Apps on removable media (FAT formatted) cannot be given execute permission

[nlneilson]

Right clicking on an app that is on removable media such as USB drive, sd card, etc and trying to change the execute permission does not work.

If this is an attempt at "security" there must be a way to over ride it, otherwise this gives the impression an OS other than Ubuntu should be used.

Neil

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 11.04
Package: gnome-panel 1:2.32.1-0ubuntu6.3
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 2.6.38-8.42-generic 2.6.38.2
Uname: Linux 2.6.38-8-generic i686
Architecture: i386
Date: Sun Jul 3 19:35:05 2011
ExecutablePath: /usr/bin/gnome-panel
GConfNonDefault:
 /apps/panel/general/applet_id_list=[trashapplet_screen0,workspace_switcher_screen0,window_list_screen0,show_desktop_button_screen0]
 /apps/panel/general/object_id_list=[browser_launcher_screen0,menu_bar_screen0,object_0,object_1]
 /apps/panel/general/toplevel_id_list=[bottom_panel_screen0,top_panel_screen0]
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 11.04 "Natty Narwhal" - Release i386 (20110427.1)
ProcEnviron:
 LANGUAGE=en_US:en
 LANG=en_US.UTF-8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
SourcePackage: gnome-panel
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)
XsessionErrors:
 (unity-window-decorator:1416): Gdk-CRITICAL **: IA__gdk_window_get_events: assertion `GDK_IS_WINDOW (window)' failed
 (unity-window-decorator:1416): Gdk-CRITICAL **: IA__gdk_window_set_events: assertion `GDK_IS_WINDOW (window)' failed

[Daniel van Vugt (vanvugt)]

Confirmed for FAT formatted media. However reformatting the USB drive or card to a Unix/Linux filesystem will give you all the Unix file mode support including the execute bit(s).

[Daniel van Vugt (vanvugt)]

Note also that the FAT filesystem does not have "execute" bits or attributes by design. Whether the execute bit appears for files is matter of interpretation by the kernel, so is determined by the mount options used to mount the media. Those mount options seem to be controlled by udisks. Not sure how to change them though.

[nlneilson (neil-nlneilson)]

Reformatting removable media to a Unix/Linux filesystem is not a viable solution.

Most media sold and used is in the FAT (or NTSF) format.

Whether changing the mount options would make a difference is questionable.

It seems a reasonable approach would be to have Ubuntu check if the media is FAT and if so have a click-able option for execute permission and ignore any execute bit or lack thereof.