Can't Access/Read Content of CD-ROM

I am just trying to run a modem software CD which I inserted into the CD-ROM. It's a Hummingbird internal modem and the CD-ROM is a Memorax, standard cd-rom device, drivers provider is microsoft. The CD-ROM is mounted; but it won't open and I can't run the software, nor can I view the contents of any CD I insert.

Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a lot.

Ted

That software CD is not going to do you any good unless you just want to look at it to make sure your CDROM is working. Your microsoft drivers will not work for Linux and you cannot run the executable without an emulator (but even then it will not work right). That being said, your should be able to mount the CD and look at the contents. That you cannot is odd; we'll work on that. Please let us know what the type, brand, and model of the player is (if you have it).

Secondly, it will help us if you use post the contents of your fstab. In case you don't know, that is a text file located at /etc/fstab.

Are you having issues getting your modem working? If so what kind is it? That is something we can probably help you with. Please let us know what kind it is (type, brand name and model, if you have it).


Lastly, Fedora 2 is pretty old, and i understand that it was kind of buggy. What you are dealing with may be a bug that has been fixed since then, not to mention many drivers may have been included that were not there before, which can make your life easier. Is there a reason that you do not want to use a newer version?

The CD is Memorex 52Maxx3252AJ.

The modem manufacturer is Lucent Winmodem and is not working...I can't install the software.

From the root, I typed in /etc/fstab and it responded bash: /etc/fstab: permission denied.
What did I do wrong? (is there space to list everything?)

As far as your question as to why I am using Red Hat 2.4, I installed it from the CD that was in a book I purchased.

Thanks for your help.

A quick lesson. I am sure you will get to this in your book, but quickly.

You type commands into the prompt. These can be programs or a series of commands saved in a text file called a script that you can use to run many commands in order, saving you work.

If you type then name of a text file into the command line, the operating system will treat it as a script and try to execute it. However, Linux has a file permission system that differentiates between executable files, regular files, directories, and links. You got the "permission denied" message because the file does not have permission to be executed, even though you are acting as root.

Of course, it would do no good execute fstab because it contains no commands. You want to look at its contents. To do that, you need to open it with a text editor (like notepad in windows). Which text editor you have depends on your distro (i never messed with Fedora, but the common ones are kate, kwrite, gedit, or vi); you should be able to open it by typing in the command line:
kwrite /etc/fstab

More simply, you can open your file browser, go to "/" and then click on etc/ and then click on fstab.

There are many system configuration files in /etc/. Most of the things you will want to tweak in the future will be located here.

Of course, what might be easier than going through all this is to get a newer distro. I use Debian Sarge and Ubuntu 5.10 on my two computers and have not had the issues like you are experiencing; my winmodem worked out of the box.

As for your modem: http://www.isi.edu/~weiye/howto/lucent_winmodem.html
should work.

Good Luck!

Thanks for your help. I just went to Linux CD shop and ordered the Ubuntu CDs. How do I install it when I get the CDs? Do I have to erase or uninstall the Red Hat 2.4?

Thanks.

Ted

You can either start over and create new partitions, or
(easiest), just use existing partitions. The install should walk you through it. I have found in Linux that
"do over" is fairly easy (compared to Windows) if you don't like your choices. Good luck. chuck

Thanks Chuck..So do I just install Ubuntu over the existing Red Hat as soon as I get the CD?

Thanks.

If that is what you want. If you have a problem, just do it over and change what you didn't like. Also a way to fine-tune things. Good luck. chuck

Thanks for your postings Chuck..and everyone else too!! I'm going to install Ubuntu as soon as I receive the CD...and Happy Holidays to all!!

mount /dev/cdrom should mount to the /media directory.

-Bryan

Thanks Bryan...I will try this and let you know.

Bryan,

After entering mount /dev/cdrom, it says "no medium found".

Any other suggestions?

Thanks,

Ted

If you put the CD into Windows, does anything show up? Is this a burnt CD. Have you tried another CD that you know is good. The message you are getting tells me that your drive is either not recognizing to CD or the CD is blank?

-Bryan

When I insert the Hummingbird modem software CD (or a data CD that I created) and double-click the CD-ROM icon, the message appears "Invalid Action Associated". It gives me an option to configure the gnome to associate with different applications and when I click the "Associate Action" button, nothing happens. When I right click the CD-ROM icon on the desktop, there is an "open with" option and if I chose this, an "Edit File Type" box appears and I don't know what to enter.

The CD-ROM drive is on the secondary master.

Oh, forgot to mention, that on the Windows partition, I can see the contents of the modem software CD, as well as other regular data CD that I created.

I sure hope you can help me figure this out.

Thanks.

Ted

You're trying to open a Windows CD in Linux. Often, Linux treats this as a corrupted or blank media. I have had Distros that would show what is on the disc, but refuse to open it, and I've had Distros that acted like what is happening to you. To start with, your Linux (RH 2.4?) is telling you there is nothing wrong with your CDrom, but you keep trying to mount an already mounted /dev. Windows drivers will not work in Linux. You never really said (I could of missed it), but it sounds like you have a Winmodem and that is a real can of worms. First of all, is it really Red Hat 2.4? There should be newer versions around. CDs can be ordered cheap, including FREE Ubuntu, since you have dial-up. If you have a friend with broadband, get them to download something like Open Suse, Mandriva 2006, Ubuntu. I started on Red Hat 9 and progressed to Fedora Core, but found hardware compatibility to be an issue as opposed to other new Distros. A later Distro will make it much, much easier to configure your modem. chuck

Well, the modem I have is a Hummingbird V92 Controllerless PCI Modem. The box says it is Linux compatible, which is why I bought it. I installed Red Hat 2.4, using the CD that came with the book I purchased. As I understand it, you're saying that I should get Ubuntu (or one of the others you mentioned) to replace this Red Hat 2.4? Would I be able to use this modem with Ubuntu?

I'll follow-up on the Ubuntu and see what happens.
Anything else I need to know with Ubuntu?

Thanks for your help.

Ted

it may set up with minimum effort. I bought a Hawking "Linux Compatible" modem at one time, but it needed as much configuring as the Winmodem I already had, so I got my money back. That was several years ago with Red Hat 9. I would be willing to bet (with the newer distros) you will only need to go into PPP or KPPP and do minor configuring to be on line. chuck