my CF reader is giving me an error when i try to mount it, it says "/dev/sdb1 is not a valid block device"

now this jsut started happening about a week ago when i tried in a failed attempt to install the spca webcam drivers so i think i f*cked something up that way

how can i fix this?

bump

did you check you /etc/fstab usually when i get an error like that it is caused by something in the fstab getting messed up or not set right. If you could give us a run down of what you have tried so far we could have a better idea what to tell you to try.

i looked at teh fstab and it said this for sdb1

"/dev/sdb1 /mnt/flash auto noauto,owner,kudzu 0 0"


i have no idea what that means

and i havent really tried anything cause i dont know what to do

I'm assuming that the webcam you tried installing is a USB device my best guess would be that when you installed the webcam it changed where your CF card reader is plugged in. In which case may try changing the device in your fstab.

"/dev/sdb1 /mnt/flash auto noauto,owner,kudzu 0 0"

"/dev/sdb1" = device

"/mnt/flash" = mount point

"auto" = tells linux to automaticly determin the filesystem used on said device, if you know the file system you can declare it here ie. most CF cards for digital cameras use FAT, if auto works don't mess with this.

"noauto" = tells Linux Don't auto mount this filesystem on boot

the rest are owner permissions and such no need to mess with these unless you get an error that says you don't have permission to mount this device, than change "owner" to "users"


the one your interested in is the device (/dev/sdb1) you may try changing it to "/dev/sdb2" or "/dev/sdb3" you should see the pattern, you can put any number between 1 and 15 at the end though if this is what is causing your problem it will most likely be a low number ie. 2 or 3.

secondly if you use an icon on your desktop to mount the CF card you will need to change the icon to point at the new device. It would most likely be good to try manually mounting the device first until you find the correct device than change the link on your desktop.

Also make sure you are logged in as root so that you have permission to make changes in fstab.

what disrtibution are you using some distros have graphical tools that can help you.

hope this helps, if not let us know and maybe someone else will have another idea.

i tried changing the sdb to a different number, got same message

im using red hat 9.0

i dont what how bad i f*cked it up but those webcam drivers messed up somethign

anyone got any ideas?

......................................

ive GOTTA GET THIS FIXED MY DIGITAL CAMERA IS ALMOST USELESS NOW

still havent gotten it fixed

Can I offer a suggestion? If you want help, you've got to learn how to ask for it properly. This kind of thing:

is counterproductive at best.

Believe me, I understand how irritating it can be when the thing you want won't work and you can't figure out why, and no one seems to want to help you. But try putting yourself in the shoes of someone reading your post. At first you provide almost no information about what's going on, and it looks very much like you don't want to know in the first place. Then, when someone tries to help you, instead of thanking them for their long, very explanatory and very helpful post (which you could've easily taken from the web or from your own system's man pages and other internal documentation), you post a very terse, vague message about using "a different number" and how it didn't work. Then you demand more help.

Try not to have kneejerk reactions when you get frustrated. You can see in your mind how it can only impair your thinking, can't you? Instead, look up documentation, read a bit, google for your problem.

Linux people have very little patience for those not willing to help themselves. This is very much a do-it-yourself community, and you have to be fertile ground for the seeds of help people are willing to plant. Linux users and admins are also notoriously busy, so they don't have time to coddle you.

You have to be willing to learn, willing to take the time to actually understand your system. You're basically wasting your time (and ours) if you insist on begging for help without actually taking the time to try to figure things out for yourself.

Here's my take: Assuming nothing is outright broken, when you installed the new drivers, the scsi subsystem in the kernel probably reassigned the various /dev/sd<alpha><number> entries because now new devices are being discovered, possibly in a different order than what they were before. Assuming you have a 2.4 series kernel (which you should, given RH9, run uname -a for reassurance), this document will help you get to know your system better:

http://tldp.org/HOWTO/SCSI-2.4-HOWTO/

It tells you how to discover which device fits with which /dev/sd* entry. Take the time to figure it out for yourself, and come to the community if you're really stumped. Why do you think all these helpful people wrote the documents in the first place?

-t