USB flashdisk on LINUX

Ok or not OK, but we have enter the USB flashdisk era.

Include for LINUX user.

Yeah, we (linux user) often leaved behind in new hardware technology.
Not too behind I guess, cause I can detect pretty good USB device on my UBUNTU hoary hedhodge ( ... is it the correct spell..).

Last night I detect USB card reader (the one we use for handphone MMC.
Some Nokia Handphone detect very well also.
No problem for usual flashdisk ofcourse.
The one problem occured on multi card reader. This device can attach 9 kinds of memory card. Hope this one already OK on the next release of ubuntu.

Fedora Core 4 had been said very nice also in detecting flashdisk. They were not too OK in release FC2.

Knoppix 3.2 could do some good detection, but not as comprehensive as this Ubuntu. Knoppix 3.2 use 2.4.21 Kernel. Knoppix 3.8 must be use higher release kernel and detect much more comprehence.

I'v tried Suse 9.1. Pitty, this Suse release, just exactly the problem, get a difficulty in their USB support. It is because the kernel Suse use for this release. I don't know but they must be get better on next release, haven't they get their reputation on hardware?

Mandrake? 10.0 detect most USB flashdisk. They don't do well on portable USB harddisk. Does ubuntu do that? I haven't tried. Mandrake done well on digital camera. Ubuntu? you can count on that nice distro. Ubuntu will offer you to copy the image on the camera by default. Mandrake 9.1not too complete on detecting USB flashdisk.

today, I learned how to format a USB flashdisk.
Remember fsck, mkfs. Wow, almost forget.
Someone use Knoppix 3.8 with it's QTparted to format USB Flashdisk. I only had the 3.2, and the remaster version on mine erase the QTparted.

So, I tried : mkfs -t vfat -v /dev/sda

The result was: would no do on full-disk device.

Yeah. this flash disk was error. Anyway, why do someone need to format their flashdisk unless it got error?

So, I tried: mkfs /dev/sda. This one default use ext2 file system. Ofcourse it is not very OK. MS Windows does not include detecting Linux file system. Luckly, it doesn't viceversa.
The ext2 also drive me too use only root log on. Yeah, this Ubuntu had it problem in this log in area.

The "mkfs -t vfat /dev/sda" also suggested to use -I. I don't understand how to use this command. Google showed me then. Just add it on the line.

mkfs -t vfat -I -v /dev/sda

It run well. Just need to try on some MS Windows for sure.
I 'll let you know the result.