[SOLVED} If your Ereader (or other usb device ? perhaps) suddenly is behaving as READ ONLY then...

[nick_nick]

6-2-2023 Apart from trying different cables and different e readers which all show the same problem, there is a good chance that the particular computer usb port is 'somehow problematic' so TRY a different usb port !
that was the problem with my KOBO ereader described below yesterday.
What made it more difficult to imagine what could be wrong was
1. the KOBO support who told me Linux is no longer supported ,,,
2. the fact that linux shows the Ereader as owned by rout without being able to change permissions while at the same time the usb port is working ok for other usb sticks , hard disks etc.
3. my limited imagination as to what may have been wrong


Thanks to rene for his support which kept me trying !



I had bought 2 such devices (for myself+wife) almost 2 years ago and everything worked very well.
One week ago I noticed that it could not connect to the computer but is only charging. I checked with my wife's cable but got the same result , then checked my wife's device ... same.
Computer detected => press connect => connected and charging ... but ... all directories are read only and Caliber can not see it , so no more books can be added.

Code: Select all

nk@nk-LIFEBOOK-E736:/mnt/pci-0000:00:14.0-usb-0:2:1.0-scsi-0:0:0:0$ ls -lah
total 276K
drwxr-xr-x 21 root root 4,0K Jan  1  1970  .
drwxr-xr-x  3 root root 4,0K Jun 24  2020  ..
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root 4,0K Oct 14  2021  .adobe-digital-editions
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root 4,0K Oct 14  2021 'Attenborough, David'
drwxr-xr-x  3 root root 4,0K Oct 16  2021 'Digital Editions'
-rwxr-xr-x  1 root root  304 Dec 25  2021  driveinfo.calibre
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root 4,0K Oct 14  2021 'Fung, Jason'
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root 4,0K Oct 14  2021 'Fung, Jason & Moore, Jimmy'
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root 4,0K Oct 14  2021 'John, Elton'
drwxr-xr-x  9 root root 4,0K Feb  5 12:12  .kobo
drwxr-xr-x 67 root root 4,0K Jan 24 19:15  .kobo-images
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root 4,0K Oct 15  2021 'Kuriake, Goudele'
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root 4,0K Oct 14  2021 'Lee, Harper'
-rwxr-xr-x  1 root root 187K Dec 25  2021  metadata.calibre
drwxr-xr-x  3 root root 4,0K Jan 19 13:58 'Mindfulness for Beginners - Reclaiming the Present Moment--and Your Life by Jon Kabat-Zinn'
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root 4,0K Jan 11 19:44 'Mindfulness Pocketbook - Little Exercises for a Calmer Life'
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root 4,0K Oct 14  2021 'Murakami, Haruki'
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root 4,0K Oct 14  2021 'Obama, Barack'
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root 4,0K Dec 14 18:59 'The Little Book of Mindfulness'
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root 4,0K Jan 19 14:03 'The Little Book of Mindfulness by Patrizia Collard EPUB'
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root 4,0K Dec 25  2021 'Thompson, Rob'
drwxr-xr-x  4 root root 4,0K Jan 19 13:59  .Trash-1000
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root 4,0K Oct 31  2021  Unknown

Any ideas how to fix this problem ?

Extra 'silly' question =? If anybody has Google Chromebook , could this be used as an ereader without getting a headache since it has no e ink

or any other device except ereaders (<300 euro) which can be used as a book ereader ?

$ sudo chmod o-rwx 'John, Elton'
chmod: cannot access 'John, Elton': No such file or directory

but 'John, Elton' accepted as directory with cd 'John, Elton'
nk@nk-LIFEBOOK-E736:/mnt/pci-0000:00:14.0-usb-0:2:1.0-scsi-0:0:0:0$ cd 'John, Elton'
nk@nk-LIFEBOOK-E736:/mnt/pci-0000:00:14.0-usb-0:2:1.0-scsi-0:0:0:0/John, Elton$

[nick_nick]

Kobo support say that linux is not supported
but
it worked with no problems for almost 2 years ... with linuxmint...

Never again KOBO ereaders for me.

[diabolicbg]

I'm not sure if it would work with Kobo, but you could try what I do with Kindle. I connect the book to the computer with a cable and put the books into it via copy/paste. Of course, the books have to be in the proper format. I personally use .txt.

[nick_nick]

Hi diabolicbg ,
paste is no longer an option, everything is read only as you can see in the code of my first post.

What you are saying I was able to do as long as the device was identified as Kobo ereader ... now it is identified as usb with all directories read only.

How long do you have your kindle ?

[diabolicbg]

paste is no longer an option, everything is read only as you can see in the code of my first post.

How long do you have your kindle ?

I've had my reader over 10 years, and I bought it used. My books are in my Documents folder. When you open the reader in LM, you can try highlighting your folder and right-clicking, selecting Properties - Permissions and try to change the permissions to access the folder as Owner. In my case they are Read and Write.

[nick_nick]

right click => properties on the device => properties tab
shows folder access root => create and delete without having a popup list and telling me at the bottom that I am not the owner so I can not change permissions ...
Also when I right click on the device in nemo I can't find the option open as root.

[nick_nick]

Which kindle model do you have for 10 years ? the battery is still ok ?

[rene]

It is rather debatable what you are trying to do with that sudo chmod o-rwx: this would remove read/write/exec permission ("exec permission" for directories = "access permission").

Your listing is showing that all is accessible to everyone and writable to user "root", i.e., via sudo -- and that it is user root is no doubt since user "root" is the mounting user: you have the device mounted on a very strange, system-wide location /mnt/pci-0000:00:14.0-usb-0:2:1.0-scsi-0:0:0:0 whereas it would normally mount under a user-directory /media/nk/ (or in fact under /run/user) and as your user.

I.e., the device is undoubtedly completely fine and the only thing that is not is your system and/or how you try to access the device. If it auto-mounted there upon connect, did you e.g. use the "Disks" program to have it mount under /mnt? Is there a line describing the device in the text file /etc/fstab? If that's the issue you just need to remove that to again have it mount as your user.

Note once again this this is not going to be a device issue.

[diabolicbg]

Which kindle model do you have for 10 years ? the battery is still ok ?

Amazon Kindle 3G from March 2011. The battery still lasts 2 weeks at an average of 4-5 hours of reading per day.

[rene]

... although you should of course never buy a Kindle unless you're willing to be walled-in by the Amazon garden. Kobo does regular epub.

By the way just now testing with a Libra H2O and, yes, it normally auto-mounts simply under /media/<you> and as vfat on USB-storage

Code: Select all

/dev/sdg on /media/rene/KOBOeReader type vfat (rw,nosuid,nodev,relatime,uid=1000,gid=1000,fmask=0022,dmask=0022,codepage=437,iocharset=iso8859-1,shortname=mixed,showexec,utf8,flush,errors=remount-ro,uhelper=udisks2)

Whatever you did to in your case make it not do so: please undo such.

As also reflected in my first line, I like Kobo a lot more than any alternative, most certainly as a Linux user, and have seen and responded to a few of these exact types of messages, i.e., with that immediate "never again!" stuff, even in cases where there is absolutely nothing the matter other than simple user error/ignorance. Why is that? Kobo is the as far as software and to a high degree hardware is concerned far best option for people that value some type of software-independence -- such as most Linux users -- yet Kobo is somehow (in some parts of the world?) seen as a mere "alternative" or something. Yes, it's an alternative -- to vile walled-gardens such as Amazon.

And specifically the Libra H2O is a great device. As said -- please fix whatever it is that you did to your computer so as to have this issue: it's nothing to do with the device as such.

[diabolicbg]

Why is that? Kobo is the as far as software and to a high degree hardware is concerned far best option for people that value some type of software-independence -- such as most Linux users -- yet Kobo is somehow (in some parts of the world?) seen as a mere "alternative" or something. Yes, it's an alternative -- to vile walled-gardens such as Amazon.

For me, Amazon is not a problem. I bought the reader for 60 Euro, together with the case. As for books, we have a huge library of scanned books in Bulgarian, where I can download and read for free. I have not given 1 cent to amazon.

[nick_nick]

Hi rene, I didn't do anything to it, it was working perfectly for 2 years identified as Kobo ereader, then suddenly it was identified as usb with no write permission, so YES at that point i did a software update just in case this would fix it.

How long have you got your Kobo and what model ?

[rene]

I've had multiple Kobo models and am now since... what is it... 3 years or so very happy with the Libra H2O. Which by the way just now updated itself so is now also on the current firmware.

Trust me; it's nothing to do with the device, and the device mounting in /mnt says that you knowingly or unknowingly did something to make that happen. As I said, check /etc/fstab. The only thing that's happening is that it's mounting as root and not as your user; all is fine device-sides.

[EDIT] If you by the do not believe me still even after checking /etc/fstab, boot a Mint Live/Installer system and then plug it in. You will see it mount as your user again and can as such conclude that the issue is with the system. Added since I'm off and can't assist further for 24+ hours.

[rene]

For me, Amazon is not a problem.

Well, okay, I'll specify, Amazon is a vile walled-garden monopolist -- iff you in fact buy ebooks

Touchy on the subject. There have as said over the years been almost identically formulated such "never again" anti-Kobo posts while there's not just nothing wrong with Kobo but while they're the top-choice for anyone that takes anti-DRM/anti-EvilTech even halfway serious.

And frankly, if one doesn't take anti-EvilTech halfway serious, what the <bleep> is one doing torturing oneself using Linux on the desktop in the first place...

[kyphi]

I have used a KOBOeReader in several incarnations for many, many years. My last one was bought nearly 7 years ago (battery is fine).
All books show me as owner - not root. (ls -l /media/kyphi/KOBOeReader)
The device is mounted in /media.

If you have all your present book collection indexed in Calibre, you have nothing to lose by activating the reset button as advised by KOBO. Look for a small hole on your KOBO and insert a paper clip until you hear a click. The reset action will culminate in a software update.
When all that is done, replace your books from Calibre. If you need it, use the excellent backup and restore facility in Calibre before you start.

[nick_nick]

see my first post where I have inserted the following 'solution' to my problem

6-2-2023 Apart from trying different cables and different e readers which all show the same problem, there is a good chance that the computer particular usb port is 'somehow problematic' so TRY a different usb port !
that was the problem with my KOBO ereader described below yesterday.
What made it more difficult to imagine what could be wrong was
1. the KOBO support who told me Linux is no longer supported ,,, and
2. the fact that linux shows the Ereader as owned by rout without being able to change permissions while at the same time the usb port is working ok for other usb sticks , hard disks etc.
3. my limited imagination as to what may have been wrong

Thanks to rene for his support which kept me trying !

[rene]

Note, once again, that your reader mounted on /mnt/pci-0000:00:14.0-usb-0:2:1.0-scsi-0:0:0:0, i.e., with the specific USB port encoded in its identifier. I.e., the only things that's changed now is that it in the other USB port is no longer recognized as the device to mount on that /mnt directory; the issue itself still is you having a rule where the device in that port is mounted on that location. I.e., assuming you're not: why are you not simply checking /etc/fstab as advised a few times now? (the really only other option is a custom udev rule)

[nick_nick]

fstab when ereader is plugged to the 'good' usb port
is exactly the same when the ereader is plugged to the 'bad' usb port
and exactly the same when a usb stick is plugged to the 'bad' usb port with the stick working perfectly

UUID=da13406f-523a-4f15-89b9-e99b200367ca / ext4 errors=remount-ro 0 1
UUID=3C42-58D6 /boot/efi vfat umask=0077 0 1
/swapfile none swap sw 0 0
/dev/disk/by-path/pci-0000:00:14.0-usb-0:2:1.0-scsi-0:0:0:0 /mnt/pci-0000:00:14.0-usb-0:2:1.0-scsi-0:0:0:0 auto nosuid,nodev,nofail,x-gvfs-show,x-gvfs-name=usb 0 0


Is there something in etc/fstab text above which would make us suspect that the usb port can not identify the Ereader as such
and shows it as root owned usb stick ?

[rene]

Yes -- just remove that /dev/disk/by-path line. That is what tells the system to when that device is found mount it on that /mnt path and as root. I.e., as said...

You must have at some time used e.g. Disks to unknowingly generate that line. Now just use e.g. xed admin:///etc/fstab, remove the line and save the file. You can then plug the device into the normal USB port again.

[nick_nick]

I just opened another topic,
viewtopic.php?f=90&t=391105&p=2292572#p2292572

because =>

Good day all, this isn't my day today.
I wanted to change my etc/fstab to correct another problem, so I took a Timeshift snapshot before.

Then I decided that before changing my etc/fstab I could try to restore a previous Timeshift snapshot from 1 month ago in case it restored the correct etc/fstab.

Timeshift finished the dry run and came up with the usual list of restore files BUT when pressing Next it did not respond , so I selected all files (ctrl A) and pressed next which worked for some time and then shut the system and restarted.

From that point LibreOffice 6.4 does not respond when trying to open spreadsheets (it does open text odt files) and so I decided to restore the Timeshift snapshot I created half an hour ago.

Now ... Timeshift does not respond !
I restarted my LM twice but Timeshift does not respond !

Any idea what can I do now ?