Newbie: USB Drive Read-Only

**jratlif2** · 07-12-2003, 06:33 PM

Hi,

I'm new to Linux and Knoppix. I have Knoppix 3.2 running and it recognizes the USB pen drive and I can mount and read files from it. However, when I try to save a file to it, I get a message that the drive is read only. Any ideas?

Thanks,
Jeff

**Stephen** · 07-12-2003, 07:08 PM

Originally Posted by jratlif2

Hi,

I'm new to Linux and Knoppix. I have Knoppix 3.2 running and it recognizes the USB pen drive and I can mount and read files from it. However, when I try to save a file to it, I get a message that the drive is read only. Any ideas?

Thanks,
Jeff

Right click on the icon for the drive and unselect the read only check box in the permissions tab.

**jratlif2** · 07-13-2003, 05:28 AM

Thanks, Stephen. I told you I was a newbie.

Maybe you can help with a different problem. I have about 30 of these pen drives I plan to use with my high school students. A brand new one mounts correctly as SDA1 and I can access it from KDE as well as a shell.

However, one that has been formatted from Windows XP shows up on the desktop as four separate drives SDA1 - 4 and when I click on any of them I get a message that Knoppix was unable to mount because the file system was unrecognized. It doesn't seem to matter whether the drive was formatted FAT or FAT32.

Any ideas on this one?

Thanks again,
Jeff

**Stephen** · 07-13-2003, 08:59 AM

I would say that XP is using some kind of strange formatting for them. What I would do is boot from the knoppix cd then open a console window (clam shell icon on the taskbar) then sudo cfdisk /dev/sda to open cfdisk to remove the partitions on the pen drive just choose the delete option for each partition then choose the new option and make the drive one partition like the other and then choose the type option and set it to fat32 then write partition table and exit the program.

Then format the drive with sudo mkfs.vfat /dev/sda and you should have a pen drive with one partition and formatted fat32.

note: I have never done this myself but knoppix treats the devices as a SCSI drive so the commands should work, you may want to seek other advice on how to proceed, and as always only try it with one drive to confirm proper functioning before proceeding with the rest of the drives.

additional note: knoppix includes QTParted a graphical partitioning tool you can also use in place of cfdisk, from the console window the command would be sudo qtparted then you would have a choice of partitioning all the drives in the system you would of course select the pen drive.

**A. Jorge Garcia** · 07-13-2003, 04:07 PM

Hey Jeff! I told you you'd get the help you needed here. I have no USB Pen drives, so I had no idea that KNOPPIX treats them just like anyother drive - duh.... Otherwise I should have been able to tell you about the read/write tab, sheesh.... Sorry!

**jratlif2** · 07-18-2003, 05:19 AM

Hi again,

Thanks for your response. I tried what you suggested but when I type

sudo cfdisk /dev/sda

Knoppix responds:

Error Bad Primary Partition 0: Partition begins after end-of-disk

Hmmm...no idea.

I also tried sudo qtparted but get some sort of unknown command error.

I tried sudo cfdisk with no parameters and only my two hda partitions show up.

Also, several commands and utilities require that I be logged on as root, but I don't have the password. Any suggestions?

Thanks again,
Jeff

**Stephen** · 07-18-2003, 07:10 AM

To set a root password use sudo passwd then enter the password you would like to be set. When you just use the sudo cfdisk alone it will default to the first drive (hda). I have no experience with the pen drives but it looks like XP put some kind of strange formatting on there that linux does not like. Could you post the error from QTParted?

Just a thought have you tried to mount the pen drive from the console to see what the result is. eg. sudo mount -t vfat /dev/sda1 /mnt/sda1 and maybe even sudo mount -t ntfs /dev/sda1 /mnt/sda1 just in case XP formatted with ntfs also try the other three drives (2-4) that are seen.

**A. Jorge Garcia** · 07-18-2003, 02:32 PM

You'd better reformat to fat32! Also, why don't you use a root console? Just click <K><KNOPPIX><Root Console> and you don't need any passwords.

Regards,

**jratlif2** · 07-18-2003, 03:51 PM

Hi guys,

Thanks Jorge. I found the root console and will use it all the time.

Stephen, the message I get is

sudo: qtparted: command not found

Here is the (partial) solution I have found. My goal is to be able to have access to the pen drives under several OS's - Knoppix, OS X, Mac OS 9, XP, ME & 98. After several permutations, I formatted the pen drive in MS-DOS format under OS X. This was the only format I could find that could be read by OS X, XP and Knoppix. However, under Knoppix, the drive does not show up on the KDE desktop even though I am able to mount and write to it from the console. I tried Refresh Desktop and also rebooting. If I could get it to show up that would be great but if not, at least my students can get their Java files saved on it. BTW, which of the several editors that come with Knoppix do you recommend for editing Java files?

Thanks,
Jeff

**Stephen** · 07-18-2003, 05:10 PM

Originally Posted by jratlif2

Hi guys,

Stephen, the message I get is

sudo: qtparted: command not found

Here is the (partial) solution I have found. My goal is to be able to have access to the pen drives under several OS's - Knoppix, OS X, Mac OS 9, XP, ME & 98. After several permutations, I formatted the pen drive in MS-DOS format under OS X. This was the only format I could find that could be read by OS X, XP and Knoppix. However, under Knoppix, the drive does not show up on the KDE desktop even though I am able to mount and write to it from the console. I tried Refresh Desktop and also rebooting. If I could get it to show up that would be great but if not, at least my students can get their Java files saved on it. BTW, which of the several editors that come with Knoppix do you recommend for editing Java files?

Thanks,
Jeff

Good to hear you got it working, I use vi for everything so I probably the wrong guy to ask but you could use gvim which is a graphic version of vim you would start it with the command sudo gvim if you use the file name that you want to edit with it then it will open it automatically eg. sudo gvim file_name it has syntax highlighting like vi so should be acceptable.

You must be using a version of Knoppix before 2003-05-15 IIRC when QTParted was first included sorry should have asked which version you were using.

So the drive that you now have formatted from the OSX does not show up but the original drive did that is strange. Was it plugged in at the time of boot? If it was and was not detected then try to access it by plugging it in after boot and see if hotplug will recognize it if it was not plugged in the try it plugged in. Also I have never tried to create a new shortcut on the desktop from the CD but that be worth a try just right click and choose create new hard disk and see if it shows up in the device tab you may have to mount it first.

BTW good idea formatting with OSX at least Apple respects other OS's file systems and devices, just one more strike against MS in my books although they have long since passed the three strikes and your out rule.