Trying to migrate to Linux

English Hardware
1

This has been one headache after another. I’ve NEVER had this kind of trouble with ms windows.

Here’s the latest problem and the only one I’ve been unable to figure out on my own. I set up Suse 64 bit and I used an entire 153 gig drive for the installation. There are two other hd’s on my system and by default they have shown up as windows/c and windows/d
I can’t write to these drives as anyone except root and some apps won’t work as root. I’m sick to death of entering passwords just to install trivial programs and if I can’t read/write to these two ntfs drives under my own username I’m gonna have to scrap this whole migration. I am assuming that my problem is on a file called fstab. I found someone with a similar problem who fixed it by changing two numbers on each drive. I have already tried that and it didn’t help. Here’s my fstab code:

/dev/disk/by-id/ata-ST3120026A_3JT360RF-part1 swap swap defaults 0 0
/dev/disk/by-id/ata-ST3120026A_3JT360RF-part2 / ext3 acl,user_xattr 1 1
/dev/disk/by-id/ata-ST3120026A_3JT360RF-part3 /home ext3 acl,user_xattr 1 2
/dev/disk/by-id/ata-Maxtor_6L300R0_L628VDVG-part5 /windows/C ntfs-3g user,users,gid=users,fmask=113,dmask=002,locale=en_US.UTF-8 0 0
/dev/disk/by-id/ata-HDT722516DLA380_VDK71CTCD58K3N-part5 /windows/D ntfs-3g user,users,gid=users,fmask=113,dmask=002,locale=en_US.UTF-8 0 0
proc /proc proc defaults 0 0
sysfs /sys sysfs noauto 0 0
debugfs /sys/kernel/debug debugfs noauto 0 0
usbfs /proc/bus/usb usbfs noauto 0 0
devpts /dev/pts devpts mode=0620,gid=5 0 0

All of these problems are really getting old fast. Any help would be appreciated. Robb

2

maybe this can help you first :wink:

3

GOTO Yast > Software managment > search for ntfs-config and install.

You will then find it by clicking the little green gecko bottom left goto applications tab > system > file system.

This little GUI you just select the drive or drives in question and it will set read-write permissions for regular user for you.

ntfs-config is explained here at the bottom of the page.

4

I had this problem on another distro…not sure if this command will work with suse, but if it does, please come back and post the output of:


fdisk -l

The above may need to be run as root. It should list all the drives in your system.

Or, if you know which drive it is, then post that back. Once we have the correct device, I can provide the info for the fstab. I am also assuming that ntfs-3g is already installed, since you can read the drive as root. I have mine set up for read/write as a user, with no password ever being asked for.

mm0

5

Yes I know which drives it is…it is both drives listed as windows/c and windows/d
I just followed the instructions for the ntfs configuration tool but havn’t rebooted yet…Robb

6

OK, if it doesn’t work after reboot, post back, and I can tell you how to manually edit you fstab file.
mm0

7

I did the ntfs-config install and it forced me to change the name to /media/disk1 and media/disk2
still no go. This is insane. I just simply don’t need all this security and I don’t think Linux is gonna work for me at all. here’s what the config program changed my fstab to:

/etc/fstab: static file system information.

<file system> <mount point> <type> <options> <dump> <pass>

proc /proc proc defaults 0 0
sysfs /sys sysfs noauto 0 0
usbfs /proc/bus/usb usbfs noauto 0 0
devpts /dev/pts devpts mode=0620,gid=5 0 0
/dev/disk/by-id/ata-ST3120026A_3JT360RF-part2 / ext3 acl,user_xattr 1 1
/dev/disk/by-id/ata-ST3120026A_3JT360RF-part3 /home ext3 acl,user_xattr 1 2
/dev/disk/by-id/ata-HDT722516DLA380_VDK71CTCD58K3N-part5 /media/disk1 ntfs-3g user,users,gid=users,fmask=113,dmask=002,locale=en_US.UTF-8 0 0
/dev/disk/by-id/ata-Maxtor_6L300R0_L628VDVG-part5 /media/disk2 ntfs-3g user,users,gid=users,fmask=113,dmask=002,locale=en_US.UTF-8 0 0
/dev/disk/by-id/ata-ST3120026A_3JT360RF-part1 swap swap defaults 0 0
debugfs /sys/kernel/debug debugfs noauto 0 0

If I don’t get this figured out today I’m heading back to msw
I have a life and I can’t devote days and days to something as stupid as having access to 2 hard drives. Robb

8

OK, do this as root:


cp -r /etc/fstab /etc/fstab-backup

this will create a backup of the fstab file, just in case.
then do this as root:


mkdir /media/NTFS1
mkdir /media/NTFS2

This will create a mount point for the NTFS drives
now edit the fstab file as root…make these changes:

  1. delete these 2 lines:
    …a) /dev/disk/by-id/ata-HDT722516DLA380_VDK71CTCD58K3N-part5 /media/disk1 ntfs-3g user,users,gid=users,fmask=113,dmask=002,locale=en _US.UTF-8 0 0
    …b) /dev/disk/by-id/ata-Maxtor_6L300R0_L628VDVG-part5 /media/disk2 ntfs-3g user,users,gid=users,fmask=113,dmask=002,locale=en _US.UTF-8 0 0

  2. add this:
    /dev/disk/by-id/ata-HDT722516DLA380_VDK71CTCD58K3N-part5 /media/NTFS1 ntfs-3g defaults,locale=en_US.utf8 0 0

&

/dev/disk/by-id/ata-Maxtor_6L300R0_L628VDVG-part5 /media/NTFS2 ntfs-3g defaults,locale=en_US.utf8 0 0

My only concern is that normally, I don’t use disk by ID, I usually use /dev/sdb1 (or similar)…the command I gave you earlier will reveal the /dev/sdxx drive device ID…so if this doesn’t work, don’t give up…

now, again as root, do this:


mount -a

This will remount all drives…if one of the ntfs drives are already mounted, it MAY require a reboot, not sure…

now go to dolphin (the file manager), and in the left hand side, you should see 2 new drives, try to access one and create a folder…hopefully is will work, but if not, try reboot, then if it still doesn’t work, post the output of


fdisk -l

With that being said, your previous comments about being frustrated are completely understandable, but please understand that NTFS drives are designed for windows, so it is to be expected to jump through a few hoops to get them working.

mm0

9

forgot to mention one thing…at the end of the fstab file, make sure there is at least one blank line…fstab doesn’t like it if you don’t hit enter on the last line.

mm0

10

Cool!!..you fixed it. But it was strange because it didn’t work after the change even after a reboot. I was about to post that it didn’t work and then I logged off and logged in as root and then all the changes took place. Are some changes only made after you log in as root? I did two reboots after the change but it didn’t work until I became root. Here is the new fstab code so that it may help someone else…

/etc/fstab: static file system information.

<file system> <mount point> <type> <options> <dump> <pass>

proc /proc proc defaults 0 0
sysfs /sys sysfs noauto 0 0
usbfs /proc/bus/usb usbfs noauto 0 0
devpts /dev/pts devpts mode=0620,gid=5 0 0
/dev/disk/by-id/ata-ST3120026A_3JT360RF-part2 / ext3 acl,user_xattr 1 1
/dev/disk/by-id/ata-ST3120026A_3JT360RF-part3 /home ext3 acl,user_xattr 1 2
/dev/disk/by-id/ata-HDT722516DLA380_VDK71CTCD58K3N-part5 /media/NTFS1 ntfs-3g defaults,locale=en_US.utf8 0 0
/dev/disk/by-id/ata-Maxtor_6L300R0_L628VDVG-part5 /media/NTFS2 ntfs-3g defaults,locale=en_US.utf8 0 0
/dev/disk/by-id/ata-ST3120026A_3JT360RF-part1 swap swap defaults 0 0
debugfs /sys/kernel/debug debugfs noauto 0 0

Thanks a bunch…>>Robb

11

just to make sure I understand…you can log in as a non root user, and it works…correct?

If so, I have no idea why you had to log in as root first…that’s wierd…

mm0

12

yes…I now have read and write permissions logged in as robb
after I logged in as root, then suddenly the two drives showed up on the root desktop as icons…then when I changed back to my name the same thing happened. ??..I have no idea why there was a delay. But thanks for the help and the fix…Robb

13

no prob, glad I could help…you might want to bookmark this thread. If you ever need to reinstall, you can reference this to make it easier…but it can be broke down into 3 steps:

  1. Create Mount point
  2. edit /etc/fstab
  3. mount -a

What I do (as I have a tendancy to reinstall a lot), is to have a running text file of all the things I do after a reinstall. I try to do everything over the command line, so that way I can just paste in commands from my text file. IE: instead of using the GUI for yast to install programs, I use the CLI version (‘zypper in {package name}’). Of course it’s all up to personal preference. There is a learning curve to Linux, but it is worth it, and there is a huge community of people willing to help you out, as long as you ask politely!

mm0

14

Ok…I did a fresh install of suse to get rid of alot of experimental stuff that I had installed. I’ve got everything working except now I’ve discovered a new problem that I probably had before and didn’t know it yet. Now I can only burn a dvd as root. So same problem as I had with the two ntfs drives only its the dvd drive instead. Here’s my fstab code again…any help appreciated. Robb

/dev/disk/by-id/ata-ST3120026A_3JT360RF-part1 swap swap defaults 0 0
/dev/disk/by-id/ata-ST3120026A_3JT360RF-part2 / ext3 acl,user_xattr 1 1
/dev/disk/by-id/ata-ST3120026A_3JT360RF-part3 /home ext3 acl,user_xattr 1 2
/dev/disk/by-id/ata-Maxtor_6L300R0_L628VDVG-part5 /windows/C ntfs-3g defaults,locale=en_US.utf8 0 0
/dev/disk/by-id/ata-HDT722516DLA380_VDK71CTCD58K3N-part5 /windows/D ntfs-3g defaults,locale=en_US.utf8 0 0
proc /proc proc defaults 0 0
sysfs /sys sysfs noauto 0 0
debugfs /sys/kernel/debug debugfs noauto 0 0
usbfs /proc/bus/usb usbfs noauto 0 0
devpts /dev/pts devpts mode=0620,gid=5 0 0

15

I believe thats a known bug in openSUSE-11.1.

As a work around, add your regular user go group “cdrom” and to group “disk”.

You can do this under:
YaST > Security and Users > User and Group Management, select your user, press “edit” , click on “details” tab, click on the appropriate “additional group” (ie “cdrom” and “disk” ) and press OK. …

Then you must restart you PC afterward.

16

Ok…I’ve been busy but I’m gonna try this tonight. Thanks…Robb

17

Robb,

Sorry you’ve had so many problems and I hope they get straightened out. I’ll just give you a little pep talk as a fellow former Windows user. (Long time Windows/DOS user and programmer, too – years and years.)

Windows, by inherent design, is not as secure as unix. You probably know that because you’ve doubtless been told that before, and I’m not patronizing you. But I want you to really ponder that.

One key to that superior security is the password/group/permissions system. Yes, it can be hideously annoying. When I first switched to Linux several years ago, I came THIS close to going back to Windows just because of that. Like you, I was tired of the “enter your root password!” boxes that kept popping up. Or, the “you don’t have permission to do that” errors. Drove me crazy.

But one day, I had an epiphany: if somehow some malware should ever make it onto my Linux machine (not likely to start with, for other reasons that I won’t get into), it probably wouldn’t be able to do very much. Why? Because it, too, would need those same passwords and permissions!

Think about that.

(Oh, sure, we could muddy the waters with special, esoteric cases like malware that exploits buffer overflows and things like that, but the truth is, on the systems that you and I use, they’re relatively rare. More importantly, once they appear, they’re very quickly patched by the community, limiting the risk. And Opensuse’s software updater is absolutely top-notch, which is another reason why I prefer this distribution.)

(I read about a serious flaw in Adobe’s PDF format on Slashdot yesterday. The Opensuse updater just installed the patch this evening. That’s pretty quick. :slight_smile: )

One other thing, then I’ll hush. Opensuse is developed and maintained by a bunch of people worldwide, many of whom do it for nothing. They just love free and open software and pitch in because they support the concept. Also, in a sense, Opensuse is a “test bed” for the Enterprise editions that are sold with full support (just as Fedora is a test bed for RHEL). I’m willing to accept a few bugs here and there in return for a full-blown, enterprise-quality operating system WITH desktop environment AND servers AND dozens of other things for no charge whatsoever.

And I ain’t preaching at you, because I fuss sometimes, too. I hated the KDE 4.1 that came with 11.1 so badly, I switched to KDE 3.5, and made my opinion known (loudly). But I still think Opensuse is the best. I truly do.

18

Hi…I appreciate the pep talk actually. The darn system seems to be faster and much more stable than windows anyway. Still working on figuring out ways to do some of the things on linux that I used to do on windows but I think it will come in time…thanks!!..Robb

19

Problem solved!..thanks for all the help!!..>>Robb