Stephan Rose wrote:
Subject: Apparently SD Card readers and forks don't mix.
> ...who would have thought?

Who indeed? Any sane person.

> So when I spoke to my friend who owns the bar about it, he did
> mention to me that someone used an SD card and couldn't figure out
> how to remove it..so he used a fork to force the card out, bending
> and destroying pins in the process.

Since this is a bar computer apparently accessible by zanykooks, while
you/we are working on the cardreader problem, we should also be sure to
prepare for the possibility that someone is going to jam an electronic
cattle prod or a taser into the USB port.


--
Mike Easter

On Friday 07 Sep 2007 22:08 Stephan Rose licked a pencil and jotted:

> ...who would have thought?
>
> I recently installed Ubuntu on a computer at a local bar as the XP install
> went down the crapper. We were having some minor weird issues though with
> the touchpad randomly behaving really weird. Mouse cursor jumping, clicks
> when there shouldn't be clicks, etc. Plus the machine overall was too
> slow.
>
> So after playing around with it for a while, and looking in the error
> logs, I discovered the problem. The system was hammering the SD card
> reader every few milliseconds trying to deal with a card it thought it
> was inserted. No card was inserted though.
>
> So when I spoke to my friend who owns the bar about it, he did mention to
> me that someone used an SD card and couldn't figure out how to remove
> it..so he used a fork to force the card out, bending and destroying pins
> in the process. Needless to say some pins were touching and causing the
> above problems. Once I moved the bent pins out of the way, machine became
> 100% trouble free.
>
> Now my question is, is there any way to permanently disable the SD/MMC
> card reader? So that if someone tries to insert a card, or if the pins
> happen to randomly touch again, the problem does not re-occur? The problem
> doesn't happen until Ubuntu actually activates the reader (as indicated by
> the status LED of the reader). So if Ubuntu doesn't activate the reader
> and just ignores it, the pins can touch all they want...won't be an issue.
>
> Google hasn't been much of any help as all references on google deal with
> trying to get SD card readers working, not with disabling them. =)
>
> I already tried to blacklist some SD card related modules while the
> problem was still occurring before actually resorting to physical means of
> unbending pins, but no matter what modules I blacklisted it didn't make a
> difference.
>
> Thanks,
>

I would be tempted to squirt a load of epoxy resin into the slot to keep the
pins where they are and then blank off the front to stop anyone trying to
use it and fubaring their card, or at least unplugging the leads from the
mobo - if applicable, or both.

I presume the reader is integrated rather than one of those front panels
that fit into a spare drive bay so cant be completely removed?

David
--
Knowledge is of two kinds: we know a subject ourselves, or we know where we
can find information upon it. (Samuel Johnson)
Only the mediocre are always at their best. (Jean Giraudoux)
(Reply address genuine - Checked occasionally)

On Fri, 07 Sep 2007 21:57:10 +0000, Baldylocks-Ubuntu wrote:

> On Friday 07 Sep 2007 22:08 Stephan Rose licked a pencil and jotted:
>
>> ...who would have thought?
>>
>> I recently installed Ubuntu on a computer at a local bar as the XP install
>> went down the crapper. We were having some minor weird issues though with
>> the touchpad randomly behaving really weird. Mouse cursor jumping, clicks
>> when there shouldn't be clicks, etc. Plus the machine overall was too
>> slow.
>>
>> So after playing around with it for a while, and looking in the error
>> logs, I discovered the problem. The system was hammering the SD card
>> reader every few milliseconds trying to deal with a card it thought it
>> was inserted. No card was inserted though.
>>
>> So when I spoke to my friend who owns the bar about it, he did mention to
>> me that someone used an SD card and couldn't figure out how to remove
>> it..so he used a fork to force the card out, bending and destroying pins
>> in the process. Needless to say some pins were touching and causing the
>> above problems. Once I moved the bent pins out of the way, machine became
>> 100% trouble free.
>>
>> Now my question is, is there any way to permanently disable the SD/MMC
>> card reader? So that if someone tries to insert a card, or if the pins
>> happen to randomly touch again, the problem does not re-occur? The problem
>> doesn't happen until Ubuntu actually activates the reader (as indicated by
>> the status LED of the reader). So if Ubuntu doesn't activate the reader
>> and just ignores it, the pins can touch all they want...won't be an issue.
>>
>> Google hasn't been much of any help as all references on google deal with
>> trying to get SD card readers working, not with disabling them. =)
>>
>> I already tried to blacklist some SD card related modules while the
>> problem was still occurring before actually resorting to physical means of
>> unbending pins, but no matter what modules I blacklisted it didn't make a
>> difference.
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>
> I would be tempted to squirt a load of epoxy resin into the slot to keep the
> pins where they are and then blank off the front to stop anyone trying to
> use it and fubaring their card, or at least unplugging the leads from the
> mobo - if applicable, or both.

I've had a similar thought myself as well.

>
> I presume the reader is integrated rather than one of those front panels
> that fit into a spare drive bay so cant be completely removed?

Yea it's a laptop actually so to get at the card reader I'd need to take
the whole laptop apart...

--
Stephan
2003 Yamaha R6

君のこと思い出す日なんてないのは
君のこと忘れたときがないから

On Fri, 07 Sep 2007 16:08:51 -0500 Stephan Rose
wrote:



> Now my question is, is there any way to permanently disable the SD/MMC
> card reader? So that if someone tries to insert a card, or if the pins
> happen to randomly touch again, the problem does not re-occur? The



Are these of any use?

http://forum.tabletpcreview.com/showthread.php?t=4630

http://www.motherboardpoint.com/t259...wn-device.html

P.S. *Loving* learning Japanese!!! (:

--
Little Girl

There is no spoon.

Stephan Rose schreef:
> ...who would have thought?
>
> I recently installed Ubuntu on a computer at a local bar as the XP install
> went down the crapper. We were having some minor weird issues though with
> the touchpad randomly behaving really weird. Mouse cursor jumping, clicks
> when there shouldn't be clicks, etc. Plus the machine overall was too
> slow.
>
> So after playing around with it for a while, and looking in the error
> logs, I discovered the problem. The system was hammering the SD card
> reader every few milliseconds trying to deal with a card it thought it
> was inserted. No card was inserted though.
>
> So when I spoke to my friend who owns the bar about it, he did mention to
> me that someone used an SD card and couldn't figure out how to remove
> it..so he used a fork to force the card out, bending and destroying pins
> in the process. Needless to say some pins were touching and causing the
> above problems. Once I moved the bent pins out of the way, machine became
> 100% trouble free.
>
> Now my question is, is there any way to permanently disable the SD/MMC
> card reader? So that if someone tries to insert a card, or if the pins
> happen to randomly touch again, the problem does not re-occur? The problem
> doesn't happen until Ubuntu actually activates the reader (as indicated by
> the status LED of the reader). So if Ubuntu doesn't activate the reader
> and just ignores it, the pins can touch all they want...won't be an issue.
>
> Google hasn't been much of any help as all references on google deal with
> trying to get SD card readers working, not with disabling them. =)
>
> I already tried to blacklist some SD card related modules while the
> problem was still occurring before actually resorting to physical means of
> unbending pins, but no matter what modules I blacklisted it didn't make a
> difference.
>
> Thanks,
>
Disabling the various services that operate this slot is probably not
going to prevent the physical short circuits that happen to upset the
computer.
So I would look at /only trust a more permanent solution like glueing
something in the slot.

On Fri, 07 Sep 2007 23:12:48 -0400, Little Girl wrote:

> On Fri, 07 Sep 2007 16:08:51 -0500 Stephan Rose
> wrote:
>
>
>
>> Now my question is, is there any way to permanently disable the SD/MMC
>> card reader? So that if someone tries to insert a card, or if the pins
>> happen to randomly touch again, the problem does not re-occur? The
>
>
>
> Are these of any use?
>
> http://forum.tabletpcreview.com/showthread.php?t=4630
>
> http://www.motherboardpoint.com/t259...wn-device.html

Thanks for the links but unfortunately there is no such bios option for
this machine. Matter of fact, I don't think I've ever seen a bios with
fewer options...I was wondering why they even put a bios setup in there to
begin with.

>
> P.S. *Loving* learning Japanese!!! (:
>

Awesome!!! =)


--
Stephan
2003 Yamaha R6

君のこと思い出す日なんてないのは
君のこと忘れたときがないから

On Sat, 08 Sep 2007 10:02:05 +0200, Dirk T. Verbeek wrote:

> Stephan Rose schreef:
>> ...who would have thought?
>>
>> I recently installed Ubuntu on a computer at a local bar as the XP install
>> went down the crapper. We were having some minor weird issues though with
>> the touchpad randomly behaving really weird. Mouse cursor jumping, clicks
>> when there shouldn't be clicks, etc. Plus the machine overall was too
>> slow.
>>
>> So after playing around with it for a while, and looking in the error
>> logs, I discovered the problem. The system was hammering the SD card
>> reader every few milliseconds trying to deal with a card it thought it
>> was inserted. No card was inserted though.
>>
>> So when I spoke to my friend who owns the bar about it, he did mention to
>> me that someone used an SD card and couldn't figure out how to remove
>> it..so he used a fork to force the card out, bending and destroying pins
>> in the process. Needless to say some pins were touching and causing the
>> above problems. Once I moved the bent pins out of the way, machine became
>> 100% trouble free.
>>
>> Now my question is, is there any way to permanently disable the SD/MMC
>> card reader? So that if someone tries to insert a card, or if the pins
>> happen to randomly touch again, the problem does not re-occur? The problem
>> doesn't happen until Ubuntu actually activates the reader (as indicated by
>> the status LED of the reader). So if Ubuntu doesn't activate the reader
>> and just ignores it, the pins can touch all they want...won't be an issue.
>>
>> Google hasn't been much of any help as all references on google deal with
>> trying to get SD card readers working, not with disabling them. =)
>>
>> I already tried to blacklist some SD card related modules while the
>> problem was still occurring before actually resorting to physical means of
>> unbending pins, but no matter what modules I blacklisted it didn't make a
>> difference.
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
> Disabling the various services that operate this slot is probably not
> going to prevent the physical short circuits that happen to upset the
> computer.
> So I would look at /only trust a more permanent solution like glueing
> something in the slot.

While I do agree with you, it's not my own computer so I don't know if
he'll want to do that.

I'll most certainly suggest it though. =)

--
Stephan
2003 Yamaha R6

君のこと思い出す日なんてないのは
君のこと忘れたときがないから

On Sat, 08 Sep 2007 05:35:16 -0500 Stephan Rose
wrote:



> Thanks for the links but unfortunately there is no such bios option
> for this machine. Matter of fact, I don't think I've ever seen a bios
> with fewer options...I was wondering why they even put a bios setup
> in there to begin with.

The Incredible Shrinking BIOS. (:

Apologies in advance if this has already been suggested, but you might
want to take a look at the man page for setpci. I hope it helps!

--
Little Girl

There is no spoon.