Read the following it mite help:
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article.php?sid=6867

And

--------- quate -------------
Why USB Devices Mount Read-Only
In the December 2003 issue, an article by Rick Moen on
the use of USB Flash storage devices (�Floppies for
the New Millennium�) includes the following: �...no
matter what you do, the Flash disk always mounts
read-only....Exactly why /bin/mount insists that the
Flash disk is write-protected and must be mounted
read-only is a genuine mystery.� 

I am the author and maintainer of the driver that
talks to this entire class of devices. To me, it's not
a mystery. USB mass storage devices are handled by a
virtual HBA in the SCSI subsystem. For direct-access
type devices (disks, Flash, etc.), sd.c checks the
write-protect status with a MODE_SENSE command. The
problem is, MODE_SENSE isn't used by Microsoft
Windows. Thus, the firmware to recognize, process and
respond to that command properly often is lacking from
USB devices, especially those that are under extreme
price pressure, such as the keychain-type Flash
devices discussed in the article. Sometimes, they
simply respond with incorrect data. 

This problem is widespread. I've even seen quite a few
devices that crash their internal firmware when they
see certain MODE_SENSE or MODE_SENSE_10 commands. This
is basically a matter of poorly implemented
devices�the device is tested with a popular OS and not
fully coverage-tested for compliance to the open and
published specifications. 

Up to a certain 2.4.x kernel version, a failure of the
check for write-protect would default to
write-protected status. Often this is accompanied by a
message from the kernel (sd.c: test WP failed,
assuming write protected). Later, a patch was merged
that made the assumption write-enabled. The 2.5/6
kernels introduced a new problem�sd.c wants to check
for mode page 8, which causes more devices to die.
Currently, those of us involved with USB storage
development are trying to identify what
MODE_SENSE/MODE_SENSE_10 commands are used by
Microsoft Windows to speak to these devices�the theory
is that if we can identify these commands, then they
must be safe for Linux to use. 

--
Matthew Dharm 
Author/Maintainer, Linux USB Mass Storage Driver

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

Erez



> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Boris Zingerman" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Cc: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Sent: Monday, March 01, 2004 4:32 PM
> Subject: Disk On Key support in Linux
> 
> 
> > Hi
> > 
> > Which Disk On Key devices are well supported in
> Linux ?
> > ( Do they all use the same protocol ?..)
> > 
> > Thanks.
> 
> 
>
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