Dear Debian Users,

For a few days now, KDE has stopped automounting my USB and CDs. I
seem to have to mount them myself now. To perform some diagnostics, I
attempted to purge and reinstall hal, udev and kdebase-kioplugins, but
to no avail.

Then, to check if the problem was something in my KDE dotfiles, I
moved away my .kde and tried again, but it failed once more. Finally,
I created a new user and added that user to most of the relevant
groups (inclding plugdev), but I still failed to get it working.

Most of the forum posts I have read suggest one of the solutions I
seem to have tried above already, and really wonder how to proceed.
Could someone make any suggestion, please?

The relevant packages with their versions:
ii kdebase-kio-plugins 4:3.5.9.dfsg.1-5 core I/O slaves for KDE
ii udev 0.125-5 /dev/ and hotplug
management daemon
ii hal 0.5.11-2 Hardware Abstraction Layer
ii dbus 1.2.1-3 simple interprocess messaging system

Thanks in advance.

Kumar
--
Kumar Appaiah


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On Mon, Aug 18, 2008 at 12:59:01 -0500, Kumar Appaiah wrote:
> Dear Debian Users,
>
> For a few days now, KDE has stopped automounting my USB and CDs. I
> seem to have to mount them myself now. To perform some diagnostics, I
> attempted to purge and reinstall hal, udev and kdebase-kioplugins, but
> to no avail.
>
> Then, to check if the problem was something in my KDE dotfiles, I
> moved away my .kde and tried again, but it failed once more. Finally,
> I created a new user and added that user to most of the relevant
> groups (inclding plugdev), but I still failed to get it working.
>
> Most of the forum posts I have read suggest one of the solutions I
> seem to have tried above already, and really wonder how to proceed.
> Could someone make any suggestion, please?

Which part of the process does not work for you anymore, getting icons
on the desktop for CDs and USB-sticks, or mounting and opening the media
when you click on the icons?

> The relevant packages with their versions:
> ii kdebase-kio-plugins 4:3.5.9.dfsg.1-5 core I/O slaves for KDE
> ii udev 0.125-5 /dev/ and hotplug
> management daemon
> ii hal 0.5.11-2 Hardware Abstraction Layer
> ii dbus 1.2.1-3 simple interprocess messaging system

--
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Florian |


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On Wed, Aug 20, 2008 at 06:41:06PM +0200, Florian Kulzer wrote:
> Which part of the process does not work for you anymore, getting icons
> on the desktop for CDs and USB-sticks, or mounting and opening the media
> when you click on the icons?

Earlier, I used to get an automatic dialog, asking me what I wish to
do, i.e. play the disc, Open in new window, do nothing etc. If I chose
to open it, it would appear in the storage media section. However,
now, nothing of the sort happens, and I use a terminal to manually
mount the device.

Is there a way to find out which module is the cause of this error?
HAL, DBus etc.?

Thanks.

Kumar
--
Kumar Appaiah

On Wed, Aug 20, 2008 at 12:34:58 -0500, Kumar Appaiah wrote:
> On Wed, Aug 20, 2008 at 06:41:06PM +0200, Florian Kulzer wrote:
> > Which part of the process does not work for you anymore, getting icons
> > on the desktop for CDs and USB-sticks, or mounting and opening the media
> > when you click on the icons?
>
> Earlier, I used to get an automatic dialog, asking me what I wish to
> do, i.e. play the disc, Open in new window, do nothing etc. If I chose
> to open it, it would appear in the storage media section. However,
> now, nothing of the sort happens, and I use a terminal to manually
> mount the device.

The dialog is suppressed if a default action has been set. You can
change this in Control Center > Peripherals > Storage Media. Also
check if all three options in the "Advanced" tab are selected.

Another important condition is that the Media Manager and the Media
Notifier Daemon are running. You can see this from the KDE Components >
Service Manager tab in the Control Center. The device icons are
controlled by CC > Desktop > Behavior > Device Icons.

You said already that removing your whole ~/.kde directory did not help
to restore the previous behavior, so it is unlikely that changing any
individual setting will fix it. Seeing whether certain options are
available at all might nevertheless give us a clue which piece of the
puzzle is missing.

> Is there a way to find out which module is the cause of this error?
> HAL, DBus etc.?

Running

lshal --monitor

and then inserting a CD or a USB-stick might turn up something.

--
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Florian |


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I have had this problem as well, and here are my diagnostics:

On Wed, Aug 20, 2008 at 08:24:35PM +0200, Florian Kulzer wrote:
> On Wed, Aug 20, 2008 at 12:34:58 -0500, Kumar Appaiah wrote:
> > On Wed, Aug 20, 2008 at 06:41:06PM +0200, Florian Kulzer wrote:
> > > Which part of the process does not work for you anymore, getting icons
> > > on the desktop for CDs and USB-sticks, or mounting and opening the media
> > > when you click on the icons?

I have checked dmesg for identification of my media, and there is no
problem with that. However, nothing gets mounted without being done so
manually. Previously, I'd get a dialog asking for an action, for my
ipod, camera, usb sticks etc. To answer your question therefore, it is
the second part I'd like back.

>
> The dialog is suppressed if a default action has been set. You can
> change this in Control Center > Peripherals > Storage Media. Also
> check if all three options in the "Advanced" tab are selected.

Everything is checked.

>
> You said already that removing your whole ~/.kde directory did not help
> to restore the previous behavior, so it is unlikely that changing any
> individual setting will fix it. Seeing whether certain options are
> available at all might nevertheless give us a clue which piece of the
> puzzle is missing.
>
>
> Running
>
> lshal --monitor
>
> and then inserting a CD or a USB-stick might turn up something.


Here is what I got after plugging in my usb stick :

Start monitoring devicelist:
-------------------------------------------------
15:19:13.715: usb_device_a16_9393_0603230652412 added
15:19:13.804: usb_device_a16_9393_0603230652412_if0 added
15:19:13.852: usb_device_a16_9393_0603230652412_usbraw added
15:19:18.722: usb_device_a16_9393_0603230652412_if0_scsi_host added
15:19:18.722: usb_device_a16_9393_0603230652412_if0_scsi_host_sc si_device_lun0 added
15:19:18.756: usb_device_a16_9393_0603230652412_if0_scsi_host_sc si_device_lun0 property info.linux.driver = 'sd' (new)

dmesg turns up :

usb 1-3: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 10
usb 1-3: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
scsi4 : SCSI emulation for USB Mass Storage devices
usb-storage: device found at 10
usb-storage: waiting for device to settle before scanning
Vendor: TREK Model: TDMINIG2 Rev: 1.00
Type: Direct-Access ANSI SCSI revision: 02
SCSI device sdb: 1012736 512-byte hdwr sectors (519 MB)
sdb: Write Protect is off
sdb: Mode Sense: 0b 00 00 08
sdb: assuming drive cache: write through
SCSI device sdb: 1012736 512-byte hdwr sectors (519 MB)
sdb: Write Protect is off
sdb: Mode Sense: 0b 00 00 08
sdb: assuming drive cache: write through
sdb: sdb1
sd 4:0:0:0: Attached scsi removable disk sdb
usb-storage: device scan complete

No luck with purging hal and reinstalling.

Thanks again.

--

Kumar.

--

Kumar Ravichandran

Graduate Research Assistant
Department of Aerospace Engineering
University of Maryland
College Park, MD.


"An eye for an eye will only make the entire world blind."

- Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi


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On Wed, Aug 20, 2008 at 15:22:09 -0400, Kumar Ravichandran wrote:
> I have had this problem as well, and here are my diagnostics:
>
> On Wed, Aug 20, 2008 at 08:24:35PM +0200, Florian Kulzer wrote:
> > On Wed, Aug 20, 2008 at 12:34:58 -0500, Kumar Appaiah wrote:
> > > On Wed, Aug 20, 2008 at 06:41:06PM +0200, Florian Kulzer wrote:
> > > > Which part of the process does not work for you anymore, getting icons
> > > > on the desktop for CDs and USB-sticks, or mounting and opening the media
> > > > when you click on the icons?
>
> I have checked dmesg for identification of my media, and there is no
> problem with that. However, nothing gets mounted without being done so
> manually. Previously, I'd get a dialog asking for an action, for my
> ipod, camera, usb sticks etc. To answer your question therefore, it is
> the second part I'd like back.
>
> >
> > The dialog is suppressed if a default action has been set. You can
> > change this in Control Center > Peripherals > Storage Media. Also
> > check if all three options in the "Advanced" tab are selected.
>
> Everything is checked.

What about the settings in Control Center > Desktop > Behavior > Device
Icons and the media-related services in Control Center > KDE Components
> Service Manager?

[...]

> > Running
> >
> > lshal --monitor
> >
> > and then inserting a CD or a USB-stick might turn up something.
>
>
> Here is what I got after plugging in my usb stick :
>
> Start monitoring devicelist:
> -------------------------------------------------
> 15:19:13.715: usb_device_a16_9393_0603230652412 added
> 15:19:13.804: usb_device_a16_9393_0603230652412_if0 added
> 15:19:13.852: usb_device_a16_9393_0603230652412_usbraw added
> 15:19:18.722: usb_device_a16_9393_0603230652412_if0_scsi_host added
> 15:19:18.722: usb_device_a16_9393_0603230652412_if0_scsi_host_sc si_device_lun0 added
> 15:19:18.756: usb_device_a16_9393_0603230652412_if0_scsi_host_sc si_device_lun0 property info.linux.driver = 'sd' (new)

How long did you wait after these messages appeared? On my system it
takes about 2-5 seconds more for the following to show up:

23:50:53.743: volume_uuid_487F_1EC0 added
23:50:53.878: storage_serial_Prolific_Technology_Inc__USB_Mass_S torage_Device added
23:50:53.880: storage_serial_Prolific_Technology_Inc__USB_Mass_S torage_Device property info.interfaces = {'org.freedesktop.Hal.Device.Storage.Removable'} (new)

You should see similar output eventually, or something might be wrong
with HAL.

> dmesg turns up :
>
> usb 1-3: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 10
> usb 1-3: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
> scsi4 : SCSI emulation for USB Mass Storage devices
> usb-storage: device found at 10
> usb-storage: waiting for device to settle before scanning
> Vendor: TREK Model: TDMINIG2 Rev: 1.00
> Type: Direct-Access ANSI SCSI revision: 02
> SCSI device sdb: 1012736 512-byte hdwr sectors (519 MB)
> sdb: Write Protect is off
> sdb: Mode Sense: 0b 00 00 08
> sdb: assuming drive cache: write through
> SCSI device sdb: 1012736 512-byte hdwr sectors (519 MB)
> sdb: Write Protect is off
> sdb: Mode Sense: 0b 00 00 08
> sdb: assuming drive cache: write through
> sdb: sdb1
> sd 4:0:0:0: Attached scsi removable disk sdb
> usb-storage: device scan complete

I get the messages in different order, but besides that I don't see
anything unusual in your output.

> No luck with purging hal and reinstalling.

--
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Florian |


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On Thu, Aug 21, 2008 at 12:05:42AM +0200, Florian Kulzer wrote:
>
> What about the settings in Control Center > Desktop > Behavior > Device
> Icons and the media-related services in Control Center > KDE Components
> > Service Manager?

The media-related daemons have always been running. The device icons
were enabled too. Basically, the storage device would show up under
system:/media in Konqueror when plugged in, but nothign now.

>
> How long did you wait after these messages appeared? On my system it
> takes about 2-5 seconds more for the following to show up:
>
> 23:50:53.743: volume_uuid_487F_1EC0 added
> 23:50:53.878: storage_serial_Prolific_Technology_Inc__USB_Mass_S torage_Device added
> 23:50:53.880: storage_serial_Prolific_Technology_Inc__USB_Mass_S torage_Device property info.interfaces = {'org.freedesktop.Hal.Device.Storage.Removable'} (new)
>
> You should see similar output eventually, or something might be wrong
> with HAL.
>

You are right, I don't get any further messages. What do you suggest I
do about Hal? I have tried reinstalling it already.

--

Regards,

Kumar.

--

Kumar Ravichandran

Graduate Research Assistant
Department of Aerospace Engineering
University of Maryland
College Park, MD.


"An eye for an eye will only make the entire world blind."

- Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi


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On Wed, Aug 20, 2008 at 22:49:22 -0400, Kumar Ravichandran wrote:
> On Thu, Aug 21, 2008 at 12:05:42AM +0200, Florian Kulzer wrote:

[...]

> > How long did you wait after these messages appeared? On my system it
> > takes about 2-5 seconds more for the following to show up:
> >
> > 23:50:53.743: volume_uuid_487F_1EC0 added
> > 23:50:53.878: storage_serial_Prolific_Technology_Inc__USB_Mass_S torage_Device added
> > 23:50:53.880: storage_serial_Prolific_Technology_Inc__USB_Mass_S torage_Device property info.interfaces = {'org.freedesktop.Hal.Device.Storage.Removable'} (new)
> >
> > You should see similar output eventually, or something might be wrong
> > with HAL.
> >
>
> You are right, I don't get any further messages. What do you suggest I
> do about Hal? I have tried reinstalling it already.

How is the overall state of your system, is it fully upgraded? I ask
because your version of Mutt is too new for Etch, but older than what
you should have for up-to-date Lenny or Sid. Is it possible that you ran
into a problem that has long been fixed on current Lenny/Sid, or a bug
that is only present for a certain mix of more-or-less outdated
packages?

--
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On Thu, Aug 21, 2008 at 08:19:56AM +0200, Florian Kulzer wrote:
> On Wed, Aug 20, 2008 at 22:49:22 -0400, Kumar Ravichandran wrote:
> > On Thu, Aug 21, 2008 at 12:05:42AM +0200, Florian Kulzer wrote:
>
> [...]
>
> > > How long did you wait after these messages appeared? On my system it
> > > takes about 2-5 seconds more for the following to show up:
> > >
> > > 23:50:53.743: volume_uuid_487F_1EC0 added
> > > 23:50:53.878: storage_serial_Prolific_Technology_Inc__USB_Mass_S torage_Device added
> > > 23:50:53.880: storage_serial_Prolific_Technology_Inc__USB_Mass_S torage_Device property info.interfaces = {'org.freedesktop.Hal.Device.Storage.Removable'} (new)
> > >
> > > You should see similar output eventually, or something might be wrong
> > > with HAL.
> > >
> >
> > You are right, I don't get any further messages. What do you suggest I
> > do about Hal? I have tried reinstalling it already.
>
> How is the overall state of your system, is it fully upgraded? I ask
> because your version of Mutt is too new for Etch, but older than what
> you should have for up-to-date Lenny or Sid. Is it possible that you ran
> into a problem that has long been fixed on current Lenny/Sid, or a bug
> that is only present for a certain mix of more-or-less outdated
> packages?

Well, my initial install was from the Etch DVDs, but I had a mixture
of Etch and lenny for a while. I recently did a dist-upgrade to lenny,
but have a few sid packages from somewhere (I think during a failed
KDE 4.1 install attempt). Anyway, I had Etch/lenny when the automount
stopped working. I hope that answers your question.

--

Regards,

Kumar.

--

Kumar Ravichandran

Graduate Research Assistant
Department of Aerospace Engineering
University of Maryland
College Park, MD.


"An eye for an eye will only make the entire world blind."

- Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi


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On Thu, Aug 21, 2008 at 10:34:53 -0400, Kumar Ravichandran wrote:
> On Thu, Aug 21, 2008 at 08:19:56AM +0200, Florian Kulzer wrote:

[...]

> > How is the overall state of your system, is it fully upgraded? I ask
> > because your version of Mutt is too new for Etch, but older than what
> > you should have for up-to-date Lenny or Sid. Is it possible that you ran
> > into a problem that has long been fixed on current Lenny/Sid, or a bug
> > that is only present for a certain mix of more-or-less outdated
> > packages?
>
> Well, my initial install was from the Etch DVDs, but I had a mixture
> of Etch and lenny for a while. I recently did a dist-upgrade to lenny,
> but have a few sid packages from somewhere (I think during a failed
> KDE 4.1 install attempt). Anyway, I had Etch/lenny when the automount
> stopped working. I hope that answers your question.

The automatic handling of removable media requires that many different
components work together - the kernel, udev, hal, dbus, assorted KDE
libraries and services. I am not too surprised that it does not work
with the kind of mix that you seem to have on your system.

I suggest that you make up your mind which branch of Debian you want to
use and then downgrade/upgrade/remove/add packages as is necessary until
your entire system comes from that one branch only.

You can use the following command to find out which ones of your
currently installed packages do not belong to your intended target
archive ("testing" in this example, replace this string if you decide on
something else):

aptitude -F '%p%t' search '~S ~i !~Atesting' | column -t

--
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Florian |


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