Cannot connect Sony PRS 300 to Calibre on Linux

[Aristée]

Hi,

I cannot find a way to connect my Sony PRS 300 on Calibre (on Linux Ubuntu).

Here is the debug report:

Version: 0.6.42
USB devices on system:
[['0x46d', '0xc52f', '0x1600', 'Logitech', 'USB Receiver', ''],
 ['0x1d6b',
  '0x2',
  '0x206',
  'Linux 2.6.32-21-generic ehci_hcd',
  'EHCI Host Controller',
  '0000:00:1d.0'],
 ['0x1d6b',
  '0x2',
  '0x206',
  'Linux 2.6.32-21-generic ehci_hcd',
  'EHCI Host Controller',
  '0000:00:1a.0'],
 ['0x8087', '0x20', '0x0', '', '', ''],
 ['0x54c',
  '0x31e',
  '0x229',
  'Sony',
  'Sony Digital Book Reader',
  '0800461000B1F5F6'],
 ['0x4f2',
  '0xb128',
  '0x4007',
  'Chicony Electronics Co., Ltd.',
  'USB2.0 UVC WebCam',
  '']]
Looking for HANLINV3
Looking for HANLINV5
Looking for BLACKBERRY
Looking for CYBOOK
Looking for ILIAD
Looking for IREXDR1000
Looking for IREXDR800
Looking for JETBOOK
Looking for SHINEBOOK
Looking for POCKETBOOK360
Looking for KINDLE
Looking for KINDLE2
Looking for KINDLE_DX
Looking for NOOK
Looking for PRS505
	(1356, 798, 553, 'Sony', 'Sony Digital Book Reader', '0800461000B1F5F6')
Looking for PRS700
Looking for PRS500
Looking for ANDROID
Looking for N770
Looking for N810
Looking for COOL_ER
Looking for ESLICK
Looking for NUUT2
Looking for IRIVER_STORY
Looking for GER2
Looking for ITALICA
Looking for ECLICTO
Looking for DBOOK
Looking for INVESBOOK
Looking for BOOX
Looking for BOOQ
Looking for EB600
Looking for README
Looking for N516
Looking for EB511
Devices possibly connected: PRS-300/505 Device Interface,  
Trying to open PRS-300/505 Device Interface ... Unable to open device <calibre.devices.prs505.driver.PRS505 object at 0x37da8d0>
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/lib/calibre/calibre/gui2/device.py", line 106, in do_connect
    dev.open()
  File "/usr/lib/calibre/calibre/devices/prs505/driver.py", line 68, in open
    Device.open(self)
  File "/usr/lib/calibre/calibre/devices/usbms/device.py", line 621, in open
    self.open_linux()
  File "/usr/lib/calibre/calibre/devices/usbms/device.py", line 605, in open_linux
    mp, ret = mount(card, typ)
  File "/usr/lib/calibre/calibre/devices/usbms/device.py", line 582, in mount
    ret = do_mount(node, label)
  File "/usr/lib/calibre/calibre/devices/usbms/device.py", line 577, in do_mount
    _('Could not find mount helper: %s.')%cmd[0])
DeviceError: Impossible de trouver l'assistant de montage: calibre-mount-helper.
Device connect failed again, giving up
failed
Opening of the following devices failed
<calibre.devices.prs505.driver.PRS505 object at 0x37da8d0>
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/lib/calibre/calibre/devices/__init__.py", line 84, in debug
    dev.open()
  File "/usr/lib/calibre/calibre/devices/prs505/driver.py", line 68, in open
    Device.open(self)
  File "/usr/lib/calibre/calibre/devices/usbms/device.py", line 621, in open
    self.open_linux()
  File "/usr/lib/calibre/calibre/devices/usbms/device.py", line 605, in open_linux
    mp, ret = mount(card, typ)
  File "/usr/lib/calibre/calibre/devices/usbms/device.py", line 582, in mount
    ret = do_mount(node, label)
  File "/usr/lib/calibre/calibre/devices/usbms/device.py", line 577, in do_mount
    _('Could not find mount helper: %s.')%cmd[0])
DeviceError: Impossible de trouver l'assistant de montage: calibre-mount-helper.

I hope someone can help

Thanks

Hugo

[adolson]

It's a problem with Ubuntu... I had the same problems... I just uninstalled it and then got the most current release using the instructions on the calibre site, and my PRS-300 works perfectly now. Kovid puts out a new release almost every week, so it's better this way anyhow - easy to upgrade and have the most current features.

I usually hate going outside of my apt sources, but calibre is moving so rapidly that I don't mind in this case.

[Aristée]

I do have the newest realeses of both ubuntu and calibre, and still, it isn't working... wich is strange since on my other laptop (wich died a couple of months ago), there wasn't any problem with calibre connecting my eReader.

[kovidgoyal]

The message could not find mount helper means your installation is not complete.

Try re-installing or set up Ubuntu to automount the sony reader, in which case the mount helper wont be needed.

[adolson]

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

The message could not find mount helper means your installation is not complete.

Try re-installing or set up Ubuntu to automount the sony reader, in which case the mount helper wont be needed.

Ubuntu does auto-mount the reader. It even opens up the internal storage in a Nautilus window, where I can add/remove files. But the calibre mount helper message still would come up when using Ubuntu's calibre package.

Only way to fix was to uninstall their package and use the instructions.

[Aristée]

Originally Posted by adolson

Only way to fix was to uninstall their package and use the instructions.

What do you mean by using the instructions ? You mean I should remove the calibre package and ... ?

Thanks

[DoctorOhh]

Originally Posted by Aristée

What do you mean by using the instructions ? You mean I should remove the calibre package and ... ?

He is referring to uninstalling Ubuntu's Calibre package and following these instructions.

[nodata]

Alternatively, try this one liner:
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...54&postcount=2

[kovidgoyal]

Originally Posted by nodata

Alternatively, try this one liner:
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...54&postcount=2

That's not a fix, that's a broken workaround.

[nodata]

Well, not really is it?

Surely Calibre should be written to work with the distributions, not against them.

The distributions already have their own automounters. The purpose of them being that the operating system handles mounting of devices in one centralised way, and that every man and his dog doesn't have to write their "own version" that mounts the devices themselves.

You could argue that Calibre is broken, after all it is trying to mount something that is already mounted. Or because it's working against the standard mechanism to mount a disk.

Letting everything that works with removable storage mount their own storage doesn't make sense: everything would be trying to mount everything more than once, it would become a nightmare.

It would be easy to fix this in Calibre: a "rescan" button that re-examines which devices are available.
The code is probably already in the debug devices section.

[DoctorOhh]

Originally Posted by nodata

Surely Calibre should be written to work with the distributions, not against them.

You were a participant in this thread where the reasons for this were discussed. For your own benefit you might want to go reread the thread.

[kovidgoyal]

Sigh. calibre works perfectly well on windows and OS X that actually have working automount solutions. The problem on linux is that automounting at the OS level is broken, inconsistent and for some distros non-existent. Which means that for a distro neutral package like calibre, a generic mount mechanism, that is guaranteed to work, is needed.

If a distro is making a calibre package, then the onus is on them to replace calibre's mount mechanism with something that works with whatever "flavor of the month" automounting solution they are using.

[nodata]

If automounting is so broken, why is calibre the only application that has a problem?

Every digital camera works with Linux. I don't see the difference between that and an ebook reader, both provide removable storage.

calibre could fix this really easily: provide a rescan button.

[chaley]

@nodata: I think we have clearly established that you don't agree with Kovid, think that he is totally wrong, and don't like calibre's solution. Fine. You are entitled to your opinion. Kovid is entitled to his.

Why don't you move on from moaning about it, and instead fix it? Write the code for your 'rescan' button, ensure it doesn't break Windows or OS-X, provide the patch, and see what happens?

[Starson17]

Originally Posted by chaley

Why don't you move on from moaning about it, and instead fix it? Write the code for your 'rescan' button, ensure it doesn't break Windows or OS-X, provide the patch, and see what happens?

Charles, if you think you can do it without stepping on too many toes, can you (or anyone else) tell me a bit more about this? I'm mostly a Windows user, but I run several Linux systems also. I always thought issues like this were handled by the package maintainer. When Calibre tries to access an ereader, I suppose it assumes it's mounted. In Windows/OSX, apparently, that's true, and if it's not accessible there's an error message.

In Linux, I would have thought the ereader would have been mounted the same way - presumably when the ereader was first connected? It seems that's not always the case, at least not for all distros - and thus mount-helper is provided? And the package maintainer removed it?

The OP wants a "Rescan" button because Calibre knows about the ereader, but doesn't know it's mounted and calls the (removed) mount-helper anyway? Or is it because the ereader is not mounted and the mount-helper that would have mounted it has been removed?

Any comments on the differences between Win/OSX and Linux distros in this regard would be appreciated.