[Pkg-utopia-maintainers] enable ntfs read/write by default

[Michael Biebl]

Michael Biebl wrote:
> Fathi Boudra wrote:
>> Hi,
>>
>> under KDE3/KDE4, I couldn't  read/write mount my external ntfs drive.
>> I need to mount using console.
>>
>> Kubuntu fixed the issue by adding hal-policy-ntfs-config-write-policy.fdi file 
>> generated by ntfs-config application. They ship this file with 
>> kubuntu-default-settings.
> 
> Could you please attach this file.
> 
>> It's probably more appropriate to ship it with hal (or maybe ntfs-3g).
> 
> I'm not so sure yet. Imho the desktop should set the policy and not hal.
> 
> E.g. under GNOME resp. with gnome-mount mounting ntfs partitions rw with 
> ntfs-3g seem to work fine. So I'm wondering if it's not just a problem 
> of KDE, not passing the correct mount flags to hal.
> 
>> Otherwise, I'll ship it with our kubuntu-default-settings like: desktop-base.
>>

Ok, I fixed it "properly" with todays upload of hal_0.5.11-1.

A quick analysis, what was going wrong, and why the fdi file is not the 
correct solution:
1.) the hal code mistakenly didn't allow the uid option for ntfs 
filesystems (although both ntfs and ntfs-3g support that).
2.) /usr/share/hal/fdi/policy/10osvendor/20-storage-methods.fdi line 
243, lists the allowed mount options for ntfs (among them uid).
3.) If you install your fdi file into /usr/share/hal/fdi/policy, it will 
come before 20-storage-methods.fdi, and volume.fstype is changed to 
ntfs-3g, but 20-storage-methods.fdi has <match key="volume.fstype" 
string="ntfs">. So, the uid and other mount options are no longer 
allowed for ntfs-3g (so kde no longer tried to mount the volume with the 
uid option set).
If you install your fdi file into /etc/ or name it 30-something.fdi, the 
file system is changed after the options have been applied (that's why 
it didn't work for me at first, I had copied it to /etc).

Conclusion: the proper solution is to fix the hal code (which has been) 
which makes the special fdi file obsolete (I would actually recommend 
against installing it).

Cheers,
Michael
-- 
Why is it that all of the instruments seeking intelligent life in the
universe are pointed away from Earth?

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