Just in case someone else has this trouble - I'm posting the reply. My CD is working (again). The problem was with fstab file (which I know understand sets up mount points during the boot phase). The original 'mount' command had been commented out - and another mounting /S.u.s.E. had been added after YAST - by something (or someone?) unknown. As the drive was never mounted - it would not dismount as there was no entry in mtab - and without umounting a device it would not allow be to remount it. (With better knowledge I might have been able to mount it with another identity) Identification of this was then complicated by the fact that I changed something in /dev and fiddled with the desktop 'shortcut' link - when I decided to have a better read of the manual! How do you mount and umount without restorting to a console? My laptop refuses to release the CD unless the drive is remounted. I thought that opening the door (and closing it) would automatically trigger a mount/umount action - as it does on my Acorn and PC stations. On Fri 31 Mar, James Samuel wrote:

On Fri, 31 Mar 2000, Alan Davies wrote:

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syslog? Where? In sbin/init.d/ ?

/var/log/messages

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is the only one I could see - and appeas to be a script file for a console/terminal.

Should I be able to umount hdc

and then remount as mount /dev/cd

What would you expect after typing mount (by itself) - mine reports hda1 and hda3 with none on /dev/pts

Without the CD mounted, what you're seeing is correct. If it's mounted, /dev/hdc or /dev/hdd, then /cdrom.

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Is it possible that a CD has been mounted by another user - and not unmounted?

Possibly, but unlikely. If it's not showing when you do mount, it isn't mounted.

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If so - how does root overcome this?

umount it. Root can always umount anythihng. :)

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It has a line in /etc/fstab after the end of YAST generated lines

/dev/hdc/ /S.u.s.E. iso9660 ro 0 0

Should this be present - and with this syntax?

I don't think that line is correct. I think it should read:

/dev/hdc /cdrom iso9660 ro 0 0

Which is more sensible.

-- Alan Davies Head of Computing Birkenhead School