iAudio5 strange problem with SuSE linux

[Jose Luis Diaz]

Hello,

I use several computers, some have Windows, some Linux (even with different distributions and versions). I have experience with pluggable USB media storage (I have a card reader, a digital camera and a thumb drive, and never experienced any problem with them).

Now, when I plug my new iAudio5, I get an strange problem. The kernel detects the new device, but complains about "no disk inserted". If I try to manually mount the new drive, the command hangs. If I try to fdisk the new device, the command also hangs. Here is a dump of my /var/log/messages:

Jan 21 21:29:05 kernel: usb 2-1.1: new full speed USB device using address 67
Jan 21 21:29:05 kernel: usb 2-1.1: Product: iAUDIO 5
Jan 21 21:29:05 kernel: usb 2-1.1: Manufacturer: COWON
Jan 21 21:29:05 kernel: usb 2-1.1: SerialNumber: 0002F69DC0C1C914
Jan 21 21:29:05 kernel: scsi2 : SCSI emulation for USB Mass Storage devices
Jan 21 21:29:06 kernel:   Vendor: COWON     Model: iAUDIO 5 Rev: 0100
Jan 21 21:29:06 kernel:   Type:   Direct-Access    ANSI SCSI revision: 02
Jan 21 21:29:06 kernel: SCSI device sde: 1010176 512-byte hdwr sectors (517 MB)
Jan 21 21:29:06 kernel: sde: Write Protect is off
Jan 21 21:29:06 kernel: sde: Mode Sense: 38 00 00 00
Jan 21 21:29:06 kernel: sde: assuming drive cache: write through
Jan 21 21:29:06 kernel: SCSI device sde: 1010176 512-byte hdwr sectors (517 MB)
Jan 21 21:29:06 kernel: sde: Write Protect is off
Jan 21 21:29:06 kernel: sde: Mode Sense: 38 00 00 00
Jan 21 21:29:06 kernel: sde: assuming drive cache: write through
Jan 21 21:29:06 kernel:  sde: sde1
Jan 21 21:29:06 kernel: Attached scsi removable disk sde at scsi2, channel 0, id 0, lun 0
Jan 21 21:29:06 kernel: Attached scsi generic sg4 at scsi2, channel 0, id 0, lun 0,  type 0
Jan 21 21:29:06 kernel: USB Mass Storage device found at 67
Jan 21 21:29:08 kernel: Device not ready.  Make sure there is a disc in the drive.
Jan 21 21:29:08 last message repeated 6 times
Jan 21 21:29:16 /etc/dev.d/block/50-hwscan.dev[23751]: new block device /block/sde/sde1
Jan 21 21:29:16 /etc/dev.d/block/50-hwscan.dev[23752]: new block device /block/sde
Jan 21 21:29:16 /etc/dev.d/block/51-subfs.dev[23767]: mount block device /block/sde/sde1
Jan 21 21:29:16 /etc/dev.d/block/51-subfs.dev[23773]: mount block device /block/sde

Apparently, the drive is correctly detected. However, the device /dev/sde does not respond, and the partition /dev/sde1 is not accesible. When I try to manually mount it (mount /dev/sde1 /media/iaudio), the following messages appear in the log:

Jan 21 21:42:35 kernel: usb 2-1.4: control timeout on ep0out
Jan 21 21:42:36 kernel: usb 2-1.4: device not accepting address 26, error -71

As I said above, I have no problem with other USB drives, so apparently it is not a problem with my linux distribution (SuSE 9.2, linux kernel 2.6.8). However, I restarted the machine with Knoppix, and in this case the iAudio5 automounted without problem, so it appears to be a problem with my linux, after all. I know that my SuSE is a bit obsolete, but I succesfully mounted the iAudio5 in other older linux distros (for example, a Mandrake with a kernel version 2.4.8).

Anyone has a clue about what is happening? Can somebody give me any direction about where to ask?

PS: The firmware version of the iAudio was 1.20.e

UPDATE: I just updated the firmware to the latest version (1.41.e), but the problem persists.

Thank you,
--JL Diaz

[malacoda]

Last week I got a U3.

After opening the package and letting it charge for about 2 hrs (not a complete charge) I booted into Kubuntu to try the player out. The device was detected but when Kub tried to automount it said 'could not mount, could not detemine filesystem type. Nothing I tried worked. I tried it in Windows and it worked fine. So I left it in to finish charging and walked away frustrated.

When I got home from work the next day I decided to try a different disto. I booted into FC4, it was recognized, I was able to mount it, copy to it, unmount all w/o problem and the song I copied played just fine. So, I rebooted into Kubuntu and tried it again. Kubuntu automounted it just fine, I copied songs to it, unmounted, and they played just fine. I immediately repeated the process a few more times to make sure everything was fine and it worked each time. So I dismissed the first failed effort as a fluke.

Well, being busy w/ a lot of work I left the player sit idle until this evening. I booted into Kubuntu, plugged it in, and the automount failed... same message as last time.

My suspicion now is that, for some reason, linux can't mount the U3 while it's charging, only when it's fully charged (no idea why). In order to prove this I've tried mounting it in both Kub and FC4 and neither was succesful. I'm now waiting for the player to finish charging so I can try mounting again.

If this proves true and I found more about it, or better yet how to fix it, I'll post back here. Please post back if you find anything regard the issue you're having... they may be linked.

regards,
Malac