On Sun, Aug 30, 2015 at 9:04 AM, Galen Seitz <[email protected]> wrote:
> On 08/29/15 17:33, Denis Heidtmann wrote: > > On Sat, Aug 29, 2015 at 11:16 AM, Galen Seitz <[email protected]> > wrote: > > > >> On 08/28/15 08:20, Denis Heidtmann wrote: > >>> I needed to use the floppy disk on my ubuntu 14.04 system (why is a > >>> separate story). I found that the default setup had the floppy owned > by > >>> root. Even when I made myself a member of the group floppy, I did not > >> have > >>> write access. It appeared as if the drive was not a member of the group > >>> floppy. > >>> > >>> On searching for a solution I came across a change to /etc/fstab which > >>> solved the problem. My question is, I would like to understand what > >> these > >>> changes do and what the entries mean, and make sure that the changes do > >> not > >>> have any flaws. Could the dropping of the utf8 option produce a > problem? > >>> > >>> Original entry (as provided by the installation): > >>> /dev/fd0 /media/floppy0 auto rw,user,noauto,exec,utf8 0 0 > >>> > >>> New entry: > >>> /dev/fd0 /media/floppy auto > >> rw,user,noauto,exec,gid=floppy,umask=007 0 > >>> 0 > >> > >> Do you really need to mount the floppy? For occasional use, it's often > >> easier to use mtools. > >> > >> <http://www.gnu.org/software/mtools/> > >> <https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/trusty/+package/mtools> > >> > >> > >> galen > > > > > > Since Ubuntu supports the floppy though the GUI, and I now have user > rights > > to it, I do not see the advantage of mtools. I only use it to transfer > > files to and from an ancient windows 3.1 system a former colleague and I > > are trying to resurrect. I suppose if I wanted to do something less > > routine with the floppy, I would benefit from mtools. > > Well, to my mind, commands like mdir and mcopy are about as routine as > it gets, but if you're keen to use the GUI, then mtools won't be of much > use. I will point out that not mounting a floppy has at least the one > advantage that you avoid the possibility of corrupting the floppy by > ejecting it when it is mounted. > > galen > I am often hesitant to post questions here because my ignorance and inexperience get laid bare. I do not understand how not mounting provides that protection. This lack of understanding is because I do not have a clear view of what happens when a device is mounted, and how the device is accessed without mounting. I appreciate your advice. -Denis _______________________________________________ PLUG mailing list [email protected] http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
