

You may also want to see if you could just edit your /etc/fstab file to allow users, the entry might look something like:
/dev/cdrom2 /mnt/cdrom2 auto noauto,user,ro 0 0
but can be tailored to fit your needs. see man fstab to find out about the entries there and to change them to fit your needs.

If someone has a better idea, or the right way to fix it, please post it.

Cool

the "users" option is the one you're after.

Thanks MasterC, the users mod in /etc/fstab fixed it so the drive works logged in as user. Now if I can only get my audio problem straightened out I will be one happy little linuxer...

No problem, but that was Acid who tossed out the correct option. Glad I could though ;)

You guys wouldn't happen to know what to do for a "No Medium Found" error when im trying to mount a DVD would ya? I know you don't mount dvd's to view the movie, but you can still do it to see the files. It used to work before I installed MPlayer, but now stopped working.