[Odyssey]

I have installed a NEC DVD+/-RW ND-3550A into my Ubunut 5.04, found the device as /dev/hdd, mounted it at /mnt/dvdrw. It will read a CD, but when I put a blank dvd+rw into the drive and try to mount it with

sudo mount /dev/hdd /mnt/dvdrw

I get the message:

mount: block device /dev/hdd is write-protected, mounting read-only
mount: you must specify the filesystem type

The blank DVD surely is not write-protected. What am I doing wrong? TIA

 

[Odyssey]

Does anyone have a URL for a tutorial on writing to DVD's that is written in language comprehensible by newbies and that they can recommend? Thanks.

 

[Odyssey]

OK, getting there. Have learned that one doesn't mount dvd's (disks) and software is needed to write, so downloaded k3b which d/l'd, installed, and worked about as well as one could possibly hope. Have now written my /home folder to dvd, tested the dvd by opening a few files at random, and am now ready to repartition (/, /root, and /home), then install Ubuntu 6.06.

Two questions. One is that all the files written to the dvd will be write protected, so when I copy them to the new /home partition, can someone give me some guidance as to the most effective way to do this, also changing the RO to RW along the way?

Secondly, before I do the above, does anyone see any:

"Have you.....'s", "Are you.....'s", "By the way,....'s" and similar that they would kindly share with me before irreversible things start happening. TIA.

 

[Odyssey]

It sure is lonely here.

 

[fenderfreek]

I'm not quite sure what you're asking for help with. Could you elaborate? If you're backing up for the purpose of upgrading, no repartitioning is necessary. Just do

sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

to get the packages for the latest release.

 

[Odyssey]

ff, thanks for your interest.

Two questions. One is that all the files written to the dvd will be write protected, so when I copy them to the new /home partition, can someone give me some guidance as to the most effective way to do this, also changing the RO to RW along the way?

and

"Have you.....'s", "Are you.....'s", "By the way,....'s" and similar that they would kindly share with me before irreversible things start happening. TIA.

Granted that the latter may have been less than crystal clear, I meant to ask for the sort of guidance that comes in the form of: "well, if you had done [this process] this way instead of the way you did, you could have avoided this problem". Usually the reason that this guidance isn't given in advance of doing something is that the perpetrator doesn't explain what he is going to do and ask for said guidance in advance. I'm asking.

As to other questions, I feel relatively confident that, in answer to the first post, someone could have taken a few seconds to advise me that you don't mount the blank dvd, but just run a burning application which will do the necessaries. I eventually found the answer, but surely this was not an unacceptable question to post and to hope for guidance on?

 

[Solanth]

i might suggest trying K3b