[K12OSN] Selective floppy access ???

[norbert]

rgibson57 at earthlink.net wrote:

> norbert wrote:
>
>> Hi,
>>
>> We're starting to encounter a problem with the floppyd function.
>> Recently, without there being any changes to the system cedrtain
>> thin-client cannot access the local floppy drive. Message is permission
>> denied, but when I check both the lts.conf and the workstation
>> permissions these are no different from the other workstation that can
>> access the local floppy....... any suggestions
>> K12LTSP V4.0.1
>> Server P-IV 2.8GHz, 2GB, 2x 80GB SATA HD
>> Workstations - Compaq P-I mix of 5175 to 5166
>> NIC 3-Com 905
>>
>> and no its not a certain box but a mix of ws's..... ?
>>
>> thks
>> norbert
>>
> I had what sounds like a similar problem last week. I spent a couple 
> of hours trying to track down the problem. Freaking out thinking 
> something was wrong building-wide. I finally decided it was bad 
> floppies. The floppies in question wouldn't work in the server, or any 
> Windows machines either. I formatted on the teachers windows machine a 
> blank floppy and went to the thin clients that seemed to be having 
> problems (with the two previous floppies). The new formatted floppy 
> worked fine, copied back and forth, logged into the next machine, 
> copied back and forth. Then, later the lab teacher told me that when a 
> student brings in a bad floppy and has access problems, and she gets 
> the permission denied message, she finds she must reboot the thin 
> client for any floppy to work. (?)
>
> I chalked it off to the fact that in my experience about a third of 
> any given box of floppies is bad right off the shelf. I always format 
> a floppy before I use it, but most people may not do that.We have one 
> linux workstation in the lab with USB ports in the front panel and the 
> kids can log into that machine with a USB key and copy their stuff to 
> their homes. We purchased some USB keys (watch for sales and rebates) 
> and check them out like library books for kids who can't email their 
> work to themselves because they don't have internet access, or if they 
> are working on something big. The USB keys seem to be much more 
> reliable than floppies. (We don't have any clients with USB ports, so 
> I went and bought a newer case so the ports would be on the front with 
> easy access just for the kids.)
>
> Rita Gibson
> RMSEL Tech
>
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Hi Rita,

Thank you for the response, I did consider bad floppies, but discounted 
that when those same floppies were read without problems on other 
clients. Further to eliminate the possibility that the drives are we 
tested with new drives and the same problem appeared. The strangest is 
that most of the WS use a boot floppy.
I agree using USB would be great but the school doesn't have budgets to 
swap them out ...

thanks
norbert