Installing IDE CD-ROM drives under Linux




Dear Mr Morison, let me say that I find the Help Screen column one of the most useful in PC World. Keep it up.
Re: Mr Ward's problem (pp163-4, Aug 96), I fear that your information is not completely accurate. It is also sad to hear the misinformation he has been given -- at least you are professional enough to say "I don't know" at times. There is no shame in that.
Firstly, as he is fortunate enough to live in Sydney, he has access to the Sydney Linux Users Group (SLUG), who can be contacted via aus.computers.linux. The FAQs and How-to files are comprehensive and very useful.
Secondly, most CD-ROM devices are supported by Linux, not merely SCSI devices. New device support for Linux appears quickly, due to the large numbers of developers on the Net. Some hardware manufacturers are shortsighted enough to deny interface information to developers, so their hardware is not supported -- their loss.
Creative, Goldstar etc are most definitely supported, and as you have mentioned, all SCSI devices are supported.
As for Malcolm's problem, the information presented is inadequate. I'll make a number of assumptions (which I will specify). The key to getting a CD--ROM working is to have the correct kernel installed. There are two ways to do this:
1. Download the correct kernel and install it
or
2. Download source code and compile it. Either option is relatively painless and requires little technical skill.
For the common Soundblaster CD--ROMs, the SBPCD kernel is the appropriate one. For IDE CD--ROMs, the IDE ATAPI kernel is correct. Create the appropriate set of boot disks.
Assuming an IDE CD--ROM, the next step is to add a line to the LILO (ie, dual boot utility) configuration file (/etc/lilo.conf or /tmp/lilo.conf) thus:
append="hdc=cdrom"
This assumes the CD-ROM drive is on the second IDE interface; hda is normally your boot hard disk; hdb the second IDE device on the first interface.
Note that this works best when you have a CD in your drive during the boot process. Apply the changes by running liloconfig, although if you are using the setup utility, the changes should be automatic.
Having done this and then booted, the CD must be mounted. The command to do this is:
mount -a -t iso9660 /dev/cdrom /cdrom
where /cdrom is a mount point (a directory where you want the CD-ROM drive's information to appear), and iso9660 is the CD-ROM's format. Other formats are also supported. Then, to access the CD-ROM, simply use the command cd /cdrom.
Hope this helps. Please forward as appropriate.
- Ken Yiu


Editor's note: Thanks very much for your detailed instructions, Ken. It also helps to be told from time to time that my ignorance of so much in the PC technical arena beyond DOS and Windows is not a matter for shame.
- Neale Morison


Category: Hardware
Issue: Oct 1996
Pages: 180

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