Ubuntu

cannot mount iPod (hfsplus & hardy)

Asked by thejonphillips

Hello,

I've been trying for a couple hours to access my iPods via Rhythmbox, but I cannot successfully mount the volume. Here's the error message I see:

Cannot Mount Volume
The volume uses the hfsplus file system which is not supported by your system.

I'm trying with a 2nd gen iPod Nano 4GB, and a 3rd Gen iPod Nano 4GB. Ubuntu Help tells me I ought to just plug the iPod in via USB and Rhythmbox will recognize it (e.g. "You can play music directly off an iPod with Rhythmbox Music Player. Plug the iPod into the computer, and open Rhythmbox.")

I can view the iPods from my File Browser on the desktop and even eject them, but I cannot mount them.

I've tried various package updates like the ones described here: http://lilserenity.wordpress.com/2007/12/22/virgin-mobile-praise-ubuntu-and-ipod-nano-3g/ but to no avail.

Here are the system details:

Ubuntu release 8.04 (hardy)
Kernel Linux 2.6.24-19-lpia
GNOME 2.22.3

I also saw a couple commands on Launchpad that may provide more info:

strummer@strummer:~$ sudo fdisk -lu

Disk /dev/sda: 30.8 GB, 30816608256 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 3746 cylinders, total 60188688 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x80d78fd6

   Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 63 64259 32098+ de Dell Utility
/dev/sda2 * 64260 60179489 30057615 83 Linux
Note: sector size is 4096 (not 512)

Disk /dev/sdb: 3892 MB, 3892056064 bytes
120 heads, 62 sectors/track, 127 cylinders, total 950209 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 4096 = 4096 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00000000

Disk /dev/sdb doesn't contain a valid partition table

strummer@strummer:~$ sudo blkid
/dev/sda1: SEC_TYPE="msdos" LABEL="DellUtility" UUID="07D8-0A0F" TYPE="vfat"
/dev/sda2: UUID="ceab9ccf-1327-43b3-b20f-33932bc0999d" TYPE="ext3"
/dev/sdb2: TYPE="hfsplus"
strummer@strummer:~$

I'm a bit of a noob (obviously) so any assistance is appreciated!

Thanks,

Jon

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Jim J
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thejonphillips (the-jon-phillips) said : 		#1

I just tried with an iPod shuffle 2nd gen and it worked without any additional tricks. It mounted right up under /media and Rhythmbox automagically displayed it under the devices tab.

Any idea why it would work with this iPod and not the others?

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Best Jim J (morlockhq) said : 		#2

hfsplus seems to have limited support in Linux. I used the following article to get my iPod working reliably in Linux a few years ago. It doesn't mention Rhythmbox or Banshee, but I believe they will work.

If you have data that you want to keep on your iPod and it is only on your iPod, you may want to find a way to make a backup as this article mentions changing the filesystem to one that is compatible with more systems and that will wipe out any data that is currently there.

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/9266

I hope this helps.

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thejonphillips (the-jon-phillips) said : 		#3

That worked! Thanks for the pointer to that article.