It seems something I am going to need to be a bit long winded , p'rhaps those w/ little tolerance should just pass on it <G> started looking here ( SuSE's database) , w/ no joy. IT got me to this page which said:

SuSE Linux: Version 8.1

Symptom

Your computer is equipped with a CDRW drive and one or several "ordinary" CD drives. After installing SuSE Linux 8.1, the CD drives cannot be mounted.

Cause

Some modules are missing from the initrd.

From SuSE Linux 8.1 on, the CD drive support is no longer compiled and kept in the kernel, but implemented by way of modules (cdrom and ide-cd). As opposed to the module ide-scsi, those modules (cdrom and ide-cd) are not included in the Initrd. That is why the SCSI emulation reaches all drives and not only those listed in the kernel parameter hdX=ide-scsi.

Solution

Insert the modules cdrom and ide-cd in the variable INITRD_MODULES in the file

/etc/sysconfig/kernel

To do this, open the YaST Sysconfig Editor. Select Base-Administration -> Common-Basics -> initrd_modules and insert both modules before the module ide-scsi. Be careful not to remove any of the modules listed, since they are necessary for booting.

Now, execute as root user the command mk_initrd

To do this, start a terminal program like konsole or xterm and log in as root user with the command su -. Then enter the command mk_initrd. If your boot manager is LILO, reinstall it with the command lilo -v. This does not apply for GRUB. From SuSE Linux 8.1 on, GRUB is the standard boot loader.

Keywords: CD, DVD, LINK, MOUNT, WRONG, FS, INPUT, OUTPUT, ERROR, 81

Categories: Hardware

SDB-81_ide-scsi, Copyright SuSE Linux AG, Nürnberg, Germany - Version: 09. Oct 2002 SuSE Linux AG - Last generated: 16. Oct 2002 by ip (sdb_gen 1.40.0)

Itseems not to apply to a real scsi system. But I am willing to be educated here. Hardware isn't my speciality. Further , when I first installed 8.1 both drives worked as expected. "YOU Update" yesterday , and *something* seems to have gone awry. Not certain if this bit is useful for anyone, but , in the interest of giving you guys all I have : Got the command off some Suse Help page I was looking at something to be done about GRUB, but to doesn't apply either skronk:/home/blonde # cdrecord -scanbus Cdrecord 1.11a28 (i686-suse-linux) Copyright (C) 1995-2002 Jörg Schilling Linux sg driver version: 3.2.0 Using libscg version 'schily-0.6' scsibus0: 0,0,0 0) * 0,1,0 1) * 0,2,0 2) 'TOSHIBA ' 'CD-ROM XM-6401TA' '1015' Removable CD-ROM 0,3,0 3) * 0,4,0 4) * 0,5,0 5) * 0,6,0 6) 'IBM ' 'DDYS-T18350N ' 'SA2A' Disk 0,7,0 7) * scsibus1: 1,0,0 100) 'YAMAHA ' 'CRW2200E ' '1.0C' Removable CD-ROM 1,1,0 101) * 1,2,0 102) * 1,3,0 103) * 1,4,0 104) * 1,5,0 105) * 1,6,0 106) * 1,7,0 107) * NOW this is fstab, which has undergone a change, as have my user privileges , I can't edit various files easily any more, not even w/ sux Command.. tho nothing has changed that I can SEE in various documents there. Fstab:

/dev/sda2 / reiserfs defaults 1 1 /dev/sda1 swap swap pri=42 0 0 devpts /dev/pts devpts mode=0620,gid=5 0 0 proc /proc proc defaults 0 0 usbdevfs /proc/bus/usb usbdevfs noauto 0 0 /dev/cdrecorder /media/cdrecorder auto ro,noauto,user,exec 0 0 /dev/cdrom /media/cdrom auto ro,noauto,user,exec 0 0 /dev/fd0 /media/floppy auto noauto,user,sync 0 0

as I said , there is nothing that shows in the user privs so I am sort of spooked to really get in an rip anythig apart , willy nilly , as it were. -- j afterthought: Get Jah lost in da regge mon, and stroll along da beach!