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#1 2022-01-13 04:15:23

RussianSpytato
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Registered: 2022-01-13
Posts: 10

[SOLVED] cannot format /dev/sda3 2 or 1

just made this account for this please help me, idk what info to put so
i am trying to install arch linux (latest archlinux-2022.01.01-x86_64.iso) from a 64G usb i used etcher to make it bootable, i have UEFI

so basicly i make my 3 partitions root, efi, and swap and when i try to format them
mkfs.ext4 /dev/sda3                returns
mke2fs 1.46.4 (18-Aug-2021)
/dev/sda3 is apparemtly in use by the system; will not make a filesystem here!

mkswap /dev/sda2                  returns
mkswap: cannot open /dev/sda2: Device or resource busy

mkfs.fat -F 32 /dev/sda1         returns
mkfs.fat: unable to open /dev/sda1: Device or resource busy

Last edited by RussianSpytato (2022-01-18 07:49:50)

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#2 2022-01-13 04:17:19

RussianSpytato
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Registered: 2022-01-13
Posts: 10

Re: [SOLVED] cannot format /dev/sda3 2 or 1

i have been trying to figure this out for the past 3 day i just reinstalled windows cuz my windows partition is fried and my laptop has been completley unusable

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#3 2022-01-13 04:37:19

Trilby
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Registered: 2011-11-29
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Re: [SOLVED] cannot format /dev/sda3 2 or 1

What tool(s) did you use to make the partitions?  What's the output of the command `lsblk` when you get these errors?


"UNIX is simple and coherent..." - Dennis Ritchie, "GNU's Not UNIX" -  Richard Stallman

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#4 2022-01-13 04:54:20

RussianSpytato
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Registered: 2022-01-13
Posts: 10

Re: [SOLVED] cannot format /dev/sda3 2 or 1

NAME   MAJ:MIN   RM       SIZE   RO   TYPE   MOUNTPOINTS
loop0          7:0          0    715.4M      1   loop      /run/archiso/airootfs
sda            8:0          1      58.7G       0   disk      /run/archiso/bootmnt
|--sda1       8:1          1       100M      0   part
|--sda2       8:2          1           4G      0   part
\--sda3       8:3          1       54.6G     0   part

did my best to recreate lsblk
i used cfdisk

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#5 2022-01-13 14:40:31

Trilby
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Re: [SOLVED] cannot format /dev/sda3 2 or 1

RussianSpytato wrote:

did my best to recreate lsblk

If you have network access in the live system, you should be able to upload the output directly - as there is either an error in your transcription or you are trying to partition the same usb that you burned the iso to.  That will definitely not work (without additional steps), and it doesn't sound like that is your goal.

I'm not so familiar with cfdisk, but I'm pretty sure it would have given you warnings / errors during the partitioning process that you were attempting to partition a mounted filesystem.

What is the intended target device to install to?  You burned the iso to a 64GB flash drive.  Do you have an internal drive (HDD/SDD) that you plan to install onto, or do want to install everything directly to that usb flash drive?

Last edited by Trilby (2022-01-13 14:44:31)


"UNIX is simple and coherent..." - Dennis Ritchie, "GNU's Not UNIX" -  Richard Stallman

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#6 2022-01-13 16:02:32

RussianSpytato
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Registered: 2022-01-13
Posts: 10

Re: [SOLVED] cannot format /dev/sda3 2 or 1

yes, it does give me a error, well more of a warning, something along the lines of "this file is currenlty in use, partitioning it might be a bad idea"
i dont know how to change where it downloads the files, and yes i have a drive i want to install it to

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#7 2022-01-13 18:33:29

Trilby
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Re: [SOLVED] cannot format /dev/sda3 2 or 1

That warning should have given you the clue ... that partitioning it might be a bad idea!

There is no downloading of files here.  You need to partition the target drive, you partitioned the usb flash drive.


"UNIX is simple and coherent..." - Dennis Ritchie, "GNU's Not UNIX" -  Richard Stallman

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#8 2022-01-13 20:09:47

RussianSpytato
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Registered: 2022-01-13
Posts: 10

Re: [SOLVED] cannot format /dev/sda3 2 or 1

how do i target the drive though

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#9 2022-01-13 20:22:15

Trilby
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Re: [SOLVED] cannot format /dev/sda3 2 or 1

You run cfdisk, or another partitioning tool on that device.  If the intended device isn't showing up in lsblk, that's a separate issue.  The first step in diagnosing that would likely be to look at dmesg output - but also tell us about that hardware: what are you trying to install on?


"UNIX is simple and coherent..." - Dennis Ritchie, "GNU's Not UNIX" -  Richard Stallman

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#10 2022-01-13 20:52:19

ewaller
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From: Pasadena, CA
Registered: 2009-07-13
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Re: [SOLVED] cannot format /dev/sda3 2 or 1

It may not be obvious to newcomers, but the ordering of drives is dependent on how the system booted and what was used to beet it.  In your case, sda is your installation media.  As Trilby points out, you need to be working setting on your internal hard drive/SDD.  Note that after you install a boot loader and start from your hard drive, everything will be different in terms of where things get mounted.   This is why we highly recommend the use of UUIDs when you get to that point.  Right now, I'll bet two credits your hard drive is at /dev/sdb


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Sometimes it is the people no one can imagine anything of who do the things no one can imagine. -- Alan Turing
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#11 2022-01-13 21:09:36

RussianSpytato
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Registered: 2022-01-13
Posts: 10

Re: [SOLVED] cannot format /dev/sda3 2 or 1

i do not have a sdb and it does not show up when i do lsblk, i am trying to install on a acer nitro 5 i am 90% sure that this is it https://www.amazon.com/Acer-i5-9300H-Ge … r=8-4&th=1 i dunno if u need specs or anything

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#12 2022-01-13 21:50:57

V1del
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Registered: 2012-10-16
Posts: 21,414

Re: [SOLVED] cannot format /dev/sda3 2 or 1

nvme drives should show as /dev/nvme0n1 or so. You did make sure to boot the ISO in EFI mode? If you can establish a connection to the net from the ISO post your

 ls /sys/firmware/efi/efivars ls /sys/firmware/efi/efivars
dmesg

https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/List_o … n_services

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#13 2022-01-18 02:04:09

RussianSpytato
Member
Registered: 2022-01-13
Posts: 10

Re: [SOLVED] cannot format /dev/sda3 2 or 1

it does not show a nvme drive, yes i have efi on(i think)
idk how to post images so i put it on reddit
https://www.reddit.com/user/RussianSpyt … urce=share      idk why its considered nsfw, its not
also when i boot in it says sgx disabled by bios idk if that matters
ive tried all types of arch installers and they all break when it gets to the partitioning part
also sry 4 not posting i was away

Last edited by RussianSpytato (2022-01-18 02:04:42)

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#14 2022-01-18 06:55:54

Head_on_a_Stick
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From: London
Registered: 2014-02-20
Posts: 7,679
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Re: [SOLVED] cannot format /dev/sda3 2 or 1

Change the drive mode from RAID to AHCI in the firmware ("BIOS") options.

I think there is a module that can be loaded to allow detection of firmware RAID devices but I can never remember what it's called...

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#15 2022-01-18 07:27:01

acid_raccoon
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From: Ukraine
Registered: 2021-12-25
Posts: 7

Re: [SOLVED] cannot format /dev/sda3 2 or 1

RussianSpytato do you understand russian?
https://archlinux.org.ru/forum/topic/21005/?page=1

Last edited by acid_raccoon (2022-01-18 07:36:17)


«Load universe into cannon. Aim at brain. Fire.» ©

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#16 2022-01-18 07:50:58

RussianSpytato
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Registered: 2022-01-13
Posts: 10

Re: [SOLVED] cannot format /dev/sda3 2 or 1

yes, i can speak pretty well but my writing/reading capabilites are worse than a second graders

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#17 2022-01-18 14:53:34

Head_on_a_Stick
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From: London
Registered: 2014-02-20
Posts: 7,679
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Re: [SOLVED] cannot format /dev/sda3 2 or 1

The vmd module. That's what it's called.

So did loading the vmd module work? I see the thread has been marked [SOLVED] so it would be proper to share the solution: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Genera … way_street

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#18 2022-01-18 14:59:48

V1del
Forum Moderator
Registered: 2012-10-16
Posts: 21,414

Re: [SOLVED] cannot format /dev/sda3 2 or 1

Normally the vmd module should be loaded automatically from a live disk perspective, the bug that used to happen that it wasn't automatically included in the initramfs on the installed disk, which should also be fixed with the current mkinitcpio.

So yeah I also wonder what the solution was in the end.

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#19 2022-01-18 18:23:45

RussianSpytato
Member
Registered: 2022-01-13
Posts: 10

Re: [SOLVED] cannot format /dev/sda3 2 or 1

basicly im just stupid i had to do /dev/nvme0n1 instead of /dev/sda

Last edited by RussianSpytato (2022-01-19 16:59:02)

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