[Linux-disciples] Finding a device - my PDA

[Adam Rosi-Kessel]

Jason A. Smith wrote:
> I am trying to sync up my PDA with my computer. It has a USB connection.
> I have to indicate which device it is. I have no idea how to figure that
> out. I know it should be in /dev. Finding which is which is my
> problem...

USB devices don't tend to show up under /dev directly; an additional 
device-specific module will create a device node for it if that is how 
the device works.

For example, many USB storage devices, such as USB memory sticks, 
digital cameras, and MP3 players, can be accessed as regular hard 
drives. In this case, the usb-storage module will create a node like 
/dev/sda1 or /dev/sda which can then be mounted.

Other USB devices, however, are not necessarily accessed under /dev. 
For example, my canon digital camera never shows up under /dev, 
instead there is a program (gphoto2) that interacts directly with the 
USB device, I assume through some kind of function calls to the 
kernel's USB subsystem.

My guess is that a Palmpilot is not going to be mounted as a drive and 
may not ever show up under /dev.

One thing you can do is type dmesg is a terminal right after you plug 
the PDA in and see what kind of system messages you get. This might 
give a clue as to how the kernel perceives the device.

Generally, the PDA sync program should expect the device to be plugged 
into a USB port and you shouldn't have to do anything more than plug 
it in and run the program.  I haven't ever tried this personally, 
though, so I can't say for sure.

Have you checked out the linux package pilot-link?  The FAQ there 
might have some useful tips.
-- 
Adam Rosi-Kessel
http://adam.rosi-kessel.org
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