I recently had occasion to need a floppy drive. Thankfully, there was
one in my Gentoo box, but no support in the kernel. I added
CONFIG_BLK_DEV_IDEFLOPPY=y to .config and already had support for my IDE
chipset included, rebuilt my kernel, and rebooted.

Now I have a folder /dev/fd/, but every entry there (0, 1, 2, and 255)
are all symlinks to /dev/pts/0. Relevant command outputs:

# dmesg|grep -i floppy
ide-floppy driver 0.99.newide

# uname -r
2.6.22-gentoo-r2

# cd /dev/fd; ls -al
total 0
dr-x------ 2 root root 0 Jun 3 02:32 .
dr-xr-xr-x 5 root root 0 Jun 3 02:32 ..
lrwx------ 1 root root 64 Jun 3 02:32 0 -> /dev/pts/0
lrwx------ 1 root root 64 Jun 3 02:32 1 -> /dev/pts/0
lrwx------ 1 root root 64 Jun 3 02:32 2 -> /dev/pts/0
lrwx------ 1 root root 64 Jun 3 02:32 255 -> /dev/pts/0

# ls -al /dev/fd
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 13 Jun 2 20:35 /dev/fd -> /proc/self/fd

What do I need to do to get usable block access to my floppy from
something in /dev/fd?

-Tim
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gentoo-user@lists.gentoo.org mailing list

Alan McKinnon wrote:
> On Tuesday 03 June 2008, Tim wrote:
>> I recently had occasion to need a floppy drive. Thankfully, there was
>> one in my Gentoo box, but no support in the kernel. I added
>> CONFIG_BLK_DEV_IDEFLOPPY=y to .config and already had support for my
>> IDE chipset included, rebuilt my kernel, and rebooted.
>>
>> Now I have a folder /dev/fd/, but every entry there (0, 1, 2, and
>> 255) are all symlinks to /dev/pts/0. Relevant command outputs:
>
> /dev/fd is a symlink to /dev/self/fd
>
> and I believe that fd here means "file descriptor" not "floppy disk"
>
> do you have devices /dev/fd0 etc instead? If not, what do you get from
>
I do not.

> grep -r fd /etc/udev/rules.d/
>
produces:

/etc/udev/rules.d/99-libsane.rules:SYSFS{idVendor}=="06bd",
SYSFS{idProduct}=="20fd", MODE="660", GROUP="scanner"
/etc/udev/rules.d/60-persistent-storage.rules:KERNEL=="ram*|loop*|fd*|nbd*|gnbd*|d m-*|md*",
GOTO="persistent_storage_end"
/etc/udev/rules.d/50-udev.rules:KERNEL=="fd[0-9]*",
NAME="floppy/%k", SYMLINK+="%k", GROUP="floppy"
/etc/udev/rules.d/50-udev.rules:KERNEL=="fd[0-9]*", ACTION=="add",
ATTRS{cmos}=="*", RUN+="create_floppy_devices -c -t $attr{cmos} -m %M -M
0660 -G floppy $root/floppy/%k"
/etc/udev/rules.d/50-udev.rules:KERNEL=="fd[0-9]*", ACTION=="remove",
RUN+="/bin/sh -c 'rm -f $root/floppy/%k?*'"

-Tim
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gentoo-user@lists.gentoo.org mailing list

Dirk Heinrichs wrote:
> Am Dienstag, 3. Juni 2008 schrieb ext Tim:
>> I recently had occasion to need a floppy drive. Thankfully, there was
>> one in my Gentoo box, but no support in the kernel. I added
>> CONFIG_BLK_DEV_IDEFLOPPY=y to .config and already had support for my IDE
>> chipset included, rebuilt my kernel, and rebooted.
>>
>> Now I have a folder /dev/fd/, but every entry there (0, 1, 2, and 255)
>> are all symlinks to /dev/pts/0. Relevant command outputs:
>
> That's correct.
>
>> # dmesg|grep -i floppy
>> ide-floppy driver 0.99.newide
>
>> What do I need to do to get usable block access to my floppy from
>> something in /dev/fd?
>
> Nothing. It's IDE Floppy, not Floppy. You should have new hd* entries
> in /dev for your IDE Floppy device. Read some more lines in your dmesg
> output.
>
> HTH...
>
> Dirk
Nothing there either.

# dmesg|grep -i hd
Kernel command line: root=/dev/hda3
ide0: BM-DMA at 0xd000-0xd007, BIOS settings: hdaMA, hdbMA
ide1: BM-DMA at 0xd008-0xd00f, BIOS settings: hdcMA, hddMA
hda: WDC WD400BB-23DEA0, ATA DISK drive
hdb: IC35L060AVER07-0, ATA DISK drive
hdc: Hewlett-Packard DVD Writer 300, ATAPI CD/DVD-ROM drive
hdd: FX320S, ATAPI CD/DVD-ROM drive
hda: max request size: 128KiB
hda: Host Protected Area detected.
hda: Host Protected Area disabled.
hda: 78165360 sectors (40020 MB) w/2048KiB Cache, CHS=65535/16/63, UDMA(100)
hda: cache flushes not supported
hda: hda1 hda2 hda3
hdb: max request size: 128KiB
hdb: 120103200 sectors (61492 MB) w/1916KiB Cache, CHS=65535/16/63,
UDMA(100)
hdb: cache flushes not supported
hdb: hdb1
hdc: ATAPI 40X DVD-ROM CD-R/RW drive, 2048kB Cache, UDMA(33)
hdd: ATAPI 32X CD-ROM drive, 256kB Cache, DMA
ReiserFS: hda3: found reiserfs format "3.6" with standard journal
ReiserFS: hda3: using ordered data mode
ReiserFS: hda3: journal params: device hda3, size 8192, journal first
block 18, max trans len 1024, max batch 900, max commit age 30, max
trans age 30
ReiserFS: hda3: checking transaction log (hda3)
ReiserFS: hda3: Using r5 hash to sort names
NTFS-fs warning (device hdb1): load_system_files(): $LogFile is not
clean. Will not be able to remount read-write. Mount in Windows.
Adding 506036k swap on /dev/hda2. Priority:-1 extents:1 across:506036k

My primary IDE is two hard drives, hda being Gentoo and relevant
partitions and hdb holding Windows XP in a single partition. My
secondary is two CD/DVD drives. Nothing in dmesg, either in this excerpt
or otherwise, indicates the presence of an IDE floppy at /dev/hd*.

# ls -al /dev/hd*
brw-rw---- 1 root disk 3, 0 Jun 2 20:35 /dev/hda
brw-rw---- 1 root disk 3, 1 Jun 2 20:35 /dev/hda1
brw-rw---- 1 root disk 3, 2 Jun 2 20:35 /dev/hda2
brw-rw---- 1 root disk 3, 3 Jun 2 20:35 /dev/hda3
brw-rw---- 1 root disk 3, 64 Jun 2 20:35 /dev/hdb
brw-rw---- 1 root disk 3, 65 Jun 2 20:35 /dev/hdb1
brw-rw---- 1 root cdrom 22, 0 Jun 2 20:35 /dev/hdc
brw-rw---- 1 root cdrom 22, 64 Jun 2 20:35 /dev/hdd

-Tim
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gentoo-user@lists.gentoo.org mailing list

Dirk Heinrichs wrote:
> Am Dienstag, 3. Juni 2008 schrieb ext Dirk Heinrichs:
>
>> That makes 4 out of 4 possible devices. So where's your IDE floppy
>> connected to, then?
>
> Is it an IDE floppy device at all, or a normal PC floppy device?
>
> Bye...
>
> Dirk
I was unaware there was a difference. It's a 34-pin ribbon cable
connector on the motherboard.

-Tim
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gentoo-user@lists.gentoo.org mailing list

Tim wrote:
> Dirk Heinrichs wrote:
>> Am Dienstag, 3. Juni 2008 schrieb ext Dirk Heinrichs:
>>
>>> That makes 4 out of 4 possible devices. So where's your IDE floppy
>>> connected to, then?
>> Is it an IDE floppy device at all, or a normal PC floppy device?
>>
>> Bye...
>>
>> Dirk
> I was unaware there was a difference. It's a 34-pin ribbon cable
> connector on the motherboard.
>
> -Tim
And that's the solution. I added CONFIG_BLK_DEV_FD=y to .config, got rid
of CONFIG_BLK_DEV_IDEFLOPPY, and rebuilt again. /dev/fd0 now appears as
a working floppy device.

Thanks Dirk and everyone else who helped!

-Tim
--
gentoo-user@lists.gentoo.org mailing list

On Tuesday 03 June 2008, Tim wrote:
> I recently had occasion to need a floppy drive. Thankfully, there was
> one in my Gentoo box, but no support in the kernel. I added
> CONFIG_BLK_DEV_IDEFLOPPY=y to .config and already had support for my
> IDE chipset included, rebuilt my kernel, and rebooted.
>
> Now I have a folder /dev/fd/, but every entry there (0, 1, 2, and
> 255) are all symlinks to /dev/pts/0. Relevant command outputs:

/dev/fd is a symlink to /dev/self/fd

and I believe that fd here means "file descriptor" not "floppy disk"

do you have devices /dev/fd0 etc instead? If not, what do you get from

grep -r fd /etc/udev/rules.d/

--
Alan McKinnon
alan dot mckinnon at gmail dot com

--
gentoo-user@lists.gentoo.org mailing list

Am Dienstag, 3. Juni 2008 schrieb ext Tim:
> I recently had occasion to need a floppy drive. Thankfully, there was
> one in my Gentoo box, but no support in the kernel. I added
> CONFIG_BLK_DEV_IDEFLOPPY=y to .config and already had support for my IDE
> chipset included, rebuilt my kernel, and rebooted.
>
> Now I have a folder /dev/fd/, but every entry there (0, 1, 2, and 255)
> are all symlinks to /dev/pts/0. Relevant command outputs:

That's correct.

> # dmesg|grep -i floppy
> ide-floppy driver 0.99.newide

> What do I need to do to get usable block access to my floppy from
> something in /dev/fd?

Nothing. It's IDE Floppy, not Floppy. You should have new hd* entries
in /dev for your IDE Floppy device. Read some more lines in your dmesg
output.

HTH...

Dirk
--
Dirk Heinrichs | Tel: +49 (0)162 234 3408
Configuration Manager | Fax: +49 (0)211 47068 111
Capgemini Deutschland | Mail: dirk.heinrichs@capgemini.com
Wanheimerstraße 68 | Web: http://www.capgemini.com
D-40468 Düsseldorf | ICQ#: 110037733
GPG Public Key C2E467BB | Keyserver: wwwkeys.pgp.net

Am Dienstag, 3. Juni 2008 schrieb ext Alan McKinnon:
> On Tuesday 03 June 2008, Tim wrote:
> > I recently had occasion to need a floppy drive. Thankfully, there was
> > one in my Gentoo box, but no support in the kernel. I added
> > CONFIG_BLK_DEV_IDEFLOPPY=y to .config and already had support for my
> > IDE chipset included, rebuilt my kernel, and rebooted.
> >
> > Now I have a folder /dev/fd/, but every entry there (0, 1, 2, and
> > 255) are all symlinks to /dev/pts/0. Relevant command outputs:
>
> /dev/fd is a symlink to /dev/self/fd
>
> and I believe that fd here means "file descriptor" not "floppy disk"
>
> do you have devices /dev/fd0 etc instead? If not, what do you get from
>
> grep -r fd /etc/udev/rules.d/

We're talking IDE floppy here, not floppy. That's /dev/hd*
vs. /dev/floppy/*.

Bye...

Dirk
--
Dirk Heinrichs | Tel: +49 (0)162 234 3408
Configuration Manager | Fax: +49 (0)211 47068 111
Capgemini Deutschland | Mail: dirk.heinrichs@capgemini.com
Wanheimerstraße 68 | Web: http://www.capgemini.com
D-40468 Düsseldorf | ICQ#: 110037733
GPG Public Key C2E467BB | Keyserver: wwwkeys.pgp.net

Am Dienstag, 3. Juni 2008 schrieb ext Tim:

> Nothing there either.
>
> # dmesg|grep -i hd
> Kernel command line: root=/dev/hda3
> ide0: BM-DMA at 0xd000-0xd007, BIOS settings: hdaMA, hdbMA
> ide1: BM-DMA at 0xd008-0xd00f, BIOS settings: hdcMA, hddMA
> hda: WDC WD400BB-23DEA0, ATA DISK drive
> hdb: IC35L060AVER07-0, ATA DISK drive
> hdc: Hewlett-Packard DVD Writer 300, ATAPI CD/DVD-ROM drive
> hdd: FX320S, ATAPI CD/DVD-ROM drive
>
> My primary IDE is two hard drives, hda being Gentoo and relevant
> partitions and hdb holding Windows XP in a single partition. My
> secondary is two CD/DVD drives. Nothing in dmesg, either in this excerpt
> or otherwise, indicates the presence of an IDE floppy at /dev/hd*.

That makes 4 out of 4 possible devices. So where's your IDE floppy connected
to, then?

Bye...

Dirk
--
Dirk Heinrichs | Tel: +49 (0)162 234 3408
Configuration Manager | Fax: +49 (0)211 47068 111
Capgemini Deutschland | Mail: dirk.heinrichs@capgemini.com
Wanheimerstraße 68 | Web: http://www.capgemini.com
D-40468 Düsseldorf | ICQ#: 110037733
GPG Public Key C2E467BB | Keyserver: wwwkeys.pgp.net

On Tuesday 03 June 2008, Dirk Heinrichs wrote:
> > What do I need to do to get usable block access to my floppy from
> > something in /dev/fd?
>
> Nothing. It's IDE Floppy, not Floppy. You should have new hd* entries
> in /dev for your IDE Floppy device. Read some more lines in your
> dmesg output.

Is this another change introduced by libata? I can't remember the last
time I actually used a floppy on Gentoo...

RHEL still uses /dev/fd{0,1} so I imagine this is a back-port they have
done?

--
Alan McKinnon
alan dot mckinnon at gmail dot com

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