Ubuntu
util-linux package

special device /dev/fd0 does not exist

Bug #17343 reported by Jonathon Paarlberg on 2005-05-22

This bug affects 1 person

Affects		Status	Importance	Assigned to	Milestone
	util-linux (Ubuntu)	Won't Fix	High	Unassigned
Nominated for Intrepid by Jari J. Lehtinen

Bug Description

Hello. 'Totally new to Ubuntu. 'Haven't used console type programming
interface since Apple IIE in junior high school.

O.K.?

'Just installed Ubuntu onto a used Compaq Presario 700 laptop I bought for my
wife; it had been a Windows XP machine but was infected with multiple viruses
whose extraction caused a total OS crash. I'm impressed with Ubuntu Linux!
We're up and running right now! However, there are a few problems that I hope
we can work out quickly. This is the first and most important: I have a floppy
drive, but I guess Ubuntu hasn't found a driver for it -- it says "special
device /dev/fd0 does not exist."

My wife has a bunch of files on floppy that she needs to be able to read.

Can anyone help me?

Revision history for this message

Fabio Massimo Di Nitto (fabbione) wrote on 2005-08-25:

On a fresh boot, please issue the following commands:

lsmod | grep floppy > report
dmesg >> report

and attach the report file to this bug.

Thanks
Fabio

Revision history for this message

Ian Jackson (ijackson) wrote on 2005-10-04:

Please reopen the report, with the requested information, if the problem
persists in Breezy.

Also, please read `How to Report Bugs Effectively',
http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/bugs.html.

Revision history for this message

niranjan (niranjan) wrote on 2006-03-15:

special device /dev/fd0 does not exist Edit (16.0 KiB, text/plain)

output of lsmod | grep floppy and dmesg is attached

Revision history for this message

niranjan (niranjan) wrote on 2006-03-15: non-working floppy in Disks Manager

non-working floppy in Disks Manager Edit (86.3 KiB, image/png)

bug # 17343

alienexplorers (dfsjr47) on 2008-09-10

Changed in util-linux:
status:	Invalid → New

Revision history for this message

alienexplorers (dfsjr47) wrote on 2008-09-10:

report Edit (23.1 KiB, text/plain)

Not able to add floppy disk. Device /dev/fd0 does not exist in /dev directory.

Revision history for this message

Jesse N. Richardson (richardson183) wrote on 2008-11-15:

All you must do is, open a terminal and type in "sudo modprobe floppy". That should fix the problem.

Changed in util-linux:
status:	New → In Progress

Revision history for this message

Jari J. Lehtinen (jari-j-lehtinen-gmail) wrote on 2008-11-18:

report Edit (124.5 KiB, text/plain)

In intrepid with Gnome, adding module floppy (with modprobe or as an inserted line in /etc/modules for permanent use) seems not to be enough. When you click "Places > Floppy" the drive rotates for a while but the floppy does not get mounted.

Xubuntu intrepid recognized floppies after I changed the fs-type from auto to vfat in /etc/fstab.

What an earth does the menu item "Places > Floppy" and how to change it's properties in Gnome.

I could force the floppy to be read in Gnome with command "sudo mount -a". Remaining trouble was, that I had not enough rights to unmount it without root privileges.

Hello developers, there are still a markable number of people using floppies, especially the elder ones. These kind of things should work out of the box. Get some floppy drives to keep this thing in mind.

Yours

Jari J. Lehtinen
an elder PC-pro from Turku, Finland

Revision history for this message

Javier Martin (Habbit) (habbit) wrote on 2009-02-04:

What I don't get is why the "floppy" module is not automatically loaded in the Intrepid kernel. I understand that virtually no laptops and consistently fewer desktops include floppy drives nowadays, but it's a 76 KiB driver, for the sake of the FSM! I think that it should be loaded by default in the following cases _at the very least_:
1. Upgrades from Hardy et al: these versions did have it enabled, so the disappearance of their floppy drive can be anything to users, from puzzling to annoying.
2. New installations, if there is a floppy drive detected: the LiveCD should load the driver so that the installer could check if there are any floppy drives
Also, any required drivers should be auto-loaded if an USB floppy drive is connected, of course.

Revision history for this message

Sergio Zanchetta (primes2h) wrote on 2009-11-26:

This is a very old bug, related to Hoary 5.04, that is not supported anymore.

Intrepid floppy issue has been fixed in Jaunty Jackalope.
In Karmic there is a floppy problem being examined bug #441835.

So closing this.