Cannot read floppy disks after udisks update

[Laurence Nagel]

Binary package hint: udisks

Floppy disks work OK with udisks 1.0.1-1build1, but when udisks was updated to 1.0.1-1ubuntu1

See Question #120571 at https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/120571

Regressing to udisks 1.0.1-1build1 solves the problem....

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 10.04
Package: udisks 1.0.1-1build1
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 2.6.32-24.39-generic 2.6.32.15+drm33.5
Uname: Linux 2.6.32-24-generic i686
Architecture: i386
CurrentDmesg:
 [ 41.012009] eth0: no IPv6 routers present
 [ 49.876043] end_request: I/O error, dev fd0, sector 0
 [ 49.912040] end_request: I/O error, dev fd0, sector 0
 [ 169.768033] end_request: I/O error, dev fd0, sector 0
 [ 169.796039] end_request: I/O error, dev fd0, sector 0
Date: Mon Aug 16 16:08:43 2010
MachineType: Dell Computer Corporation OptiPlex 170L
ProcCmdLine: root=UUID=d6835917-e68f-41ea-a3e0-901d7c19e04b ro quiet splash
ProcEnviron:
 PATH=(custom, no user)
 LANG=en_US.utf8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
SourcePackage: udisks
dmi.bios.date: 01/21/2005
dmi.bios.vendor: Dell Computer Corporation
dmi.bios.version: A07
dmi.board.name: 0WC297
dmi.board.vendor: Dell Computer Corp.
dmi.chassis.type: 6
dmi.chassis.vendor: Dell Computer Corporation
dmi.modalias: dmi:bvnDellComputerCorporation:bvrA07:bd01/21/2005:svnDellComputerCorporation:pnOptiPlex170L:pvr:rvnDellComputerCorp.:rn0WC297:rvr:cvnDellComputerCorporation:ct6:cvr:
dmi.product.name: OptiPlex 170L
dmi.sys.vendor: Dell Computer Corporation

[Alan (avhennessy)]

I've got this problem on two different Lucid installations

[Branimir Kolar (branimir101)]

I also got this problem and fixed it by downgrading udisks.

[Sergey Svishchev (svs)]

bug 607052 could be related.

[Sergey Svishchev (svs)]

...and bug 554700 too.

[Atlant (datlant)]

simple patch
see, https://bugs.freedesktop.org/show_bug.cgi?id=30283
plz, test !

[FactTech (launchpad-facttechnologies)]

Seeing this bug in an HP Pavilion ze5200 with Lucid installed. I can confirm the workaround described in Launchpad Question #120571; the command:

  udisks --mount /dev/fd0

works as desired. The original command tried:

  mount /media/floppy

spins the disk and acts as if mount was successful (appropriately advising a read-only mount), but disk is not mounted and does not appear in list of mounted devices when using "mount" command. No errors appear in dmesg log.

In my case, this was attempted from a non-superuser account that had already been granted the "use floppy" permission, so it was not necessary to change this setting. Also, there was a line in /etc/fstab referring to the floppy drive and specifying the "user" option as required.

[Kris Dee (stargazer185)]

Running "Lucid" and having the same problem of not being able to mount floppys. Reinstalling the "old" udisks, as in Launchpad Question #120571 (by Laurence Nagel), lets me mount floppys

(However, during startup Ubuntu now complains about not being able to mount floppy and asking me to press either S or M... Huh?)

[Jim (JR) Harris (jimrh)]

This is another example of a short-sighted decision *somewhere* that "nobody" would EVER want to use a floppy!

Admittedly, I use floppies less-and-less often, but I do use them and some of my most valuable and powerful utilities will ONLY work from a floppy. . . . running DOS 6.22. (and yes, I've tried it from a "bootable"

IMHO, this is tantamount to saying that Ubuntu should not support the Mini DB-15 VGA port because "Nobody" would use anything other than HDMI - right? Ubuntu is going to stop supporting the "i386" architecture because "nobody" uses "386" based machines, right? Oooh! Let's only support Intel/AMD quad+ core!!

OK. . . . Maybe the majority of the newer machines don't even KNOW what a floppy is - but should that mean that *everyone* should be forbidden to use one? I think not.

[Jim (JR) Harris (jimrh)]

@Kris

That is because you have the floppy in your fstab. Remove or comment-out the "floppy disk" (/dev/fd - /dev/fd0) line in your FSTAB and resave. You will still be able to use the floppy with the downgraded udev - and it will automount just like a USB drive.

[Merel (merel469)]

As the French say : Le canard est toujours vivant !
In other words, this bug still confirmed.

Sorry, but for anyone who wanted to switch from Windows to "Linux for human beings" this bug can be a reason to not even attempt any further use of Ubuntu.

What kind of "operating"(?) system" is not even capable to read or write a floppy ?
Do users have to improvize turnarounds for something that should run normally ?!

[Stuart Gillies (gillies)]

This absurd bug also affects me. And right now I can't find the package to do the downgrade. Younger geeks may not understand the need, but I for one am not going to spend days copying floppies just so Ubuntu can be 'cool'.

Please reinstate this simple, obsolete but necessary driver. It can't be very hard to do.

[Stuart Gillies (gillies)]

Plus, I should have added, that I now seem to have to reinstall Windows just to do a BIOS upgrade !!!!! Will I bother to revert to Ubuntu? Probably. All I need to do is to transfer one file to a floppy.

[Stuart Gillies (gillies)]

Solved for me at least by the downgrade to the earlier version, available here:

https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+archive/primary/+files/udisks_1.0.1-1build1_i386.deb

Install it and then using synaptic, lock the version so it stays there.

But I shouldn't have to do this, so perhaps the developers could put back what they took out?

cheers