Getting e-mail file onto floppy disk
I've been trying to get /home/jlowell/Mail/inbox/cur onto a floppy disk for about an hour without success. I've got the device mounted and know how to move files off of a floppy drive in Linux but can't either copy or move them from the above directory to the disk. What am I missing here? John Lowell
On Saturday 21 December 2002 19:52 pm, John Lowell wrote:
I've been trying to get /home/jlowell/Mail/inbox/cur onto a floppy disk for about an hour without success. I've got the device mounted and know how to move files off of a floppy drive in Linux but can't either copy or move them from the above directory to the disk. What am I missing here?
John Lowell
And what command are using to do this?? And the /cur is a directory, not a file. -- +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ + Bruce S. Marshall bmarsh@bmarsh.com Bellaire, MI 12/21/02 20:00 + +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ "My life has a superb cast but I can't figure out the plot." - Ashleigh Brilliant
On Saturday 21 December 2002 08:01 pm, Bruce Marshall wrote:
And what command are using to do this??
And the /cur is a directory, not a file.
Bruce, Thanks for the prompt reply. I've approached the matter both graphically and at the command line using cp /home/jlowell/Mail/inbox/cur/* /dev/fd0/ after having first mounted the device. Graphically, I go to the source directory, select all, and attempt to drag-and-drop the files to the directory associated with the floppy in the file manager and am told that the copying can't be done. I've gotten no output in the way of file permission difficulties. I'm stumped. What's the proper proceedure here? I have no trouble getting e-mail files off a floppy using a similar approach. John Lowell
On Sat, 21 Dec 2002, John Lowell wrote:
On Saturday 21 December 2002 08:01 pm, Bruce Marshall wrote:
And what command are using to do this??
And the /cur is a directory, not a file.
Bruce,
Thanks for the prompt reply. I've approached the matter both graphically and at the command line using cp /home/jlowell/Mail/inbox/cur/* /dev/fd0/ after
And here is the culprit. You should not copy to /dev/fd0 but to /media/floppy, which should also be the place you copied from when you got that to work. You should also know that the data will probably not be written to the floppy before you umount it again. (It will be visible in /media/floppy, but if you remove the disk too soon, it is likely to be messed up.)
having first mounted the device. Graphically, I go to the source directory, select all, and attempt to drag-and-drop the files to the directory associated with the floppy in the file manager and am told that the copying can't be done. I've gotten no output in the way of file permission difficulties. I'm stumped. What's the proper proceedure here? I have no trouble getting e-mail files off a floppy using a similar approach.
A tip when you ask for help is to always tell us both what you try to do and how you try to do it. Also include the exact wording of any errors you get. (Cut'n'paste is best to avoid typos.) If this procedure is followed, the risk of getting a lot of helpful but useless answers is lessened considerably. You would probably have received a useful answer as the first reply, if your first mail had said you were trying to copy the files to /dev/fd0. Regards Ole
On Saturday 21 December 2002 09:40 pm, Ole Kofoed Hansen wrote:
And here is the culprit.
You should not copy to /dev/fd0 but to /media/floppy, which should also be the place you copied from when you got that to work.
You should also know that the data will probably not be written to the floppy before you umount it again. (It will be visible in /media/floppy, but if you remove the disk too soon, it is likely to be messed up.)
Regards
Ole
OK, Ole, I can get /home/jlowell/Mail/inbox/cur copied to /media/floppy. Attempts to copy /media/floppy to /dev/fd0 before or after mounting it result in /dev/fd0 being declared a non-directory, however. I'm entering the commands as root user. What in heavens name do I have to do to get these files from /media/floppy onto the disk? Is it really this hard to copy files to a floppy disk in Linux? God! John Lowell
On Sunday 22 December 2002 06:50, John Lowell wrote:
OK, Ole, I can get /home/jlowell/Mail/inbox/cur copied to /media/floppy. Attempts to copy /media/floppy to /dev/fd0 before or after mounting it result in /dev/fd0 being declared a non-directory, however. I'm entering the commands as root user. What in heavens name do I have to do to get these files from /media/floppy onto the disk? Is it really this hard to copy files to a floppy disk in Linux? God!
The /media/floppy directory IS [the contents of the filesystem on] the floppy! The disk controller module may delay the /physical/ writing to the floppy, and hold the files in a buffer - that's why you MUST explicitly unmount the drive before removing the disk. Dylan -- "Sweet moderation Heart of this nation Desert us not, we are Between the wars"
On Saturday 21 December 2002 09:40 pm, Ole Kofoed Hansen wrote:
And here is the culprit.
You should not copy to /dev/fd0 but to /media/floppy, which should also be the place you copied from when you got that to work.
You should also know that the data will probably not be written to the floppy before you umount it again. (It will be visible in /media/floppy, but if you remove the disk too soon, it is likely to be messed up.)
Regards
Ole
Ole, Just so you have this chapter and verse here are the command line steps I took linux:~ # cp /home/jlowell/Mail/inbox/cur/* /media/floppy linux:~ # cp /media/floppy/* /dev/fd0 cp: copying multiple files but last argument '/dev/fd0' is not a directory. The commands were carried out with the floppy unmounted. Do I have to create a directory on the floppy so that it can be written to? I'm baffled. John Lowell
On Sun, 2002-12-22 at 09:19, John Lowell wrote:
Just so you have this chapter and verse here are the command line steps I took
linux:~ # cp /home/jlowell/Mail/inbox/cur/* /media/floppy
This command should get your files copied onto the floppy of the floppy is mounted.
linux:~ # cp /media/floppy/* /dev/fd0 cp: copying multiple files but last argument '/dev/fd0' is not a directory.
This error is correct, as /dev/fd0 is not a deirectory, it is a device. When you mount the floppy, the kernel associate the device /dev/fd0 with the directory /media/floppy. When any operations are done on /media/floppy, the kernel will apply the operations on the device. You never have to copy to the device.
The commands were carried out with the floppy unmounted.
You have to mount it first.
Do I have to create a directory on the floppy so that it can be written to? I'm baffled.
No, you should not have to create a directory on the floppy. The procedure to copy to ot from a floppy: 1) Place diskette in drive 2) mount the device: normally this command should do it: mount /media/floppy 3) copy to or from the mount directory (/media/floppy) like it is a normal directory. 4) unmount the device: umount /media/floppy 5) wait for the drive light to go off or stop flashing, then remove the diskette. HTH
-- Andre Truter Software Engineer Registered Linux user #185282 ICQ #40935899 AIM: trusoftzaf http://www.trusoft.za.net <-------------------------------------------------> < The box said: Requires Windows 95 or better... > < So I installed Linux > <------------------------------------------------->
On Sunday 22 December 2002 05:02 am, Andre Truter wrote:
This error is correct, as /dev/fd0 is not a deirectory, it is a device. When you mount the floppy, the kernel associate the device /dev/fd0 with the directory /media/floppy. When any operations are done on /media/floppy, the kernel will apply the operations on the device. You never have to copy to the device.
You have to mount it first.
No, you should not have to create a directory on the floppy.
The procedure to copy to ot from a floppy:
1) Place diskette in drive 2) mount the device: normally this command should do it: mount /media/floppy
3) copy to or from the mount directory (/media/floppy) like it is a normal directory.
4) unmount the device: umount /media/floppy 5) wait for the drive light to go off or stop flashing, then remove the diskette.
HTH
Andre, Ole, Dylan, zentara, Patrick & Tom, First just permit me to say how grateful I am to all of you for trying to be of help to me with this problem. I hope I haven't missed above anyone who's written. Thank you! After reviewing the various approaches suggested to me, all of which have common themes, I settled on what I've set out below as an attempt at a solution. Truthfully, I think something out of the ordinary may be going on but here's what's happened with my latest attempt: 1. Formated the drive in a Windows 98 machine so there's a file system on the floppy. 2. Ran the following as root user: linux:~ # mount /media/floppy linux:~ # cp /home/jlowell/Mail/inbox/cur/* /media/floppy cp: cannot create regular file '/media/floppy/1040271374.1288.Sb3R:2,S' Invalid argument The same pattern is then reported for each of the e-mail files. So you'll know, the relevant portion of /etc/fstab reads: /dev/fd0 /media/floppy auto noauto,user,sync 0 0. How do we account for the invalid argument output? John Lowell
On Sun, 22 Dec 2002 17:22:52 -0500
John Lowell
1. Formated the drive in a Windows 98 machine so there's a file system on the floppy.
2. Ran the following as root user:
linux:~ # mount /media/floppy linux:~ # cp /home/jlowell/Mail/inbox/cur/* /media/floppy cp: cannot create regular file '/media/floppy/1040271374.1288.Sb3R:2,S' Invalid argument
Is that a valid filename for msdos? -> 1040271374.1288.Sb3R:2,S' Just a guess. :-) -- use Perl; #powerful programmable prestidigitation
Hi John, Just a general thought again - try creating a small text file with an 8.3 format name (say test.txt) and copy that file to the floppy (make sure you close the text editor first). That way you'll know if the copy is possible at all. You could also try getting the text editor to save directly to the floppy. Dylan On Sunday 22 December 2002 22:22, John Lowell wrote:
On Sunday 22 December 2002 05:02 am, Andre Truter wrote:
This error is correct, as /dev/fd0 is not a deirectory, it is a device. When you mount the floppy, the kernel associate the device /dev/fd0 with the directory /media/floppy. When any operations are done on /media/floppy, the kernel will apply the operations on the device. You never have to copy to the device.
You have to mount it first.
No, you should not have to create a directory on the floppy.
The procedure to copy to ot from a floppy:
1) Place diskette in drive 2) mount the device: normally this command should do it: mount /media/floppy
3) copy to or from the mount directory (/media/floppy) like it is a normal directory.
4) unmount the device: umount /media/floppy 5) wait for the drive light to go off or stop flashing, then remove the diskette.
HTH
Andre, Ole, Dylan, zentara, Patrick & Tom,
First just permit me to say how grateful I am to all of you for trying to be of help to me with this problem. I hope I haven't missed above anyone who's written. Thank you!
After reviewing the various approaches suggested to me, all of which have common themes, I settled on what I've set out below as an attempt at a solution. Truthfully, I think something out of the ordinary may be going on but here's what's happened with my latest attempt:
1. Formated the drive in a Windows 98 machine so there's a file system on the floppy.
2. Ran the following as root user:
linux:~ # mount /media/floppy linux:~ # cp /home/jlowell/Mail/inbox/cur/* /media/floppy cp: cannot create regular file '/media/floppy/1040271374.1288.Sb3R:2,S' Invalid argument
The same pattern is then reported for each of the e-mail files. So you'll know, the relevant portion of /etc/fstab reads: /dev/fd0 /media/floppy auto noauto,user,sync 0 0. How do we account for the invalid argument output?
John Lowell
-- "Sweet moderation Heart of this nation Desert us not, we are Between the wars"
On Sunday 22 December 2002 2:22 pm, John Lowell wrote: [...]
Andre, Ole, Dylan, zentara, Patrick & Tom,
First just permit me to say how grateful I am to all of you for trying to be of help to me with this problem. I hope I haven't missed above anyone who's written. Thank you!
You're welcome -- glad to see that you're learning stuff about a system that is "new" to you
After reviewing the various approaches suggested to me, all of which have common themes, I settled on what I've set out below as an attempt at a solution. Truthfully, I think something out of the ordinary may be going on but here's what's happened with my latest attempt:
[out of sequence, sort of...] well, nothing "out of the ordinary" is going on -- I've read your "latest problem", which if posted initially [more on that in a moment] would have gotten everyone to the answer faster. As such, you've run into some low-level file system restrictions which have been in place for many many years [way back when IBM thoughtlessly sold Bill the rights to a system they felt wasn't going far...] [...]
linux:~ # cp /home/jlowell/Mail/inbox/cur/* /media/floppy cp: cannot create regular file '/media/floppy/1040271374.1288.Sb3R:2,S' Invalid argument
AHA (or as I like to say, "A new country has been heard from!") Had these lines been included in your original message exactly as they are now, we wouldn't have had to take the "scenic route" to get to your problem -- the filename as given [everything past the final slash] is not a "legal" DOS filename (as someone pointed out, the colon (:) character is invalid) so you cannot write it to the disk using that name (for that matter, multiple-dots are also "invalid" for a pure "DOS" diskette [so called "8.3" filenames only...] the more "extended" vfat format can handle the longer names, and that is pretty much the "default" nowadays so you shouldn't run into that as the problem anymore...) BUT, the "scenic route" was informative as well, so don't think I'm knocking you unneccessarilly. However, it could have lead you to a "soluition" that would have worked, but for the wrong reason... For instance, had you taken someone elses advice of formatting the disk for "ext2", writing files would have worked (because the ":" is a legal filename character) and you would have been "happy" until someone handed you a disk formatted for (v)fat and you tried to "show off your superior knowledge of linux and/or the general superiority of linux itself" [you can just imagine where this is going, can't you? :) ] There is a very good write up by Eric Raymond called "how to ask a question" [todo: look up link & insert here] which provides some good advice for how to get your questions answered quickly and (more importantly) correctly /the first time/. True enough, being new to linux you wouldn't have known whether this error given was truly vital [this time it was] of if it might be "noise" [i.e., an error message so common it occurs no matter what you did wrong, so it doesn't convey any meaning anymore...] but that's what this paper tries to address -- it shows you the steps to take to try and solve it yourself [there is a reason the word "FAQ" begins with an "F"...] and how to present your findings to a group [such as this] for when you're truly stumped. Tom p.s., before I forget, here is how I re-researched the "todo" item above: opened konquerer and typed "ggl:raymond how ask question" and [because I felt lucky] it really did get to the page I wanted: http://www.tuxedo.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html note that the top part is a "revision history" which has grown quite large -- you can safely skip past that without losing relevance to what is on the page]
Previously, I wrote:
On Sunday 22 December 2002 2:22 pm, John Lowell wrote:
linux:~ # cp /home/jlowell/Mail/inbox/cur/* /media/floppy cp: cannot create regular file '/media/floppy/1040271374.1288.Sb3R:2,S' Invalid argument
AHA (or as I like to say, "A new country has been heard from!") Had these lines been included in your original message exactly as they are now, we wouldn't have had to take the "scenic route" to get to your problem
While commenting on this thread in response to another message [where, coincidentally, the guy is getting the error "invalid arguement" when trying to export files via NFS] it suddenly dawned on me that John had indeed given us enough informtation in his initial message: On Saturday 21 December 2002 4:52 pm, John Lowell wrote:
I've been trying to get /home/jlowell/Mail/inbox/cur onto a floppy disk for about an hour without success. I've got the device mounted and know how to move files off of a floppy drive in Linux but can't either copy or move them from the above directory to the disk. What am I missing here?
none of us (appearently) actually TRIED to do what he did, namely copy files from the ".../Mail/inbox/cur" directory to a floppy -- we all relied on "experience" to tell us [different things] about how linux works. He even stated he knew how to get files to/from the floppy, it was just THIS SPECIFIC directory was choking, and that should have been a major RED FLAG CLUE that "close investigation" rather than "this is what I know/remember of linux" was called for. (I even went so far as to actually jump out to a shell and issue an "ls -l" command to find the number of bytes consumed by "just a few messages" -- I actually had samples of "illegal filenames" on my screen and missed it :) :) :) [then again, in my case I *knew* I had more than a floppy's worth of files in my "cur" directory, and a closer look at the actual files reveals I have very few that have colons in them, so had I tried it, it might have confirmed my "lack of space" theory before hitting a "bogus" filename]
I am using Suse 8. So to copy an email to floppy disk from KMail is as easy as right mouse click on the email you are reading and click save as (ctrl+S) which opens kmail save as box. Click the floppy icon on the left, type in filename.txt click save. This saves the email onto floppy as a text file without mounting or unmounting the floppy. hth. -- Clive. Fighting for darker skies.
To All Who Have Written, I have been able to confirm that the problem I have been experiencing getting my inbox to write to a floppy disk is indeed related to file system causes. From a konsole as root user I've run the following: linux:~ # mkfs -t ext2 /dev/fd0 linux:~ # mount /dev/fd0 /media/floppy linux:~ # cp /home/jlowell/Mail/inbox/cur/* /media/floppy linux:~ # umount /dev/fd0 /media/floppy Checking the results graphically by clicking the desktop floppy icon to mount it, the files clearly show in /media/floppy in the file manager. Many thanks for the help so many have offered. I think I'll be OK from here. John Lowell
On Sunday 22 December 2002 05:02 am, Andre Truter wrote:
This command should get your files copied onto the floppy of the floppy is mounted.
This error is correct, as /dev/fd0 is not a deirectory, it is a device. When you mount the floppy, the kernel associate the device /dev/fd0 with the directory /media/floppy. When any operations are done on /media/floppy, the kernel will apply the operations on the device. You never have to copy to the device.
You have to mount it first.
No, you should not have to create a directory on the floppy.
The procedure to copy to ot from a floppy:
1) Place diskette in drive 2) mount the device: normally this command should do it: mount /media/floppy
3) copy to or from the mount directory (/media/floppy) like it is a normal directory.
4) unmount the device: umount /media/floppy 5) wait for the drive light to go off or stop flashing, then remove the diskette.
HTH
Everyone, Just to make sure I'd run the mount command properly I made a second go at it using linux:~ # mount /dev/fd0 /media/floppy It made no difference, I still get the Invalid argument output. Is it hopeless, doctor? John Lowell
On Sun, 22 Dec 2002 17:39:09 -0500
John Lowell
Everyone,
Just to make sure I'd run the mount command properly I made a second go at it using
linux:~ # mount /dev/fd0 /media/floppy
It made no difference, I still get the Invalid argument output.
Is it hopeless, doctor?
You are not specifying a filesystem type -> -t msdos When you issue the mount command with anything more than mount /media/floppy ( which automatically uses settings in /etc/fstab) you need to give the -t option -- use Perl; #powerful programmable prestidigitation
John Lowell
Just to make sure I'd run the mount command properly I made a second go at it using
linux:~ # mount /dev/fd0 /media/floppy
You have a tendency to always choose the wrong way. Why don't you just click on the Floppy Device icon as someone has already suggested? Then use Konqueror to copy (via drag and drop) the files but don't forget to rename them first according to the 8+3 MS-DOS convention. Then close the floppy window and unmount the floppy via the floppy icon. You may experiment with mounting, copying to /dev/something, ... as root but keep in mind you risk a serious damage to your OS installation in this case. -- A.M.
On Sunday 22 December 2002 19:53, Alexandr Malusek wrote:
linux:~ # mount /dev/fd0 /media/floppy You have a tendency to always choose the wrong way.
The only thing wrong here is he probably needs to include the file system type: mount -t vfat /dev/fd0 /media/floppy *************************************************** Powered by SuSE Linux 8.0 Professional KDE 3.0.0 KMail 1.4 This is a Microsoft-free computer Bryan S. Tyson bryantyson@earthlink.net ***************************************************
On Sun, 22 Dec 2002, Bryan Tyson wrote:
On Sunday 22 December 2002 19:53, Alexandr Malusek wrote:
linux:~ # mount /dev/fd0 /media/floppy You have a tendency to always choose the wrong way.
The only thing wrong here is he probably needs to include the file system type:
mount -t vfat /dev/fd0 /media/floppy
Actually, the original mount command works fine. /etc/fstab specifies "auto" for file system type, and that is good enough. It figures out that "vfat" as the type. Jim
On Sun, 22 Dec 2002, John Lowell wrote:
Everyone,
Just to make sure I'd run the mount command properly I made a second go at it using
linux:~ # mount /dev/fd0 /media/floppy
It made no difference, I still get the Invalid argument output.
Is it hopeless, doctor?
I haven't followed this thread closely, so forgive me if I'm off-base. When I first looked at all the discussion about mounting the floppy, and then saw that you formatted the floppy with Windows, my thought was "Why not use 'mtools' to copy the file instead of hassling with mount/umount?" I do this all the time with no problems, so I tried an example with the exact filename giving you trouble and got this: jcunning@cunning:~> mcopy 1040271374.1288.Sb3R:2,S a: Long file name "1040271374.1288.Sb3R:2,S" contains illegal character(s). a)utorename A)utorename-all r)ename R)ename-all s)kip S)kip-all q)uit (aArRsSq): a jcunning@cunning:~> mdir a: Volume in drive A has no label Directory for A:/ 104027~1 sb3 9276 12-22-2002 16:47 1040271374.1288.Sb3R_2,S-1 1 file 9 276 bytes 1 447 936 bytes free So, it would appear that a file containing a ":" is illegal. (Makes sense, too, since DOS/Windows use ":" as the drive letter delimiter in filenames.) You have a number of options: 1. Don't use a MSDOS-formatted floppy--use Minix instead, for example, if you don't need to read the diskette on an M$ system. 2. Rename the file before you copy it with "cp" to a mounted floppy, or 3. Use "mcopy" from the mtools package to an unmounted floppy, and let it rename the file for you. 4. Create a file that doesn't violate MSDOS rules, say with tar zvfc mymail.tgz ~/Mail/* cp mymail.tgz /media/floppy BTW, if you do use the mounted floppy approach, do NOT use '-t msdos' unless you ONLY want 8.3-style filenames. You're better off using vfat or auto for filesystem type, because it appears mount will choose vfat. That way you can use long filenames. Jim
On Sunday 22 December 2002 02:19 am, John Lowell wrote:
On Saturday 21 December 2002 09:40 pm, Ole Kofoed Hansen wrote:
And here is the culprit.
You should not copy to /dev/fd0 but to /media/floppy, which should also be the place you copied from when you got that to work.
You should also know that the data will probably not be written to the floppy before you umount it again. (It will be visible in /media/floppy, but if you remove the disk too soon, it is likely to be messed up.)
Regards
Ole
Ole,
Just so you have this chapter and verse here are the command line steps I took
linux:~ # cp /home/jlowell/Mail/inbox/cur/* /media/floppy linux:~ # cp /media/floppy/* /dev/fd0 cp: copying multiple files but last argument '/dev/fd0' is not a directory.
The commands were carried out with the floppy unmounted.
Do I have to create a directory on the floppy so that it can be written to? I'm baffled.
John Lowell
-- ---------------------------- Hi John, Please excuse me, but I am going to ask the stupid questions here! Is your floppy formatted? From the commands you give above, you have not mounted the floppy at all. You can't write to it until you mount it. That can be accomplished in three ways, that I know, some others may know more, but issue, from a command line: mount /dev/fd0 or mount /media/floppy or just click on the floppy icon on your desktop. Always be sure to unmount the floppy after finishing with it too with either umount /media/floppy from the command line or right click on the floppy icon and choose unmount from the menu. Once mounted, you should be able to read & write without problems to the floppy. Do you have two floppies that you are trying to read from /media/floppy to /dev/fd0? Files can't or won't write over themselves with a copy command, which it appears you are trying to do. But you should be able to cp /media/floppy/* /home/john/ though. Copying from the hard drive to the floppy should be as simple: cp /home/john/graphics/* /media/floppy This is what my floppy listing looks like in the /etc/fstab also: /dev/fd0 /media/floppy auto noauto,user,sync 0 0 Patrick --- KMail v1.4.3 --- SuSE Linux Pro v8.1 --- Registered Linux User #225206
[at the risk of beating this dead-horse topic any further...] On Sunday 22 December 2002 10:33 am, PL O'Smith wrote:
On Sunday 22 December 2002 02:19 am, John Lowell wrote:
On Saturday 21 December 2002 09:40 pm, Ole Kofoed Hansen wrote:
You should also know that the data will probably not be written to the floppy before you umount it again. (It will be visible in /media/floppy, but if you remove the disk too soon, it is likely to be messed up.)
from other comments on this thread, using "sync" on the command line or in fstab should help alleviate that problem [I simply don't use floppies much anymore, what with the difficulty of finding reliable 5-1/4" drives nowadays ;) ] however I'm not sure this will work -- per the man page for mount: ... The following options apply to any file system that is being mounted (but not every file system actually honors them - e.g., the sync option today has effect only for ext2, ext3 and ufs) however, since a couple of people have parroted this advice [using sync] it is entirely possible that the man page is out-of-date... caveat emptor [of course, they may be thinking that the floppy is ext2/3 formatted, not fat/dos formatted -- is the purpose to transfer files to a non-linux system, or just archive the messages "for a while" while you do other things "to the system"?]
[snipped John's comments, which do NOT include a "mount" command] [...] From the commands you give above, you have not mounted the floppy at all. You can't write to it until you mount it. That can be accomplished in three ways, [...] mount /dev/fd0 or mount /media/floppy or just click on the floppy icon on your desktop.
Actually, the mount command REQUIRES two items: the device you are mounting and the location where you want it mounted. The ability to "shortcut" the command and only give one parameter works only if you've set it up in the file /etc/fstab, so in essence mount /dev/fd0 & mount /media/floppy are two halves of the same command mount /dev/fd0 /media/floppy and, of course, "behind the scenes" clicking the icon builds and issues a mount command based on options given in the .desktop file(*) so in effect these are all the same "way" of mounting a floppy, it's just the mechanics that differ... Tom (*) for fun/informative reading, try these commands: cd Desktop grep Dev= *.desktop grep MountPoint *.desktop This may not be interesting if you do not have "foreign" partitions [dual boot system] or removable devices [cd's/dvd's, floppies, or "USB-based" storage systems -- e.g., a digital camera...]
Hi guys... I'm trying to install SquirrelMail for the 1st time... I unpack the .tar.gz file and move it to the DocumentRoot for the Apache Virtual Directory, run the /virtual_directory_document_root/squirrelmail/config/conf.pl set all the variables to use the uw IMAP Server. and try to log http://www.mydomain.com/squirrelmail/ I type a valid username/password and after I click on the login Button I get the error message: Warning: stat failed for functions (errno=2 - No such file or directory) in /Websites/www.jmvtec.com/squirrelmail/functions/display_messages.php on line 50 I try searching for that err on the docs but no luck on that. Any clue ? Thanks in advance !! bye --ed
* Eduardo J. Vega A
Hi guys... I'm trying to install SquirrelMail for the 1st time...
Your post has nothing to do with the original thread, Subject: Getting e-mail file onto floppy dis Do not hijack a thread. If you wish to start a new conversation/thread, start a new message. Do NOT reply to an existing post or at least remove the "In-Reply-To: <5.2.0.9.0.2002...." line. -- Patrick Shanahan Registered Linux User #207535 @ http://counter.li.org icq#173753138 http://home.indy.rr.com/paka/
On Sunday 22 December 2002 7:19 am, John Lowell wrote:
Just so you have this chapter and verse here are the command line steps I took
linux:~ # cp /home/jlowell/Mail/inbox/cur/* /media/floppy linux:~ # cp /media/floppy/* /dev/fd0 cp: copying multiple files but last argument '/dev/fd0' is not a directory.
Heya :o) That helps a lot, as the second cp line is the error. Assuming the floppy isn't formatted: fdformat /dev/fd0u1440 [this specifies a 1.44 MB floppy and formats the disk:o)] mkdosfs /dev/fd0u1440 [this puts a dos filesystem on the disk, have a look at other mk*fs commands for other filesystems if you want to preserve permissions of copied files etc] Now your floppy is formatted [or if it was already formatted] you can mount the floppy disk. mount /dev/fd0 /media/floppy [This makes the floppy drive available to the filesystem on /media/floppy - /dev/fd0 is more just a hardware reference] cp /home/foo/bar/wherever/* /media/floppy/ [Copy the files] sync [Make sure all data is written to the disk and not held in a cache umount /media/floppy [Wait a second or two after typing this and then you can remove the floppy :o)] So, to reiterate, assuming a formatted floppy: mount /dev/fd0 /media/floppy cp /home/foo/bar/WherEverYourFilesAre/* /media/floppy/ sync umount /media/floppy Hope this helps :o) Took me a while when I was first starting out to figure this one ;o) Jon
On Sat, 21 Dec 2002 19:52:31 -0500
John Lowell
I've been trying to get /home/jlowell/Mail/inbox/cur onto a floppy disk for about an hour without success. I've got the device mounted and know how to move files off of a floppy drive in Linux but can't either copy or move them from the above directory to the disk. What am I missing here?
Either the floppy is write protected, or users don't have write permissions to /dev/fd0. Try it as root, if that works, then adjust permissions of /dev/fd0 so users can access it. In /etc/fstab: /dev/fd0 /media/floppy auto rw,noauto,user,sync 0 0 You might have to change permissions on fd0 in /dev too. -- use Perl; #powerful programmable prestidigitation
On Saturday 21 December 2002 08:02 pm, zentara wrote:
Either the floppy is write protected, or users don't have write permissions to /dev/fd0. Try it as root, if that works, then adjust permissions of /dev/fd0 so users can access it.
In /etc/fstab: /dev/fd0 /media/floppy auto rw,noauto,user,sync 0 0
You might have to change permissions on fd0 in /dev too.
Hi zentara, The floppy isn't write protected and I get the same developments as root user. I'm not getting file permission errors but I do get no such directory messages at the command line. I'll take a closer look at the file permissions but I really don't think that's the problem. John Lowell
On Sat, 21 Dec 2002 20:34:34 -0500
John Lowell
The floppy isn't write protected and I get the same developments as root user. I'm not getting file permission errors but I do get no such directory messages at the command line. I'll take a closer look at the file permissions but I really don't think that's the problem.
Jees, there sure are alot of posts on this. I have had in the past problems with floppys also. I always resorted to doing it manually. As root: 1. Make sure that the floppy is enabled in bios. 2.Make sure the floppy is unmounted, so "umount /media/floppy", or whatever you have in fstab. 3. Mount the floppy with "mount -t msdos /dev/fd0 /media/floppy" and look for error messages. 4. If you get an error, you may need to format the floppy first, and then make a filesystem on it. fdformat /dev/fd0 mkdosfs /dev/fd0 (You may need to install the dosfstools rpm.) I've found minix is more problem free than fat. fdformat /dev/fd0 mkfs -t minix /dev/fd0 5. Mount the floppy manually mount -t msdos /dev/fd0 /media/floppy sync ( the sync will make it write immediately, with no weird buffering delays) That should work, if it does, then setup your fstab to do it automatically. If it dosn't work, the floppy drive may be going bad, clean the head or something. Maybe the problem is in your "drag and drop" method. -- use Perl; #powerful programmable prestidigitation
On Sunday 22 December 2002 00:52, John Lowell wrote:
I've been trying to get /home/jlowell/Mail/inbox/cur onto a floppy disk for about an hour without success. I've got the device mounted and know how to move files off of a floppy drive in Linux but can't either copy or move them from the above directory to the disk. What am I missing here?
Is the floppy write protected? It it mounted ro or rw? Is the file too large? Just guesses, mind you! Dylan
John Lowell
-- "Sweet moderation Heart of this nation Desert us not, we are Between the wars"
On Saturday 21 December 2002 08:02 pm, Dylan wrote:
Is the floppy write protected? It it mounted ro or rw? Is the file too large?
Just guesses, mind you!
Dylan
John Lowell
The floppy is not write protected, we're mounted rw and the files should fit on a 1.44 MB floppy with ease. Thanks for your reply. John Lowell
On Saturday 21 December 2002 4:52 pm, John Lowell wrote:
I've been trying to get /home/jlowell/Mail/inbox/cur onto a floppy disk for about an hour without success. I've got the device mounted and know how to move files off of a floppy drive in Linux but can't either copy or move them from the above directory to the disk. What am I missing here?
Two thoughts come to mind: 1) size -- though generally small, they add up pretty quickly -- a quick check of my own .../cur directory yields fewer than 200 files [183] but taking more space than available on a floppy [1512 kbytes; a floppy holds somewhere in the neighborhood of 1400...] 2) locking -- do you have your e-mail client "running" at the same time as when you try to copy the files? though I would consider it "unusual", it is not outside the realm of possibility that a client would "lock" all the files; this could affect your ability to copy them 3) permissions -- sometimes it is the little things that trip you up; I'm sure you have the permissions to read the files [they are in YOUR home directory, right? not someone elses? >doh<] but perhaps you don't have the "right" to write to the floppy I'd suggest copying [exporting] them from the client itself -- kmail for instance has a "save as..." feature that saves the message [w/headers] onto a file; this should be able to save to floppy if mounted properly (with write access); but this is a one-at-a-time solution [though to be honest I haven't tried "selecting" multiple messages and doing a "save as..." operation] I gather you're trying to save/archive/backup the files so you can re-install or do some other potentially home-directory-devestating activity. If the problem was lack of space, consider compressing the files into a tar/gz archive with the command tar -czf mymessages /home/.../inbox/cur/ then "mymessages" can be copied to a floppy [or it could have been /media/floppy/mymessages in the first place] or transported via any other convenient means...
On Saturday 21 December 2002 08:19 pm, Tom Emerson wrote:
Two thoughts come to mind:
1) size -- though generally small, they add up pretty quickly -- a quick check of my own .../cur directory yields fewer than 200 files [183] but taking more space than available on a floppy [1512 kbytes; a floppy holds somewhere in the neighborhood of 1400...]
2) locking -- do you have your e-mail client "running" at the same time as when you try to copy the files? though I would consider it "unusual", it is not outside the realm of possibility that a client would "lock" all the files; this could affect your ability to copy them
3) permissions -- sometimes it is the little things that trip you up; I'm sure you have the permissions to read the files [they are in YOUR home directory, right? not someone elses? >doh<] but perhaps you don't have the "right" to write to the floppy
I'd suggest copying [exporting] them from the client itself -- kmail for instance has a "save as..." feature that saves the message [w/headers] onto a file; this should be able to save to floppy if mounted properly (with write access); but this is a one-at-a-time solution [though to be honest I haven't tried "selecting" multiple messages and doing a "save as..." operation] I gather you're trying to save/archive/backup the files so you can re-install or do some other potentially home-directory-devestating activity.
If the problem was lack of space, consider compressing the files into a tar/gz archive with the command
tar -czf mymessages /home/.../inbox/cur/
then "mymessages" can be copied to a floppy [or it could have been /media/floppy/mymessages in the first place] or transported via any other convenient means...
Hi Thomas, We may be talking 25 messages here, well within the floppy's capacity. And as I'd mentioned to zentara, the file permission aspect never gets mentioned and, typically, you get messages with something like that. The client locking the files is something I'd not thought of, I'll look more closely at that. Many thanks for your reply. John Lowell
On Saturday 21 December 2002 19:52, John Lowell wrote:
can't either copy or move them from the above directory to the disk. What am I missing here?
Depends on how your system is set up, but I have had several Linux systems on which I had to be root to save to the floppy. *************************************************** Powered by SuSE Linux 8.0 Professional KDE 3.0.0 KMail 1.4 This is a Microsoft-free computer Bryan S. Tyson bryantyson@earthlink.net ***************************************************
participants (15)
-
Alexandr Malusek -
Andre Truter -
Bruce Marshall -
Bryan Tyson -
Clive Rogers -
Dylan -
Eduardo J. Vega A -
Jim Cunning -
John Lowell -
Ole Kofoed Hansen -
PL O'Smith -
SuSEnixER -
The Purple Tiger -
Tom Emerson -
zentara