Spurious "Hddtemp Information" Notification (xfce4-sensors-plugin)

Digger · 2012-04-28 02:13:49

Hello all,

I'm running Xfce 4 (4.6.2) on an Asus eee PC 901 netbook. The OS is Debian Squeeze (stable).

I just installed "xfce4-sensors-plugin" (the xfce desktop rocks on the little 901, btw!).

Now, whenever the desktop initializes (e.g., at the end of the boot process), or if I double click on the xfce4-sensors-plugin icon on the panel, I get two notification windows, each titled "Hddtemp Information", the first informing me that:

An error occurred when executing "/usr/sbin/hddtemp -n -q /dev/sdb":
Failed to execute child process "usr/sbin/hddtemp" (No such file or directory)

The second message is almost the same, the only difference being that it squawks about the sda drive (instead of the sdb drive).

Here is a screenshot (taken just after double-clicking the aforementioned icon):

Now, here's the rub: My 901 has a relatively spartan load and the "hddtemp" package has never been loaded. Here is a look at the "Sensors Plugin" window:

Perhaps related: My desktop (same OS and desktop as the 901) exhibits the same behavior. However, I DO have hddtemp loaded on the desktop. I am not, however, using xfce4-sensors-plugin to track my HDD temperature. Instead, I do so using the "Generic Monitor" (xfce4-genmon-plugin).

Is there anything I can do about this annoying problem?

TIA!

Last edited by Digger (2012-04-28 02:14:33)

ozjd · 2012-04-29 01:23:59

What is in the hddtemp config file, its at /etc/sysconfig/hddtemp? I had to remove the line "HDDTEMP_OPTIONS=" for it to work for me. If only monitoring one drive you can put it in that line but I couldn't find a way to monitor multiple drives. Removing the line fixed it for me.
Note that I use it in Conky not in a plugin but that shouldn't make any difference.

Digger · 2012-05-01 16:17:00

ozjd wrote:

What is in the hddtemp config file, its at /etc/sysconfig/hddtemp? I had to remove the line "HDDTEMP_OPTIONS=" for it to work for me. If only monitoring one drive you can put it in that line but I couldn't find a way to monitor multiple drives. Removing the line fixed it for me.
Note that I use it in Conky not in a plugin but that shouldn't make any difference.

Hi oz,

Actually, since the "hddtemp" package has never been loaded on my eee PC 901, I have no hddtemp-related files anywhere. I do, however, continue to get the aforementioned nuisance messages (see the OP).

On a side note, my desktop computer (mentioned in the OP) DOES have the hddtemp package loaded. I was unable to find a "/etc/sysconfig/hddtemp" file, but I did find a "/etc/default/hddtemp" file that had a "HDDTEMP_OPTIONS=" line in it. I commented said line out, but the problem persists on that machine.

Actually, based on the behavior that I've observed, I think the problem lies somewhere with the "xfce4-sensors-plugin" package itself and is not caused by the hddtemp program proper.

Any other ideas out there? Does anyone think that this problem merits a bug report?

TIA!

ozjd · 2012-05-01 22:41:49

Digger wrote:

ozjd wrote:
What is in the hddtemp config file, its at /etc/sysconfig/hddtemp? I had to remove the line "HDDTEMP_OPTIONS=" for it to work for me. If only monitoring one drive you can put it in that line but I couldn't find a way to monitor multiple drives. Removing the line fixed it for me.
Note that I use it in Conky not in a plugin but that shouldn't make any difference.

Hi oz,
Actually, since the "hddtemp" package has never been loaded on my eee PC 901, I have no hddtemp-related files anywhere. I do, however, continue to get the aforementioned nuisance messages (see the OP).
On a side note, my desktop computer (mentioned in the OP) DOES have the hddtemp package loaded. I was unable to find a "/etc/sysconfig/hddtemp" file, but I did find a "/etc/default/hddtemp" file that had a "HDDTEMP_OPTIONS=" line in it. I commented said line out, but the problem persists on that machine.
Actually, based on the behavior that I've observed, I think the problem lies somewhere with the "xfce4-sensors-plugin" package itself and is not caused by the hddtemp program proper.
Any other ideas out there? Does anyone think that this problem merits a bug report?
TIA!

I'm on Fedora so that explains the different file location.
If it helps finding the problem you can see the output of hddtemp, at least on the machine that has it, by typing hddtemp in a terminal. The plugin should be giving the same information. If it isn't I would file a bug report.

Digger · 2013-07-14 05:47:12

Found a workaround here:

https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+sour … ug/1003553

Note that, in order for the change to the above-referenced config file to "take," you first need to stop the panel program from running.

IHTH someone!

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Sub domains

#1 2012-04-28 02:13:49

Spurious "Hddtemp Information" Notification (xfce4-sensors-plugin)

#2 2012-04-29 01:23:59

Re: Spurious "Hddtemp Information" Notification (xfce4-sensors-plugin)

#3 2012-05-01 16:17:00

Re: Spurious "Hddtemp Information" Notification (xfce4-sensors-plugin)

#4 2012-05-01 22:41:49

Re: Spurious "Hddtemp Information" Notification (xfce4-sensors-plugin)

#5 2013-07-14 05:47:12

Re: Spurious "Hddtemp Information" Notification (xfce4-sensors-plugin)

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