ubuntu 7.04 Cant find floppy formatter anywhere on the menu's

Thanks for the question.

Did you try do right-click on the floppy-icon on the desktop? There should be a menu item for formatting it.

I hope this helps

I tried right clicking the icon in computer and on the desktop but there is not an option to format....
I find this strange because the option was in edgy and on the application menu...
Any ideas....thanks in advance :-)

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yanski ha scritto:
> Question #5826 on Ubuntu changed:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/5826
>
> Status: Answered => Open
>
> yanski is still having a problem:
> I tried right clicking the icon in computer and on the desktop but there is not an option to format....
> I find this strange because the option was in edgy and on the application menu...
> Any ideas....thanks in advance :-)
>
>
Open nautilus, right click on the floppy disk, here there is the option
format.

Thanks

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Ubuntu GNU/Linux
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NO THERE IS NOT!!! READ MY LAST!!! Doh!!
THERE IS NOT AN OPTION THERE OR ANYWHERE ELSE

but you don't mount it. if you click on the icon the ubuntu mount it and you are not be able to format. thanks

YES I KNOW... IT IS NOT MOUNTED...... The option to format does not appear anywhere
Thanks anyway..

If everything fails. Install the package "mtools". After that you can format the floppy disk via

# format a:

CU
Christoph

Ok Thanks for that
..I have installed mtools ok but when I type your command in it just sits there flashing the terminal cursor at me so then I tried typing in mtools into terminal it gave a list of commands... the closest one being mformat but I would not know what to type in after that...??

You can use the comand line:

$: fdformat /dev/fd0H1440

$: mkdosfs -v -F 32 -n Nameofvolume /dev/fd0h1440

thanks

Hi, Thanks, Tried that..result below

user@ubuntu-desktop:~$ fdformat /dev/fd0H1440
/dev/fd0H1440: No such file or directory
user@ubuntu-desktop:~$

What is the name of volume apart from floppy??
Thanks..

when you put the disk you can find a block name fd0. Search in /dev dir.
You can post your /etc/fstab

thanks

What I want is how to get the format floppy menu listing back in applications- system tools like it was in edgy.
As much as I appreciate all your time and effort in trying to get a result via terminal..It's not the solution I am looking for.
I don't understand why it is not there because gnome-utils is definatley installed and synaptic package manager reports that gfloppy is part of it

Ok, but can I ask you to do this:

mount -t vfat /dev/fd0 /media/floppy

and post the result.

thanks

Thanks massimo... Your reply and I quote

 Massimo Forti said 5 minutes ago:

when you put the disk you can find a block name fd0. Search in /dev dir.
You can post your /etc/fstab

Well I don't even know what all that means... :-/
My 5 weeks or so experience with linux does not even qualify me as a newbie....
Thanks..

****@ubuntu-desktop:~$ mount -t vfat /dev/fd0 /media/floppy
mount: only root can do that
****@ubuntu-desktop:~$ sudo mount -t vfat /dev/fd0 /media/floppy
Password:******
****@ubuntu-desktop:~$

When I enter the password and press enter the floppy drive clicks into action but nothing else happens Massimo..

Ok open a direcotry /mnt/floppy, you can see the file in your floppy ???

thanks

Went into computer filesystem mnt but it is empty.
Also after we did

 ****@ubuntu-desktop:~$ mount -t vfat /dev/fd0 /media/floppy
mount: only root can do that
****@ubuntu-desktop:~$ sudo mount -t vfat /dev/fd0 /media/floppy
Password:******
****@ubuntu-desktop:~$

The floppy is mounted but it refuses to let me unmount it..It reports that i don't have the privileges to unmount and only root can unmount it.... :-/
This has only just happened.
Thanks

Sorry , the directory is /media/floppy, to umount you can do

sudo umount /media/floppy

before uomount it you go to /media/floppy to see if the data are correct.
If it's ok your system is well configured, and you can format it using the comand before posted to me. You change /dev/fd0H1440 with /dev/fd0 only.

thanks

Massimo,

Thanks..managed to unmount it ok again.
Before I did though I did go into/media/floppy and the data is correct.

It is working ok like that Massimo, but I would still like to know how to get the floppy formatter back on the menu like it was in Ubuntu edgy.
Thanks for your time and patience Massimo..
It's people like you who make me want to stick with Linux and not be tempted back to MS. ;)

Any ideas??

I propably undestand because, if you have done a new installation of ubuntu 7.04 the problem is in fstab. The new file does not have the line about the floppy (old version had it)
Open /etc/fstab with this comand:

sudo gedit /etc/fstab

and add this line:

/dev/fd0 /media/floppy vfat noauto,users,exec,rw 0 0

save and restart. Try to format the floppy.

thanks

Hi Massimo,
Before i try and enter that line of text...Exactly where do I put it? Pasted result of fstab below for you...Thanks :-)

# /etc/fstab: static file system information.
#
# <file system> <mount point> <type> <options> <dump> <pass>
proc /proc proc defaults 0 0
# /dev/hda1
UUID=75e28de0-0faf-4d80-8cbf-6d48b921e283 / ext3 defaults,errors=remount-ro 0 1
# /dev/hda5
UUID=2ea84649-12f1-4cd5-80b9-3a5c15d875f2 none swap sw 0 0
/dev/hdc /media/cdrom0 udf,iso9660 user,noauto 0 0
/dev/hdd /media/cdrom1 udf,iso9660 user,noauto 0 0
/dev/fd0 /media/floppy0 auto rw,user,noauto 0 0

Update previous...Do I replace the bottom line that contains the fd0 entry with your line of text or just add it somewhere...??
Thanks Massimo...

In your fstab the lines are correct, but you have done some change in this file before ??? You can do it on a shell:

cd /media/floppy0

if it returns an error you must create the new direccotry /media/floppy0 with this comand:

sudo /media/floppy0

than you can post the result of this other comand:

ls /media

thanks

I don't know enough to make any changes on my own Massimo.... :-/

****@ubuntu-desktop:~$ sudo gedit /etc/fstab
Password:****
****@ubuntu-desktop:~$ cd /media/floppy0
****@ubuntu-desktop:/media/floppy0$ ls /media
cdrom cdrom0 cdrom1 floppy floppy0
****@ubuntu-desktop:/media/floppy0$
Thanks....

I don't know, my ubuntu don't have this line after I have installed it. Well, you are luky. But now what I don't understant it's because you are not be able to use the format tool in nautilus.
Try to change the line:

/dev/fd0 /media/floppy0 auto rw,user,noauto 0 0

with:

/dev/fd0 /media/floppy0 vfat rw,user,noauto 0 0

to do it use sudo gedit /etc/fstab

thanks

Hi Massimo,

I think I did it wrong... after I changed the fd0 line in fstab I tried to format but it was not there so i tried mounting to see if it was ok to do that and it would not let me... with the following error message

ERROR MESSAGE.. CANNOT MOUNT VOLUME [MNTENT]: LINE 11 in /etc.fstab is bad..

Fstab copy below...

# /etc/fstab: static file system information.
#
# <file system> <mount point> <type> <options> <dump> <pass>
proc /proc proc defaults 0 0
# /dev/hda1
UUID=75e28de0-0faf-4d80-8cbf-6d48b921e283 / ext3 defaults,errors=remount-ro 0 1
# /dev/hda5
UUID=2ea84649-12f1-4cd5-80b9-3a5c15d875f2 none swap sw 0 0
/dev/hdc /media/cdrom0 udf,iso9660 user,noauto 0 0
/dev/hdd /media/cdrom1 udf,iso9660 user,noauto 0 0
/dev/fd0 /media/floppy0 vfat rw, user,noauto 0 0

Thanks Massimo

Hi Massimo,
Luckily I made a backup of the fstab file to my desktop so I have restored that fd0 line to it's original state. See below

# /etc/fstab: static file system information.
#
# <file system> <mount point> <type> <options> <dump> <pass>
proc /proc proc defaults 0 0
# /dev/hda1
UUID=75e28de0-0faf-4d80-8cbf-6d48b921e283 / ext3 defaults,errors=remount-ro 0 1
# /dev/hda5
UUID=2ea84649-12f1-4cd5-80b9-3a5c15d875f2 none swap sw 0 0
/dev/hdc /media/cdrom0 udf,iso9660 user,noauto 0 0
/dev/hdd /media/cdrom1 udf,iso9660 user,noauto 0 0
/dev/fd0 /media/floppy0 auto rw,user,noauto 0 0

So we are where we were before...
Thanks Massimo.

The problem for me when editing fstab is the spacing between the text on each line Massimo...

Ok, the problem is the type of filesystem, the option vfat mount only fat filesystem, but you are able to format, auto will be able to mount all (the system try to recognize the type), but you are not able to format. But there is a mount problem, it's a very good situation ??? Your idea to backup the file it's very good, so you can restore it. Well !
You have a little space between rw, and user (you have reason):

/dev/fd0 /media/floppy0 vfat rw, user,noauto 0 0 #(thi is your line with space)
/dev/fd0 /media/floppy0 vfat rw,user,noauto 0 0 #(this is the correct line without space)

thanks many

Hi Massimo,
Great..Thanks for that explanation!! I now understand the vfat and auto in the fstab. ;-)
The floppy is mounting and un mounting with the vfat in the fstab...
However there still is not an option to format anywhere.... :-/
Ideas Massimo...?
Thanks for sticking with me on this.............. ;)

There is no easy fix for this. There simply is no gfloppy in feisty's gnome-utils package. https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gnome-utils/+bug/107843
- Wait for a fixed package hit feisty-updates and install that. (No idea if this will be fixed in feisty or not though.)
- Get the gnome-utils source package and recompile it with the added configure option. (see bug report)

Ok, thanks !!!

Hi holger Bauer.. I have had a look at the bug report so thanks for that...However in synaptic pakage manager on my feisty system in the description for gnome-utils it does say gfloppy is included even though it clearly is not...see below for copy and paste of entry from synaptic package manager..

GNOME desktop utilities
GNOME is the "GNU Network Object Model Environment".
It is a project to build a complete, user-friendly desktop based
entirely on free software.

This package contains the following utilities for the GNOME desktop:

 - baobab, a disk usage analyser
 - gfloppy, a tool for formatting floppy disks
 - gnome-dictionary, a program which can look up the definition of words
   over the internet (including a panel applet to do the same)
 - gnome-search-tool, with which one can find files by name or content
 - gnome-system-log, a log viewing application
 - gnome-screenshot, a tool to take desktop screenshots and save them into
   a file.

Guess we will have to wait for gutsy!!!!

BIG BIG BIG Thankyou to Massimo for all your help..It is very much appreciated :-)