[gentoo-user] trying to get sd card reader to work

[John Blinka]

Hi, everyone,

I'm trying to get an SD card reader to work in Gentoo, but no success
so far. Hoping that someone can point out what I'm doing wrong.

The hardware is an old Dell Inspiron 5759 laptop featuring a RealTek
RTS5129 usb sd card reader. The kernel is gentoo-sources-6.1.31. The
sd card should contain a FAT file system with mp3 files, was written
by an older MacBook, and has been observed to supply sounds to an
Arduino/mp3 player setup.

I have followed the setup directions in
https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/PCSC-Lite using the ccid driver. I've
enabled hotplug in openrc per the instructions on that page.

I'm using a kernel with CONFIG_MISC_RTSX=m and CONFIG_MISC_RTSX_USB=m.
I have rc_hotplug="pcscd" in /etc/rc.conf and have confirmed that
module rtsx_usb is actually loaded. I've emerged pcsc-lite using the
default use flags of policykit, udev, and
python_single_target_python3_11.

When I put the sd card into its slot (or take it out), dmesg doesn't
report anything, There isn't any device reported under /dev that
looks to my untrained eye like something that might belong to this
card reader. lsusb does report the presence of an RTS5129 card reader
controller.

I'm over my head debugging this. Haven't found much via Google and
nothing very recent. If anyone has ideas about what to try or how to
debug, I'd be very happy to try any and all suggestions.

Thanks!

John Blinka

[Michael]

Post by John Blinka
Hi, everyone,
I'm trying to get an SD card reader to work in Gentoo, but no success
so far. Hoping that someone can point out what I'm doing wrong.
The hardware is an old Dell Inspiron 5759 laptop featuring a RealTek
RTS5129 usb sd card reader. The kernel is gentoo-sources-6.1.31. The
sd card should contain a FAT file system with mp3 files, was written
by an older MacBook, and has been observed to supply sounds to an
Arduino/mp3 player setup.
I have followed the setup directions in
https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/PCSC-Lite using the ccid driver. I've
enabled hotplug in openrc per the instructions on that page.
I'm using a kernel with CONFIG_MISC_RTSX=m and CONFIG_MISC_RTSX_USB=m.
I have rc_hotplug="pcscd" in /etc/rc.conf and have confirmed that
module rtsx_usb is actually loaded. I've emerged pcsc-lite using the
default use flags of policykit, udev, and
python_single_target_python3_11.
When I put the sd card into its slot (or take it out), dmesg doesn't
report anything, There isn't any device reported under /dev that
looks to my untrained eye like something that might belong to this
card reader. lsusb does report the presence of an RTS5129 card reader
controller.
I'm over my head debugging this. Haven't found much via Google and
nothing very recent. If anyone has ideas about what to try or how to
debug, I'd be very happy to try any and all suggestions.
Thanks!
John Blinka

Have you also enabled CONFIG_MMC_REALTEK_USB in your kernel?

[John Blinka]

Post by Michael
Have you also enabled CONFIG_MMC_REALTEK_USB in your kernel?

Not until you suggested it. Works perfectly now. Thanks!

John

[Lee]

Modern kernels support damn near everything these days, the trick is
finding the right things to enable in the kernel! 😀

Lee 😎

Post by John Blinka

Post by Michael
Have you also enabled CONFIG_MMC_REALTEK_USB in your kernel?

Not until you suggested it. Works perfectly now. Thanks!
John

[Wol]

Post by Lee
Modern kernels support damn near everything these days, the trick is
finding the right things to enable in the kernel! 😀

They can't support stuff if the hardware can't ...

My first reaction was exactly that. I doubt the hardware is a true
SD-card reader, they're pretty ancient.

Good to know it all works, but if you're sticking a new card in an old
reader, they may not be compatible.

Cheers,
Wol

[John Blinka]

Post by Wol

Post by Lee
Modern kernels support damn near everything these days, the trick is
finding the right things to enable in the kernel! 😀

They can't support stuff if the hardware can't ...
My first reaction was exactly that. I doubt the hardware is a true
SD-card reader, they're pretty ancient.

The Inspiron 5759 in which the card reader finds itseif is ancient, circa
2015 if I have the date right. Don’t know what a “true” sd card reader is,
but appropriate kernel config renders cards readable and writeable. Enough
functionality for me.

Post by Wol
Good to know it all works, but if you're sticking a new card in an old
reader, they may not be compatible.

Don’t know what constitutes new/old, but these are <1 year old cards.
Satisfied with empiric evidence that it all works. Have written mp3 files
to this card and played them via Arduino/attached mp3 board. Sufficient for
my purposes. Amazed that it all works! (Pushing beyond my comfort level
with card reader/Arduino/mp3 board/wiring all this stuff together.)

So


have been using Gentoo for 20+ years. Have gradually morphed from numerical
analysis to sound processing to photography to elaborate wikis to modern
languages (go) to microcontroller stuff. Gentoo has supported me throughout
the journey, even as I’ve pushed way past my areas of expertise. Gentoo
always seems to support what I want to do, provides documentation, and
comes with a community that can point the way when I’ve confused myself.
Best computing environment ever.

Thanks to every one making it possible!

John Blinka

[Wols Lists]

Post by Wol
Good to know it all works, but if you're sticking a new card in an old
reader, they may not be compatible.
Don’t know what constitutes new/old, but these are <1 year old cards.
Satisfied with empiric evidence that it all works. Have written mp3
files to this card and played them via Arduino/attached mp3 board.
Sufficient for my purposes. Amazed that it all works! (Pushing beyond my
comfort level with card reader/Arduino/mp3 board/wiring all this stuff
together.)

Basically, just a little bit of history ...

When these cards came out, they were true SD. With a max capacity of 4GB
(4GB cards are actually rare as hens teeth ...)

As 2GB became cheap and common, the technology transitioned to SDHC, so
your 4GB card is almost certainly SDHC, and will not work in a true SD
reader (like my 2009-era satnav).

That had a limit of - iirc - 32GB, and as that became common the
technology transitioned to SDXC. This is where my knowledge becomes
rather hazy...

But anyways, everywhere the card is newer than the reader, you have the
possibility of problems. It rarely happens, but I've been bitten twice
trying to upgrade the chips in cameras ...

Cheers,
Wol

[Nuno Silva]

Post by Wols Lists

Post by Wol
Good to know it all works, but if you're sticking a new card in an old
reader, they may not be compatible.
Don’t know what constitutes new/old, but these are <1 year old
cards. Satisfied with empiric evidence that it all works. Have
written mp3 files to this card and played them via Arduino/attached
mp3 board. Sufficient for my purposes. Amazed that it all works!
(Pushing beyond my comfort level with card reader/Arduino/mp3
board/wiring all this stuff together.)

Basically, just a little bit of history ...
When these cards came out, they were true SD. With a max capacity of
4GB (4GB cards are actually rare as hens teeth ...)
As 2GB became cheap and common, the technology transitioned to SDHC,
so your 4GB card is almost certainly SDHC, and will not work in a true
SD reader (like my 2009-era satnav).
That had a limit of - iirc - 32GB, and as that became common the
technology transitioned to SDXC. This is where my knowledge becomes
rather hazy...
But anyways, everywhere the card is newer than the reader, you have
the possibility of problems. It rarely happens, but I've been bitten
twice trying to upgrade the chips in cameras ...
Cheers,
Wol

Curiously, I've just recently bought a bigger capacity card (32GB I
think?), µSDHC, with an "SD adapter", and I learned that the
(multi-slot) USB dongle I've been using does not support µSDHC (only
µSD, apparently?)... but does support SDHC!