Mandrake Linux 9.2 Destroys CDROM Drive

Warning. Mandrake 9.2 can destroy your LG CDROM Drive. Read the following

Slashdot Story

Newsgroup thread about it

Mandrake Errata Page

Mandrake Linux Errata Page

[ Error scenario: Installing 9.2 and being told unable to install the base system and subsequent reboot reveals that CD-ROM drive is physically dead. Why: According to LG Electronics, their ODD (Optical Disc Drive) products do not support Linux nor do they test with Linux. Unfortunately, many Dell computers (possibly others) come with these CD-ROM drives. Solution: Currently there is no solution or work-around for this issue; it is still under investigation. Damage occurs even when doing a network install. At this point, please do not install Mandrake Linux 9.2 on any computer containing a LG-based CD-ROM drive or it will damage your CD-ROM drive! We are actively looking for a solution to this problem.

Lg drives which work or dont work

fried COMPAQ CRD-8322B(CP1) CRD-8400B (machine: Dell Optiplex gx1) CRD-8400B (machine: IBM PC 300 PL) CDR-8400B(mi) CRD-8400C COMPAQ CRD-8402B LG CRD-8480C (machine: Old Dell XPS T650r) GCR-8481B (machine: Dell Optiplex gx270; rom: 1.06; date: jun 2003) CRD-8482B (machine: Dell Optiplex GX1) GOLDSTAR CDR-8482B (machine: HP Vectra VL400; firmware: 1.01) CRD-8482B (Dell Precision 220, rom: 1.05) LG ???? (machine: HP Vectras VL4xx) GCC 4480B DVD/CD-R/RW/CDROM (firmware 1.00 - upgrading firmware to 1.01 workarounds problem) work LG GMA-4020B DVD-RW LG GCC-4120B CDRW/DVD LG CD-RW CED-8080B DVD/CD-R/RW/CDROM LG CD-RW CED-8120B (motherboard: ASUS K7M) HL-DT-ST GCC-4480B (machine: Shuttle SB 62 G2 - i865/ICH5; firmware 1.01 - WARNING, firmware 1.00 is reported to have the fry problem!) HL-DT-ST RW/DVD GCC-4480B (motherboard: ASUS A7N8X-Deluxe) HL-DT-STDVD-ROM GDR8161B (motherboard: Soyo) HL-DT-ST CD-RW GCE-8240B HL-DT-ST GCE-8481B CD-CDRW (chipset: SIS 651/962) HL-DT-ST CD-ROM GCR-8520B HL-DT-ST GCE-8520B (motherboard: ASUS P4P800)

Nice post. Just got done reading /. about this mess. Sorry I don't have anything constructive to say other than I hope your post saves a few drives.

The question now is:

Who is to blame? Mandrake or LG?

Yeah...Quite a few people have been arguing that. A couple A/C's were saying that if it was XP then Microsoft would get blamed. Being /. and all this idea was quickly dismissed.

I have not seen anything definitive as to what the cause is the possible use of 'flush command'. A few people have made the analogy to setting your refresh rates wrong and frying your monitor. This is actually a non-issue in most modern monitors as their acceptable refresh rates are passed via EDID and will not accept something that is out of range. In this case the hardware people are covering themselves.

I guess we won't know who is at *fault* until more information comes out. I don't personally use Mandrake but I feel real bad for the distro and it's users.

Hmm, didnt catch that article on /. still I installed 9.2 via ftp using a network boot floppy.

Has to be said that I would consider it the hardware manufacurers fault as no software should ever be able to cause irreperable damage to a hardware device, although as this seems to be isolated to mandrake im not so sure.

Thx for posting though as my linux box uses an LG writer.

I've been investigating this. Where did you find your fried/work list?

Originally posted by Xeroid I've been investigating this. Where did you find your fried/work list?

A post in the newsgroup thread.

Thanks.

Does LG stand for logi tech?

Thanks,

d-1

Originally posted by TheKnifeThrower Warning. Mandrake 9.2 can destroy your LG CDROM Drive. Read the following Slashdot Story Newsgroup thread about it Mandrake Errata Page Mandrake Linux Errata Page Lg drives which work or dont work

so what causes the drives to be destroyed? is it a certain command that mandrake sends to those drives and those drives attempt to follow through with it but fail because it is unable to perform it?

i have heard of scanner drivers for linux breaking scanners because they send "bad" (actually, too high) signals to the motors which cause them to break; the signals make the motor work above the speed it should

so just wondering what exactly causes the problem and if it pertains to older versions of mandrake

A new page has been added at Mandrake that covers the LG drive problem:

http://www.mandrakelinux.com/en/lgerrata.php3

The problem was that the kernel would send a FLUSH_CACHE command to the LG CD-ROM drive which would destroy the drive. This is because LG CD-ROM drives are not compliant with the ATAPI specification. The specification does not require an implementation of the FLUSH_CACHE command in the driver, and returning an error (or doing nothing) would have been the correct behaviour for the drive. Likewise, reusing a command is against the specification and LG has reused the FLUSH_CACHE command to modify the firmware of the drive, but they are unwilling to disclose exactly what the command does. Solution: A new kernel (2.4.22-21mdk) has been released that fixes this problem in the kernel, although the CD-ROM devices are still not up to specification. New CDs and ISOs will be available shortly to correct these problems; they will come with the new kernel.

There is also an updated list of LG drives that are affected at the above link.

I will sticky this for a little while to make sure everyone sees it. Thanks.

--jeremy

Originally posted by dolphans1 Does LG stand for logi tech? Thanks, d-1

LG is goldstar

It's been announced in one of the Mandrake mailing lists that updates for this bug have been released. Enjoy!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

_______________________________________________________________________

Mandrake Linux Update Advisory
_______________________________________________________________________

Package name: kernel
Advisory ID: MDKA-2003:021
Date: October 27th, 2003

Affected versions: 9.2
______________________________________________________________________

Problem Description:

A problem was discovered where the kernel would destroy certain LG-
based CD-ROM devices. This problem has been fixed in the kernels
provided and MandrakeSoft encourages everyone to upgrade.

For more information on this particular problem, view the errata
page on this topic available at:

http://www.mandrakelinux.com/en/lgerrata.php3

For full information on updating your kernel, please view the
instructions at:

http://www.mandrakesecure.net/en/kernelupdate.php

New commercial drivers for this kernel will be available at Mandrake
Club shortly.
______________________________________________________________________

Updated Packages:

Mandrake Linux 9.2:
1c718660da91577a483433f92a3dffc7 9.2/RPMS/kernel-2.4.22.21mdk-1-1mdk.i586.rpm
db498188d51dc929516a6339baab50f0 9.2/RPMS/kernel-BOOT-2.4.22.21mdk-1-1mdk.i586.rpm
cab4f8fd6eab503808bfdf62795700d3 9.2/RPMS/kernel-doc-2.4.22-21mdk.i586.rpm
49d0a3f4a513c0703d1ad5c39e890b1d 9.2/RPMS/kernel-enterprise-2.4.22.21mdk-1-1mdk.i586.rpm
b22d9ea8b34bd0bd395b92123909b965 9.2/RPMS/kernel-i686-up-4GB-2.4.22.21mdk-1-1mdk.i586.rpm
f1a893db6a935bc16f855e41d16a68f0 9.2/RPMS/kernel-p3-smp-64GB-2.4.22.21mdk-1-1mdk.i586.rpm
1b0c75780c703929e13d8d9e572d72cf 9.2/RPMS/kernel-secure-2.4.22.21mdk-1-1mdk.i586.rpm
68e0339b3ac8098258683da7e5a503e5 9.2/RPMS/kernel-smp-2.4.22.21mdk-1-1mdk.i586.rpm
ffcfa70f85b682bbb2f927a4f65b3041 9.2/RPMS/kernel-source-2.4.22-21mdk.i586.rpm
287669262ff8a0d4dc6497256d7cf9bd 9.2/SRPMS/kernel-2.4.22.21mdk-1-1mdk.src.rpm
_______________________________________________________________________

To upgrade automatically use MandrakeUpdate or urpmi. The verification
of md5 checksums and GPG signatures is performed automatically for you.

A list of FTP mirrors can be obtained from:

http://www.mandrakesecure.net/en/ftp.php

All packages are signed by MandrakeSoft for security. You can obtain
the GPG public key of the Mandrake Linux Security Team by executing:

gpg --recv-keys --keyserver www.mandrakesecure.net 0x22458A98

Please be aware that sometimes it takes the mirrors a few hours to
update.

You can view other update advisories for Mandrake Linux at:

http://www.mandrakesecure.net/en/advisories/

MandrakeSoft has several security-related mailing list services that
anyone can subscribe to. Information on these lists can be obtained by
visiting:

http://www.mandrakesecure.net/en/mlist.php

If you want to report vulnerabilities, please contact

security_linux-mandrake.com

Type Bits/KeyID Date User ID
pub 1024D/22458A98 2000-07-10 Linux Mandrake Security Team
<security linux-mandrake.com>
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=0dxj
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I have a Pine 40 LG Hitachi CD RW, will/could it effect my CD drive?

I have installed Mandrake 9.2 with it and it doesn't seem to have affected it.

d-1

Originally posted by Ken Ju-On It's been announced in one of the Mandrake mailing lists that updates for this bug have been released. Enjoy! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 _______________________________________________________________________ Mandrake Linux Update Advisory _______________________________________________________________________ Package name: kernel Advisory ID: MDKA-2003:021 Date: October 27th, 2003 Affected versions: 9.2 ______________________________________________________________________ Problem Description: A problem was discovered where the kernel would destroy certain LG- based CD-ROM devices. This problem has been fixed in the kernels provided and MandrakeSoft encourages everyone to upgrade. For more information on this particular problem, view the errata page on this topic available at: http://www.mandrakelinux.com/en/lgerrata.php3 For full information on updating your kernel, please view the instructions at: http://www.mandrakesecure.net/en/kernelupdate.php New commercial drivers for this kernel will be available at Mandrake Club shortly. ______________________________________________________________________ Updated Packages: Mandrake Linux 9.2: 1c718660da91577a483433f92a3dffc7 9.2/RPMS/kernel-2.4.22.21mdk-1-1mdk.i586.rpm db498188d51dc929516a6339baab50f0 9.2/RPMS/kernel-BOOT-2.4.22.21mdk-1-1mdk.i586.rpm cab4f8fd6eab503808bfdf62795700d3 9.2/RPMS/kernel-doc-2.4.22-21mdk.i586.rpm 49d0a3f4a513c0703d1ad5c39e890b1d 9.2/RPMS/kernel-enterprise-2.4.22.21mdk-1-1mdk.i586.rpm b22d9ea8b34bd0bd395b92123909b965 9.2/RPMS/kernel-i686-up-4GB-2.4.22.21mdk-1-1mdk.i586.rpm f1a893db6a935bc16f855e41d16a68f0 9.2/RPMS/kernel-p3-smp-64GB-2.4.22.21mdk-1-1mdk.i586.rpm 1b0c75780c703929e13d8d9e572d72cf 9.2/RPMS/kernel-secure-2.4.22.21mdk-1-1mdk.i586.rpm 68e0339b3ac8098258683da7e5a503e5 9.2/RPMS/kernel-smp-2.4.22.21mdk-1-1mdk.i586.rpm ffcfa70f85b682bbb2f927a4f65b3041 9.2/RPMS/kernel-source-2.4.22-21mdk.i586.rpm 287669262ff8a0d4dc6497256d7cf9bd 9.2/SRPMS/kernel-2.4.22.21mdk-1-1mdk.src.rpm _______________________________________________________________________ To upgrade automatically use MandrakeUpdate or urpmi. The verification of md5 checksums and GPG signatures is performed automatically for you. A list of FTP mirrors can be obtained from: http://www.mandrakesecure.net/en/ftp.php All packages are signed by MandrakeSoft for security. You can obtain the GPG public key of the Mandrake Linux Security Team by executing: gpg --recv-keys --keyserver www.mandrakesecure.net 0x22458A98 Please be aware that sometimes it takes the mirrors a few hours to update. You can view other update advisories for Mandrake Linux at: http://www.mandrakesecure.net/en/advisories/ MandrakeSoft has several security-related mailing list services that anyone can subscribe to. Information on these lists can be obtained by visiting: http://www.mandrakesecure.net/en/mlist.php If you want to report vulnerabilities, please contact security_linux-mandrake.com Type Bits/KeyID Date User ID pub 1024D/22458A98 2000-07-10 Linux Mandrake Security Team <security linux-mandrake.com> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.0.7 (GNU/Linux) iD8DBQE/ngF5mqjQ0CJFipgRAmGuAJ9Z6nOvtGY4OoKHySs5D9yyu58qggCfR4sN UtEexrdcDJmmP9sVOyaKIHg= =0dxj -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------