DVD-drive won’t work after kernel update to 2.6.20-16

Posted on November 5, 2008 | Category: dvd drive, kernel problem

Apologies for the long absence from this blog, especially as we now have Intrepid Ibex! I wasn’t well for a while, but I’m catching up now.
It seems a lot of people were hit by an update to the linux kernel which disabled their dvd drives. I was one of them and it’s been difficult to find the solution, but this one from Merlin on Ubuntu Forums
seems to work for me – at last!

Open your fstab
sudo gedit /etc/fstab
and follow these instructions by Merlin

Try commenting out all the other lines referring to your cd drive

and adding

/dev/hdb /media/cdrom0 udf,iso9660 user,noauto 0 0

Good luck!

-merlin

It worked for me, Merlin, thanks. As I like to buy a disc to upgrade, rather than through update manager, I can now proceed to install Intrepid Ibex.

» Filed Under dvd drive, kernel problem

2 Responses to “DVD-drive won’t work after kernel update to 2.6.20-16”

1. Jason Says:
   March 17th, 2009 at 10:30 pm

   I use Linux Mint x64. I have been without a working dvd drive for 3 months. I have looked and looked. This worked for me! Btw I like your blog; I converted to linux after vista crashed on a my laptop and hard drive in the same week. I started with ubuntu but have found linux mint (based on ubuntu) and absolute gem.

   ps ubuntu unleashed (blog) has some neat tricks.

2. Philip Says:
   March 17th, 2009 at 10:45 pm

   Thanks for commenting – and for the compliment, Jason. Delighted this worked for you.
   Linux Mint is intriguing but I’ve found Intrepid Ibex to be a gem, too. Maybe when I’ve more time on my hands I’ll try Mint for the fun of it.
   Thanks for the tip about ubuntu unleashed. I’ve subscribed.

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