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[gameguy43]

@badaspirin:

in ubuntu, root works a little differently.  prepend commands with "sudo " to run them as root.  enter _your_ password.  in this case, i believe it should be "olpcolpc."

i think ubuntu can support su, maybe with some dl-ed packages.  i think that "sudo" is more dummy-proof tho.

[thepete]

Wow. I had stacks of trouble with these instructions.  I'm glad they're working for so many people, but I had all sorts of weirdness almost from the beginning.  I think I need to know more about Linux before I can know what half of this stuff means.

For instance, the instructions say:

Since you'll need root privileges for various parts below, let's gain root access right away.  If you're on the XO, just run: su

But then it says:

Start up your Linux computer and insert your USB/SD drive.

Are we supposed to be logged in as superuser (su) to the Linux computer?  I assumed yes, so I moved on from there.  But here's where I ran in to trouble next:

insert your USB/SD drive.  Let's assume that it's /dev/sda.

Is this one of those things where my SD or USB drive will be called something else but for the sake of these instructions we pretend that it's called "/dev/sda" when really it's more like "/dev/INSERTYOURSDCARDNAMEHERE"?  Or do I need to enter "df -k" into Terminal so I can get the filesystem for all the media connected?

I took a guess after many attempts that this last example was accurate.  Then, I followed the instructions and entered "umount device" and replaced "device" with "mmcblk0p1" (which is what I saw instead of "sda" after the /dev/ when I entered "df -k".  After that I got a "Device busy" error twice.  I then continued the instructions, just assuming that, since no one else mentioned they got that error that it didn't matter.  I then got all the way to the wget command where, after a random disconnect, I discovered I didn't have enough space on my SSD for the tarball.  Then I downloaded it on my MacBook and stuck it on a USB drive and pretended it was on my SSD and continued the instructions.

As I unpacked the tarball I saw loads of "directory or file doesn't exist" errors. 

From there I got to the end of the instructions (skipping the part with the olpc.fth because I wasn't sure what the hell to do with it).  Rebooting, I got the error on boot where it threw the "can't load image" error message (or something like that--I can't seem to replicate it right now--the SD slot isn't powering up after 1 second).  After a moment, a Linux startup screen appears with Tux in the upper left corner and a bunch of text flies by, finally sending me back into Sugar.

I'm not sure what I was doing wrong, but as far as I could tell, I couldn't tell you what I was doing wrong.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!  Sorry to come across like such a newb!

[brianh]

5. How to access USB flash disk while in Xubuntu? I plugged in my USB flash disk but can't seem to access it through the GUI.  Even in terminal, I can't seem to see it mounted.  If it's not auto, what is the device name in Ubuntu's environment to mount USB flash disk? 

It should be noted I have similar problems. My USB install of Ubuntu cannot "find" usb devices, and cannot mount USB removable storage

i had this problem until i installed "gnome-mount."  You can install it from synaptic or in the terminal by typing:
sudo apt-get install gnome-mount

[quixote]

Re root passwd:  unless you're somewhat comfortable with the command line, it really is a better idea to use ubuntu's "sudo" method when you need to do a command as root.  If you know you're going to have a whole series of them, you can do "sudo -i" and then you won't have to keep re-entering sudo.

Root is disabled by default in ubuntu, but it can be re-enabled if you want it.  See, for instance, http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=31053, or http://ubuntuguide.org/wiki/Dapper#How_to_set.2Fchange.2Fenable_root_user_password. 

(When I asked about this earlier, it had been so long since I'd done it, I didn't even remember that I once knew how to do that!  My links are pretty old, btw, but I don't think those commands have changed.)

[stillaway]

Hmm, I have tried booting ubuntu from and SD and can't seem to get it to work.

It just hangs at 'Loading ramdisk image from sd:\boot\olpcrd.img ..."

I tried going to the OK prompt and setting the boot-device, boot-file and ramdisk variables manually via setenv, but it still does not work.

I have confirmed that fstab has root=/dev/mmcblk0p1 set correctly as does the olpc.fth file and as I did at the OK prompt.

The CPU light flashes occasionally, so I think it is actually booting, but the console is just not working and I cannot see what it is doing.  The boot-file is set to:

ro root=/dev/mmcblk0p1 rootdelay=1 console=ttyS0,115200 console=tty0 fbcon=font:SUN12x22

So the console should work.

I am stumped and if anyone has any suggestions I would love to hear them.

[thepete]

Wow, so I guess all of my questions were so newbish that no one thinks they're worth answering.  Sheesh.

[stillaway]

thepete:

Never assume.

When it said "Device busy" it meant "Device busy".  You got an error message.  Deal with it rather then ignore it.

Also making stupid comments about why does not one answer me, doesn't usually help get answers.

So, I suggest you try googling "device busy" and "unmount" RTFM!

[chibicthulhu]

I'm almost done with the instructions, but right at the end here I'm running into a problem. Where I'm supposed to make the directory /media/OPCRoot/security/.private, I'm getting an error: mkdir: cannot create directory '/media/OPCRoot/security/.private': No such file or directory That seems like a silly message to me, of course there's no such file or directory, I'm trying to make it! Any suggestions?

[Chris J]

That message usually means one of the upper directories does not exist (for example, /security). The system can't make /.private because the parent isn't there.

[chibicthulhu]

I'm beginning to think I'll never have an end to my troubles. I completed everything in the instructions, but upon attempting to boot I get this on the automatic startup screen:

Warning: Filesystem is ext2/3, but partition type is 0x6 (should be 0x83).
Boot device: /nandflash:\boot\olpc.fth Arguments:
<buffer@ff838c61>:0: Unrecognized program format

I'm not positive, but I'm assuming that I messed up the step where I'm supposed to set the partition hex to 83? (I have no clue what I'm talking about.) At any rate, I thought removing the USB stick and booting would get me back into Sugar so that i could fix my mistake, but I'm getting a very similar error message when the USB stick is unplugged (the last two lines are identical, the first line is absent.)

So tell me doc, is it broken?

[thepete]

thepete:

Never assume.

When it said "Device busy" it meant "Device busy".  You got an error message.  Deal with it rather then ignore it.

Also making stupid comments about why does not one answer me, doesn't usually help get answers.

So, I suggest you try googling "device busy" and "unmount" RTFM!

1) I did try to deal with it.  I ignored it because I couldn't figure out what the hell was wrong since, clearly, the device *wasn't* busy.  So, it was an *error* error message.

2) Thanks for the tip on "making stupid comments about why does not one answer me".  I believe this instance proves yourself wrong since you replied.  Besides that, this forum is supposed to be helpful to people.  I try to never ignore people when they are having trouble.  This is why I'm a moderator here.  I'm trying to help.  Since I wasn't getting any after asking before, I asked again.

3) And what if Googling doesn't give me advice specific to the XO?  Or to installing Ubuntu on the XO?  Perhaps I tried Googling and didn't find anything that helped?  What then?  My hope was that someone with specific experience with this process would know what I was doing wrong.  However, the odds of finding that person on Google in a see of sites about installing Ubuntu on more common PCs, how was I to find what I was looking for?  Answer: come here.

Here's a tip for you, if you can't be helpful, don't be snide.  Just admit that you can't or don't want to help and move on.  Assuming I'm a moron who doesn't try to solve things on his own before asking for help solves nothing--especially when it's not true.  What did you say in your reply to my "stupid" post?  Never assume, I think it was.  And that's just what you did.

[stillaway]

thepete:

No, I am right.  Had you not been annoying, I may have told you why you got the error message "Device Busy".  It was a real error message.  And I am 99% sure I know why you got it and also 100% I know how to solve it instead of just guessing.

But instead, my answer to you is RTFM.  You do know what that means right?

With Linux there is no such thing as an "error error message".  An error really happened.  Figure it out.

[stillaway]

P.S. This is what is normally called a flame war.

I normally try not to get involved in such things and I think the best bet is to end it here.

Good Luck.

[thepete]

thepete:

No, I am right.  Had you not been annoying, I may have told you why you got the error message "Device Busy".  It was a real error message.  And I am 99% sure I know why you got it and also 100% I know how to solve it instead of just guessing.

But instead, my answer to you is RTFM.  You do know what that means right?

With Linux there is no such thing as an "error error message".  An error really happened.  Figure it out.

No, actually I don't know what that means.

P.S. This is what is normally called a flame war.

I normally try not to get involved in such things and I think the best bet is to end it here.

Good Luck.

You're doing a fine job of avoiding it.

Anyone else want to hazard a guess as to what my problem following the instructions was?

[moocapiean]

For instance, the instructions say:

Since you'll need root privileges for various parts below, let's gain root access right away.  If you're on the XO, just run: su

But then it says:

Start up your Linux computer and insert your USB/SD drive.

Are we supposed to be logged in as superuser (su) to the Linux computer?  I assumed yes, so I moved on from there.

Good assumption. I was being lazy when I updated the instructions.  I guess I'll fix that.

But here's where I ran in to trouble next:

insert your USB/SD drive.  Let's assume that it's /dev/sda.

Is this one of those things where my SD or USB drive will be called something else but for the sake of these instructions we pretend that it's called "/dev/sda" when really it's more like "/dev/INSERTYOURSDCARDNAMEHERE"?  Or do I need to enter "df -k" into Terminal so I can get the filesystem for all the media connected?

Right again.  Your drive may be different, but for the sake of the instructions, I used what my system reported.

I took a guess after many attempts that this last example was accurate.  Then, I followed the instructions and entered "umount device" and replaced "device" with "mmcblk0p1" (which is what I saw instead of "sda" after the /dev/ when I entered "df -k".  After that I got a "Device busy" error twice.  I then continued the instructions, just assuming that, since no one else mentioned they got that error that it didn't matter.  I then got all the way to the wget command where, after a random disconnect, I discovered I didn't have enough space on my SSD for the tarball.  Then I downloaded it on my MacBook and stuck it on a USB drive and pretended it was on my SSD and continued the instructions.

As you found out, the "Device busy" error can't be ignored.  I'm not sure why you're getting that error.  If you just inserted it, it shouldn't be busy.  Did you cd into the mounted location?

Although you mention other problems, let's try to tackle this problem first and get to the others once it's gone.  Some of your other problems are related to the fact that you couldn't unmount the partition.

However, good improvising with using a second USB drive.

Wow, so I guess all of my questions were so newbish that no one thinks they're worth answering.  Sheesh.

I think enough people on here are new to Linux that basic questions are expected.  I didn't reply until now because lately I haven't had the time to follow this thread.