Problems getting my music library transferred to linux...

[Master Chief]

Okay, ever since I got linux set up on my box here, I've been trying to get my music ported over to it. It's been one of my backburner projects for a few weeks now.

First I tried just plugging in my mp3 player and trying to jsut copy the files. I figured Amarok wouldn't recognize it, and even if it did I doubt it could take music OFF the player and TO the hard drive, so I ran my Sandisk Sansa e280 in MSC mode, where in Windows it acts like any USB flash drive, and started the copy. About 3 minutes into the copy operation, linux can't find the files it should be copying. WTF? I take it out, plug it in, restart the copy, and come back later to find the same thing, another 1 or 2% completed. Now theoretically, I could sit there and keep unplugging, copying, pasting, until it was done, but only getting 1 or 2% at a time, I'd like to avoid that.

So I figured I'd try my USB hard drive (I should mention here it isn't actually a USB Hard Drive, its a USB Hard disk adapter with an old hard drive in it. Don't know if that makes a difference.) I plugged it in and turned it on, standard practice for Windows, but it didn't see it at all. I flicked it off and on for a bit since it can give me this monkey business once and awhile, but still nothing. So I shut down the system, wired it in as a slave, and started up. STILL didn't see it. And yes it is NTFS formatted, I think that might be the problem. I really can't reformat it though, it has a LOT of backed up data on it that I can't store anywhere else and I really can't afford to lose.

So, ideas?

[dibl]

Re: Problems getting my music library transferred to linux...

Now theoretically, I could sit there and keep unplugging, copying, pasting, until it was done, but only getting 1 or 2% at a time, I'd like to avoid that.

No, doing the same thing over and over, while expecting a different result, is a sign of insanity

So, ideas?

Expecting Linux to behave like Windows is a CAUSE of insanity!

Yes, USB + NTFS is a known source of difficulties. Here's a place to start:

http://kubuntuforums.net/forums/inde...opic=3084679.0

Good luck -- let us know if there are particular problems after you try it.

[Master Chief]

Re: Problems getting my music library transferred to linux...

No, doing the same thing over and over, while expecting a different result, is a sign of insanity

In this instance, I think it would be the cause of said insanity.

Expecting Linux to behave like Windows is a CAUSE of insanity!

Yes, USB + NTFS is a known source of difficulties. Here's a place to start:

http://kubuntuforums.net/forums/inde...opic=3084679.0

Good luck -- let us know if there are particular problems after you try it.

Sounds good. I'll try that this afternoon. I might have some spare hard drives around though, if I could find one big enough, is there a format that works on USB over both Windows and Linux?

[dibl]

Re: Problems getting my music library transferred to linux...

For a one-time file transfer task, you could probably get by with FAT32. It's not the most rugged file system in the world -- I wouldn't use it on a regular basis.

But, you should be able to mount that drive with ntfs-3g, as per that how-to, and use it that way. The question is more whether you can discover what ID the USB bus has assigned it, and don't forget it might get a different ID every time you connect it, unless you change to "mount by UUID" or "mount by Label". :P

[gilf]

Re: Problems getting my music library transferred to linux...

I don't have any problem accessing an XP NTFS formatted partition on my hard drive in this dual boot Feisty 7.04 system. The Kubuntu partitions are formatted Reiserfs and swap.

I only read from the NTFS partition -- no writes, to be cautious. But I certainly can bring data over from NTFS.

I also don't have any problems reading a USB 2 gig thumb drive -- maybe you could use on as a transfer medium if you still have a windows box.

I do have a USB hard drive, and I'll try connecting that after removing it from an older Win98 machine. It is also a dual boot system the serial USB drive formatted in Fat32 and Reiserfs + swap.

I also have an Ipod shuffle that is used with Amarok and have used K3B to rip tunes.

Seems like you should be able to do what you want through some path or other.

I'm suspecting your USB port, since you are having problems with two devices on it.

Is it USB 2.0?

[Master Chief]

Re: Problems getting my music library transferred to linux...

For a one-time file transfer task, you could probably get by with FAT32. It's not the most rugged file system in the world -- I wouldn't use it on a regular basis.

But, you should be able to mount that drive with ntfs-3g, as per that how-to, and use it that way. The question is more whether you can discover what ID the USB bus has assigned it, and don't forget it might get a different ID every time you connect it, unless you change to "mount by UUID" or "mount by Label". :P

Yeah my MP3 player uses FAT32 but of course thats flash memory not a hard disk. I'll probably just use that How to then. AS for USB ports thats fine, I only have 4. On my primary rig running windows that would be a nightmare, I have 16 root hubs. (Don't ask. :P)

[Master Chief]

Re: Problems getting my music library transferred to linux...

I don't have any problem accessing an XP NTFS formatted partition on my hard drive in this dual boot Feisty 7.04 system. The Kubuntu partitions are formatted Reiserfs and swap.

I plan on doing a dualboot when I get my new hard drive, because it will be faster and bigger than the ones I've got. But until then I don't have enough disk space. Vista's a hungry beast.

I also don't have any problems reading a USB 2 gig thumb drive -- maybe you could use on as a transfer medium if you still have a windows box.

My biggest thumbdrive is 128 MB.

I also have an Ipod shuffle that is used with Amarok and have used K3B to rip tunes.

I just tried that. It didn't recognize the Sansa.

I'm suspecting your USB port, since you are having problems with two devices on it.

Is it USB 2.0?

I don't think so, but I could be wrong. And anyways its my moms old VIAO, the ports worked fine before. I don't know why they wouldn't now.

[dibl]

Re: Problems getting my music library transferred to linux...

There's a 4GB thumb drive on this page for $30 USD -- that would move some mp3's!

http://www.newegg.com/Store/Category...Memory-Readers

[Master Chief]

Re: Problems getting my music library transferred to linux...

There's a 4GB thumb drive on this page for $30 USD -- that would move some mp3's!

http://www.newegg.com/Store/Category...Memory-Readers

Ya but I'm cheap. Why do you think I liked linux so much to salvage this old PC? :P

[Master Chief]

Re: Problems getting my music library transferred to linux...

http://kubuntuforums.net/forums/index.php?topic=3084679.0

Good luck -- let us know if there are particular problems after you try it.

Ok, its mounted properly and copying. Its gonna take awhile (I dont think this is USB 2.0...lol) so hopefully it'l hold out.

[dibl]

Re: Problems getting my music library transferred to linux...

Great -- nice work!

[Master Chief]

Re: Problems getting my music library transferred to linux...

OK, all done. I unmounted it and shut off the drive, but the icon is still sitting in Media.

[dibl]

Re: Problems getting my music library transferred to linux...

Probably if you click the icon, it will disappear, since there's nothing there now.

I have a 8GB thumb drive that I leave plugged in 90% of the time, and I use "mount by UUID" to keep it from changing. If you think you want to leave that USB drive connected to your Linux box most of the time, that is something you could do.

[Master Chief]

Re: Problems getting my music library transferred to linux...

Probably if you click the icon, it will disappear, since there's nothing there now.

I have a 8GB thumb drive that I leave plugged in 90% of the time, and I use "mount by UUID" to keep it from changing. If you think you want to leave that USB drive connected to your Linux box most of the time, that is something you could do.

No way. This thing gets f'ing hot. LOL

Seriously, I ran it all day once and I swear on a stack of bibles I baked a cookie on it.

[gilf]

Re: Problems getting my music library transferred to linux...

If you mean the laptop gets hot rather than the thumb drive (and I'm guessing that because it would be an awfully small cookie on a thumb drive!), and it's an old laptop, the most likely cause of the excess heat is a big furball in the fan plenum, and dried up heatsink compound on the MPU.

This may be one of the causes of your problems in file transfers from USB devices (besides the non USB 2.0 and the mounting setup). In a big file transfer load, the puter and power supply is working extra hard. Plus you are driving the USB port with some power. All that heat tends to make the CPU and RAM more flaky. Sometimes it will blank just one RAM location -- but that's all it needs to make things work sort-of, but not completely. Like file saves. Nothing worse than a sort-of file save. Kinda save. Not good.

This kind of thing tends to get the OS blamed for intermittent problems, without good explanations.

Next time you are running hot, try booting up the Kubuntu live cd disk and running the memory test for awhile -- see what you get.

If you feel competent to open and mess with your laptop, Cclean out the fan housing, and reapply heat sink compound between the cooler and CPU (if it uses any).