[ubuntu-uk] IDE Flash Card Readers - Recommendations

[Tom Bamford]

Hi,

My laptop (Thinkpad) has a CompactFlash slot which is essentially a 
PC-card slot shrunk down. It's on the PCI bus and when you insert a CF 
card it emulates an IDE device. It's hot swappable, but so are the IDE 
controllers for the hard drives in the laptop and in the docking station 
which allows me to pop out a hard drive or optical drive after 
unmounting it.

However, recent versions of Ubuntu have shown all my laptop drives, 
including CF memory cards, as SCSI devices (/dev/sd* as opposed to 
/dev/hd*). My desktop dies a horrible death if I try to do the same with 
one of its hard drives, which are still shown as traditional /dev/hd* 
devices. Hope this helps shed some light.

I'm no expert but I reckon a USB reader would be your best bet for a 
desktop machine, as Lee said most modern motherboards will boot from a 
USB mass storage device.

Regards,
Tom


Ian Pascoe wrote:
> Hi Lee
>
> Thanks.  OK, next question is how do laptops with in built card readers do
> it?
>
> I admit I'm not sure if they are connected to the USB, PCI or IDE .... but
> presuming it's the USB is there anything I need to look out for when looking
> for a card reader, apart from what I've already mentioned?
>
> The ability to boot from a CF card is not on my immiediate horizon, although
> to use it as a place to run apps from may well be.
>
> E
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: ubuntu-uk-bounces at lists.ubuntu.com
> [mailto:ubuntu-uk-bounces at lists.ubuntu.com]On Behalf Of LeeGroups
> Sent: 06 January 2008 15:17
> To: British Ubuntu Talk
> Subject: Re: [ubuntu-uk] IDE Flash Card Readers - Recommendations
>
>
>
>   
>> Hands up, I'm confused!  I'm trying to find myself a Card REader that will
>> specifically take CF and SD cards that I can connect to my IDE that
>>     
> supports
>   
>> hot, err thingy that allows you to take the cards in and out without
>> powering the PC down.  Don't think this feature is supported on Linux yet,
>> but my PC is dual boot and this reader is at the moment to be used with
>>     
> the
>   
>> M$ installation, but I don't want to get hardware that's not going to be
>> Linux compatible.
>>
>> Does anyone have any recommendations?  I primarily want IDE as I intend to
>> hard mount it into one of the drive bays of my home PC.
>>
>> I've looked at Linux Emporium, Amazon, Dabs, LinEx and a few others that I
>> came across, and although I found a lot of readers, none give those
>> reassuring words of Linux / Unix compatible.
>>     
> I'm pretty sure IDE doesn't support hot swapping within it's
> specification...
>
> That said some of the more expensive PCI RAID controller cards, like the
> ones from 3Ware, support it, but it's down to the cards electronics and
> the cards drivers, I doubt any generic motherboard IDE interface will
> let you do this...
>
> The better option may to boot from a USB card reader, most new
> motherboards can do this with a setting in the bios....
>
> Lee
>
>
> --
> ubuntu-uk at lists.ubuntu.com
> https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk
> https://wiki.kubuntu.org/UKTeam/
>   
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