Problem mounting usb stick with ISO installed on it [SOLVED]

jmak · 2013-08-13 00:56:46

I'm experiencing a weird problem regarding mounting usb sticks. Archlinux stopped auto-mounting usb sticks on my machine, but only those that contains an operating system. Empty or data usb sticks mount without problem.

A few weeks or month ago, I don't remember exactly, still everything was all right, but due to updates(?) usb sticks won't auto mount any more.

I have two arch partitions none of them mount usb sticks anymore with operating systems on them.

Today, I wanted to test a new operating system and write it on my usb stick, and of course I couldn't because arch didn't mount it. Luckily, on my other partitions a few old distos are still installed – I don't use them anymore for years- I booted them up and they mounted the usb stick without problem; it seems only the up-to-date system have problem handling the usb sticks. I have two Arch system installed on two different partitions, Gnome 3 and Enlightenment, both system are up to date.

Here are some info:

[mak@myhost ~]$ dmesg | grep -E "sd[a-z]"
[    1.369732] sd 2:0:0:0: [sda] 234441648 512-byte logical blocks: (120 GB/111 GiB)
[    1.369819] sd 2:0:0:0: [sda] Write Protect is off
[    1.369821] sd 2:0:0:0: [sda] Mode Sense: 00 3a 00 00
[    1.369872] sd 2:0:0:0: [sda] Write cache: enabled, read cache: enabled, doesn't support DPO or FUA
[    1.369924] sd 3:0:0:0: [sdb] 625142448 512-byte logical blocks: (320 GB/298 GiB)
[    1.369982] sd 3:0:0:0: [sdb] Write Protect is off
[    1.369985] sd 3:0:0:0: [sdb] Mode Sense: 00 3a 00 00
[    1.370070] sd 3:0:0:0: [sdb] Write cache: enabled, read cache: enabled, doesn't support DPO or FUA
[    1.371642]  sda: sda1 sda2 sda3 sda4 sda5 sda6
[    1.372298] sd 2:0:0:0: [sda] Attached SCSI disk
[    1.429438]  sdb: sdb1 sdb2 sdb3 sdb4 sdb5 sdb6 sdb7 sdb8 sdb9
[    1.430159] sd 3:0:0:0: [sdb] Attached SCSI disk
[    2.244580] EXT4-fs (sda5): mounted filesystem with ordered data mode. Opts: (null)
[    2.348031] systemd[1]: Expecting device dev-sdb8.device...
[    2.362842] EXT4-fs (sda5): re-mounted. Opts: discard,data=ordered
[    3.358252] Adding 2097148k swap on /dev/sdb8.  Priority:-1 extents:1 across:2097148k FS
[    5.458907] EXT4-fs (sda5): re-mounted. Opts: discard,data=ordered,commit=0
[   52.120360] sd 6:0:0:0: [sdc] 15679488 512-byte logical blocks: (8.02 GB/7.47 GiB)
[   52.121310] sd 6:0:0:0: [sdc] Write Protect is off
[   52.121319] sd 6:0:0:0: [sdc] Mode Sense: 43 00 00 00
[   52.122191] sd 6:0:0:0: [sdc] No Caching mode page present
[   52.122199] sd 6:0:0:0: [sdc] Assuming drive cache: write through
[   52.125825] sd 6:0:0:0: [sdc] No Caching mode page present
[   52.125838] sd 6:0:0:0: [sdc] Assuming drive cache: write through
[   52.126999]  sdc: sdc1 sdc2
[   52.131071] sd 6:0:0:0: [sdc] No Caching mode page present
[   52.131084] sd 6:0:0:0: [sdc] Assuming drive cache: write through
[   52.131093] sd 6:0:0:0: [sdc] Attached SCSI removable disk
[mak@myhost ~]$

[root@myhost mak]# fdisk -l
WARNING: fdisk GPT support is currently new, and therefore in an experimental phase. Use at your own discretion.

Disk /dev/sda: 120.0 GB, 120034123776 bytes, 234441648 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk label type: gpt


#         Start          End    Size  Type            Name
 1         2048        18431      8M  BIOS boot parti BIOS boot
 2        18432     56641478     27G  Linux filesyste sda2
 3     56641536    113264582     27G  Linux filesyste sda3
 4    113264640    169887686     27G  Linux filesyste sda4
 5    169887744    226510790     27G  Linux filesyste sda5
 6    226510848    234441614    3.8G  Linux filesyste Spare
WARNING: fdisk GPT support is currently new, and therefore in an experimental phase. Use at your own discretion.

Disk /dev/sdb: 320.1 GB, 320072933376 bytes, 625142448 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk label type: gpt


#         Start          End    Size  Type            Name
 1         2048        18431      8M  BIOS boot parti Bios boot
 2        18432     54544383     26G  Microsoft basic Partition 2
 3     54544384    109070335     26G  Linux filesyste Partition 3
 4    109070336    163596287     26G  Microsoft basic 
 5    163596288    218122239     26G  EFI System      Partition 5
 6    218122240    272647630     26G  Microsoft basic Partition 6
 7    272648192    327174143     26G  Linux filesyste Partition 7
 8    327174144    331368447      2G  Linux swap      Swap
 9    331368448    625142414  140.1G  Linux filesyste Storage

Disk /dev/sdc: 8027 MB, 8027897856 bytes, 15679488 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk label type: dos
Disk identifier: 0x5fadc669

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sdc1   *           0     4040703     2020352    0  Empty
/dev/sdc2            4036       38595       17280   ef  EFI (FAT-12/16/32)

Disk /dev/sdc1: 2068 MB, 2068840448 bytes, 4040704 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk label type: dos
Disk identifier: 0x5fadc669

     Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sdc1p1   *           0     4040703     2020352    0  Empty
/dev/sdc1p2            4036       38595       17280   ef  EFI (FAT-12/16/32)
[root@myhost mak]#

[root@myhost mak]# blkid -o list -c /dev/null
device     fs_type label    mount point    UUID
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
/dev/sda1                   (not mounted)  
/dev/sda2  ext4             (not mounted)  0a76a275-1798-495b-aa27-732626029de2
/dev/sda3  ext4             (not mounted)  0e9363ef-3791-409c-8db9-393385007689
/dev/sda4  ext4             (not mounted)  8f043c02-8b56-4689-a0ee-ed34ccc6f21f
/dev/sda5  ext4             /              82699b0e-8fe9-41e2-be13-65c798ed8a73
/dev/sda6  ext4             (not mounted)  3eaab6bf-2d05-4a7b-a6f7-8675e5f18723
/dev/sdb1                   (not mounted)  
/dev/sdb2  ext4             (not mounted)  17069311-9f14-4430-8298-be48194eb874
/dev/sdb3  ext4             (not mounted)  2e3b383d-3fa7-40df-b52d-c5d07caf252e
/dev/sdb4  ext4             (not mounted)  9d9b0656-d4ca-4efa-b6f8-1797bd4ead1f
/dev/sdb5  ext4             (not mounted)  05abf58a-ae6e-4377-9b3d-d6bacd92226d
/dev/sdb6  ext4             (not mounted)  8d7c6d55-dc47-471f-84f6-aae8864dfdd7
/dev/sdb7  ext4             (not mounted)  b2155741-8f88-4063-bd1b-39b210004b17
/dev/sdb8  swap             <swap>         97cf7cdf-299c-4e0d-a438-c8b79766699c
/dev/sdb9  ext4             (not mounted)  426648fd-98f5-4fb0-9114-bdbdfea9047c
/dev/sdc1  udf     Sabayon GNOME (not mounted) 2013-07-29-13-08-13-27
/dev/sdc2  vfat             (not mounted)  CF68-C2B6
[root@myhost mak]#

Thanks for the help.
jmak

Last edited by jmak (2013-08-14 00:12:54)

cfr · 2013-08-13 01:20:55

So the second doesn't show in blkid?

The partition tables look really weird. The second partition in each case is contained within the first. The second is allegedly the EFI partition but the first one is marked bootable. Also the system seems to think at least one is scsi?

How did you create them? You say you installed an iso on them but then you talk about them having an OS on. Did you install a regular OS on there? Or are they meant to be live media? Either way, information about exactly what you did might be helpful.

EDIT: Also, is it that they won't mount or just that they won't automount? What happens when you try to mount them manually?

Last edited by cfr (2013-08-13 01:21:35)

jmak · 2013-08-13 01:47:46

cfr wrote:

So the second doesn't show in blkid?
The partition tables look really weird. The second partition in each case is contained within the first. The second is allegedly the EFI partition but the first one is marked bootable. Also the system seems to think at least one is scsi?
How did you create them? You say you installed an iso on them but then you talk about them having an OS on. Did you install a regular OS on there? Or are they meant to be live media? Either way, information about exactly what you did might be helpful.
EDIT: Also, is it that they won't mount or just that they won't automount? What happens when you try to mount them manually?

Sorry, I ment ISO. I use usb sticks to install new distros only. I used gpt partition method to partition both harddrives. I don't use the sdb harddrive for about 2 years. It came with the computer when I bought it about 6 years ago. 2 years ago, I bought an ssd (sda) harddrive, which I use exclusively.

When I try to mount it manually I get this:

[root@myhost mak]# mount /dev/sdc1
mount: can't find /dev/sdc1 in /etc/fstab

Last edited by jmak (2013-08-13 01:48:45)

cfr · 2013-08-13 01:59:52

See the man page for mount. Since these are removable devices, you need to pass mount the information it otherwise gets from fstab.

You haven't said how you created the USB sticks. I take it the problems concern sdc (and sdc1p??) rather than sda or sdb, correct?

jmak · 2013-08-13 02:15:39

cfr wrote:

See the man page for mount. Since these are removable devices, you need to pass mount the information it otherwise gets from fstab.
You haven't said how you created the USB sticks. I take it the problems concern sdc (and sdc1p??) rather than sda or sdb, correct?

I burned the iso to the usb stick by using the “dd” method. I always use this method when burn iso because this is foolproof.

Yes, the sdc is the usb stick, which is the problem.

cfr · 2013-08-13 02:22:21

Well foolproof or not, it has created a really weird partition table. What is sdc1p? Is that another USB stick? It seems to have an equally weird partition map.

By the way, you can't create an Arch USB bootable in EFI mode with dd. Obviously don't know about sabayon.

EDIT: Did you dd to the disk or to a partition? What command exactly did you use? Because it almost looks as if you did something like dd once and create one thing and then dd over the top of one of the partition so you've got a partition which itself has a partition map. Not sure that's possible but it sure looks weird.

I would wipe the key and start over.

Last edited by cfr (2013-08-13 02:25:10)

jmak · 2013-08-13 02:23:01

Just in comparison, when I put a data usb stick into the computer, this is what I get. The usb stick gets mounted immediately.

[root@myhost mak]# blkid -o list -c /dev/null
device     fs_type label    mount point    UUID
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
/dev/sda1                   (not mounted)  
/dev/sda2  ext4             (not mounted)  0a76a275-1798-495b-aa27-732626029de2
/dev/sda3  ext4             (not mounted)  0e9363ef-3791-409c-8db9-393385007689
/dev/sda4  ext4             (not mounted)  8f043c02-8b56-4689-a0ee-ed34ccc6f21f
/dev/sda5  ext4             /              82699b0e-8fe9-41e2-be13-65c798ed8a73
/dev/sda6  ext4             (not mounted)  3eaab6bf-2d05-4a7b-a6f7-8675e5f18723
/dev/sdb1                   (not mounted)  
/dev/sdb2  ext4             (not mounted)  17069311-9f14-4430-8298-be48194eb874
/dev/sdb3  ext4             (not mounted)  2e3b383d-3fa7-40df-b52d-c5d07caf252e
/dev/sdb4  ext4             (not mounted)  9d9b0656-d4ca-4efa-b6f8-1797bd4ead1f
/dev/sdb5  ext4             (not mounted)  05abf58a-ae6e-4377-9b3d-d6bacd92226d
/dev/sdb6  ext4             (not mounted)  8d7c6d55-dc47-471f-84f6-aae8864dfdd7
/dev/sdb7  ext4             (not mounted)  b2155741-8f88-4063-bd1b-39b210004b17
/dev/sdb8  swap             <swap>         97cf7cdf-299c-4e0d-a438-c8b79766699c
/dev/sdb9  ext4             /run/media/mak/426648fd-98f5-4fb0-9114-bdbdfea9047c 426648fd-98f5-4fb0-9114-bdbdfea9047c
/dev/sdc   vfat             /run/media/mak/2969-1F71 2969-1F71
[root@myhost mak]#

cfr · 2013-08-13 02:27:03

Yes. The other one is weird.

Oddly, KDE has just started refusing to recognise my USB sticks. On the other hand, it does that from time to time. Good thing the system is saner than the DE.

EDIT: See my edit above. As I say, I would wipe it and start over. If the partition map still looks that weird, get another key.

Last edited by cfr (2013-08-13 02:27:50)

jmak · 2013-08-13 02:39:17

cfr wrote:

What is sdc1p? Is that another USB stick? It seems to have an equally weird partition map.
By the way, you can't create an Arch USB bootable in EFI mode with dd. Obviously don't know about sabayon.
EDIT: Did you dd to the disk or to a partition? What command exactly did you use? Because it almost looks as if you did something like dd once and create one thing and then dd over the top of one of the partition so you've got a partition which itself has a partition map. Not sure that's possible but it sure looks weird.
I would wipe the key and start over.

I don't know what is that. It is a partition on the same usb stick, it was the “dd” that made that partition automatically, I guess. When I burn images into usb, I always use this command:

# dd bs=4M if=/path/to/archlinux.iso of=/dev/sdx && sync

I used this when burned Sabayon and it works perfectly.

The problem is that Arch can't auto-mount its own installation usb either. I put the arch install usb in and I get the following output:

[root@myhost mak]# blkid -o list -c /dev/null
device     fs_type label    mount point    UUID
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
/dev/sda1                   (not mounted)  
/dev/sda2  ext4             (not mounted)  0a76a275-1798-495b-aa27-732626029de2
/dev/sda3  ext4             (not mounted)  0e9363ef-3791-409c-8db9-393385007689
/dev/sda4  ext4             (not mounted)  8f043c02-8b56-4689-a0ee-ed34ccc6f21f
/dev/sda5  ext4             /              82699b0e-8fe9-41e2-be13-65c798ed8a73
/dev/sda6  ext4             (not mounted)  3eaab6bf-2d05-4a7b-a6f7-8675e5f18723
/dev/sdb1                   (not mounted)  
/dev/sdb2  ext4             (not mounted)  17069311-9f14-4430-8298-be48194eb874
/dev/sdb3  ext4             (not mounted)  2e3b383d-3fa7-40df-b52d-c5d07caf252e
/dev/sdb4  ext4             (not mounted)  9d9b0656-d4ca-4efa-b6f8-1797bd4ead1f
/dev/sdb5  ext4             (not mounted)  05abf58a-ae6e-4377-9b3d-d6bacd92226d
/dev/sdb6  ext4             (not mounted)  8d7c6d55-dc47-471f-84f6-aae8864dfdd7
/dev/sdb7  ext4             (not mounted)  b2155741-8f88-4063-bd1b-39b210004b17
/dev/sdb8  swap             <swap>         97cf7cdf-299c-4e0d-a438-c8b79766699c
/dev/sdb9  ext4             /run/media/mak/426648fd-98f5-4fb0-9114-bdbdfea9047c 426648fd-98f5-4fb0-9114-bdbdfea9047c
/dev/sdc1  iso9660 ARCH_201305 (not mounted) 2013-05-01-07-12-33-00
[root@myhost mak]#

It doesn't appear in nautilus side panel.

Last edited by jmak (2013-08-13 02:44:45)

cfr · 2013-08-13 02:50:10

But can you mount it? If you don't know that, you don't know where the problem is. Is it just not automounting it? Or is it that it can't be mounted at all? So far, all you've shown is that you can't automount these for some reason. Automounting regularly fails for me. I'm not saying it should but that's very different from not being able to mount at all which is what your thread title says.

I still wouldn't trust that other USB - if all four of those partitions are on one key, there is something seriously twisted in it. Still, maybe it is some magic I know not what.

Creating the Arch USB that way works fine so long as you only need it to boot in bios mode.

jmak · 2013-08-13 12:39:16

cfr wrote:

But can you mount it? If you don't know that, you don't know where the problem is. Is it just not automounting it? Or is it that it can't be mounted at all? So far, all you've shown is that you can't automount these for some reason. Automounting regularly fails for me. I'm not saying it should but that's very different from not being able to mount at all which is what your thread title says.
I still wouldn't trust that other USB - if all four of those partitions are on one key, there is something seriously twisted in it. Still, maybe it is some magic I know not what.
Creating the Arch USB that way works fine so long as you only need it to boot in bios mode.

It mounts manually, but it still doesn't show up in nautilus left bar. Here is the result:

[root@myhost mak]# blkid -o list -c /dev/null
device     fs_type label    mount point    UUID
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
/dev/sda1                   (not mounted)  
/dev/sda2  ext4             (not mounted)  0a76a275-1798-495b-aa27-732626029de2
/dev/sda3  ext4             (not mounted)  0e9363ef-3791-409c-8db9-393385007689
/dev/sda4  ext4             (not mounted)  8f043c02-8b56-4689-a0ee-ed34ccc6f21f
/dev/sda5  ext4             /              82699b0e-8fe9-41e2-be13-65c798ed8a73
/dev/sda6  ext4             (not mounted)  3eaab6bf-2d05-4a7b-a6f7-8675e5f18723
/dev/sdb1                   (not mounted)  
/dev/sdb2  ext4             (not mounted)  17069311-9f14-4430-8298-be48194eb874
/dev/sdb3  ext4             (not mounted)  2e3b383d-3fa7-40df-b52d-c5d07caf252e
/dev/sdb4  ext4             (not mounted)  9d9b0656-d4ca-4efa-b6f8-1797bd4ead1f
/dev/sdb5  ext4             (not mounted)  05abf58a-ae6e-4377-9b3d-d6bacd92226d
/dev/sdb6  ext4             (not mounted)  8d7c6d55-dc47-471f-84f6-aae8864dfdd7
/dev/sdb7  ext4             (not mounted)  b2155741-8f88-4063-bd1b-39b210004b17
/dev/sdb8  swap             <swap>         97cf7cdf-299c-4e0d-a438-c8b79766699c
/dev/sdb9  ext4             (not mounted)  426648fd-98f5-4fb0-9114-bdbdfea9047c
/dev/sdc1  iso9660 ARCH_201305 /mnt/usbstick 2013-05-01-07-12-33-00
[root@myhost mak]#

cfr · 2013-08-13 20:38:52

OK. So can you mount the other USB stick in the same way i.e. manually? If so, I suggest changing the threat title to more accurately reflect the problem i.e. that the issue in automounting in Nautilus. If not, then the problems are distinct.

Regardless, I think the partition map of the sabayon still looks scarily weird. But I suppose if it works...

jmak · 2013-08-13 21:44:35

cfr wrote:

OK. So can you mount the other USB stick in the same way i.e. manually? If so, I suggest changing the threat title to more accurately reflect the problem i.e. that the issue in automounting in Nautilus. If not, then the problems are distinct.
Regardless, I think the partition map of the sabayon still looks scarily weird. But I suppose if it works...

I already reformatted the sabayon usb stick. Now, the stick is empty and auto mounts as it should be. I put both sticks in the computer, here is the result: the empty sabayon stick now mounts and the arch install stick doesn't.

[root@myhost mak]# blkid -o list -c /dev/null
device     fs_type label    mount point    UUID
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
/dev/sda1                   (not mounted)  
/dev/sda2  ext4             (not mounted)  0a76a275-1798-495b-aa27-732626029de2
/dev/sda3  ext4             (not mounted)  0e9363ef-3791-409c-8db9-393385007689
/dev/sda4  ext4             (not mounted)  8f043c02-8b56-4689-a0ee-ed34ccc6f21f
/dev/sda5  ext4             /              82699b0e-8fe9-41e2-be13-65c798ed8a73
/dev/sda6  ext4             (not mounted)  3eaab6bf-2d05-4a7b-a6f7-8675e5f18723
/dev/sdb1                   (not mounted)  
/dev/sdb2  ext4             (not mounted)  17069311-9f14-4430-8298-be48194eb874
/dev/sdb3  ext4             (not mounted)  2e3b383d-3fa7-40df-b52d-c5d07caf252e
/dev/sdb4  ext4             (not mounted)  9d9b0656-d4ca-4efa-b6f8-1797bd4ead1f
/dev/sdb5  ext4             (not mounted)  23ccb8bc-8d20-4c9f-972b-f50ebde26640
/dev/sdb6  ext4             (not mounted)  8d7c6d55-dc47-471f-84f6-aae8864dfdd7
/dev/sdb7  ext4             (not mounted)  b2155741-8f88-4063-bd1b-39b210004b17
/dev/sdb8  swap             <swap>         97cf7cdf-299c-4e0d-a438-c8b79766699c
/dev/sdb9  ext4             (not mounted)  426648fd-98f5-4fb0-9114-bdbdfea9047c
/dev/sdc1  iso9660 ARCH_201305 (not mounted) 2013-05-01-07-12-33-00
/dev/sdd1  vfat             /run/media/mak/Sabayon GNOME 7AD3-980C
[root@myhost mak]#

As I said in my first post, empty and data sticks mount properly no problem, only sticks with install media on it don't. I've never experienced anything like this before. I repeat older installs have no problem mounting the usb stick, only the up-to-date systems have this problem.

My gnome 3 otherwise, works perfectly.

Last edited by jmak (2013-08-13 21:45:04)

jmak · 2013-08-13 22:39:12

I'm just wondering, isn't it possible that this is a new safety feature? I mean not mounting the install media automatically. Perhaps, to prevent users from overwriting it. Because, the bios sees the usb stick, so I can boot from it. I wonder, whether other gnome 3 users experience the same behaviour?

cfr · 2013-08-13 22:42:14

But it is a problem with automounting - not mounting per se. So I think changing your thread title will help people figure out what you are asking.

I know nothing about gnome or nautilus, for example. If it couldn't be mounted, I might be able to say something. Or if you wanted to mount it manually without needing to be root. Or if you used KDE and wanted to (dis)enable automounting. But this is a nautilus/gnome question as far as I can see concerning automounting and you want your thread title to stand out to people who might know about automounting in that environment.

jasonwryan · 2013-08-13 22:49:00

What is the output of `mount`?

cfr · 2013-08-13 23:01:17

For whatever it is worth, I can reproduce equivalent behaviour in KDE. I don't have KDE automount at all but KDE does show a notification which allows me to choose to mount. It now does this with a blank memory stick but not with the Arch 2011-08 install media. Or with the 201207/09 install media. (For some reason the usb key has label 201207 but the partition has label 201209.)

Journal:

In the case of the install media (2011-08):

scsi 9:0:0:0: Direct-Access     Generic  Flash Disk       5.00 PQ: 0 ANSI: 2

sd 9:0:0:0: [sdb] Mode Sense: 0b 00 00 08

In the case of the other install media (2012):

scsi 11:0:0:0: Direct-Access              USB DISK         PMAP PQ: 0 ANSI: 0 CCS

sd 11:0:0:0: [sdb] Mode Sense: 23 00 00 00

In the case of the blank memory stick:

scsi 10:0:0:0: Direct-Access     Generic  UFD              1.00 PQ: 0 ANSI: 2

sd 10:0:0:0: [sdc] Mode Sense: 03 00 00 00

On the other hand, fdisk isn't keen on the memory stick:

Disk /dev/sdc: 32.3 GB, 32312918016 bytes, 63111168 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk label type: dos
Disk identifier: 0x6f20736b

This doesn't look like a partition table
Probably you selected the wrong device.

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sdc1   ?   778135908  1919645538   570754815+  72  Unknown
/dev/sdc2   ?   168689522  2104717761   968014120   65  Novell Netware 386
/dev/sdc3   ?  1869881465  3805909656   968014096   79  Unknown
/dev/sdc4   ?  2885681152  2885736650       27749+   d  Unknown

Partition table entries are not in disk order

Not sure why it has Novell Netware on it (or even what that is) or why fdisk doesn't like its partition table. (Somebody recently got this stick free with a printer cartridge and didn't want it so I haven't actually used it yet.)

Another which "works":

scsi 12:0:0:0: Direct-Access     Generic  Flash Disk       8.07 PQ: 0 ANSI: 2

sd 12:0:0:0: [sdb] Mode Sense: 03 00 00 00

Last edited by cfr (2013-08-13 23:22:40)

jmak · 2013-08-14 00:07:30

I think I solved the problem. I fired up gparted and it immediately reported that the arch install usb stick had an invalid partition table. Gparted didn't detect the content of the usb stick either, but it reported -- unallocated space.

I've created a new partition table and reformatted the entire usb stick. In the mean time, I downloaded a fresh arch iso and installed on the usb stick by using the dd method. Now, nautilus recognizes the usb stick right away and automounts it.

The whole thing was my misunderstanding. When I burned the arch iso and the sabayon iso on the usb stick, I've overwritten the previous install media that was on it thinking that the dd method will erase all data from the usb stick anyway, as it is stated in the wiki. It seems that this is not the case; this creates a valid install disk, but messes up the partition table, which prevents nautilus from recognizing the usb stick.

So the conclusion is that the usb stick has to be formatted each time before a new install media written into it, otherwise, the dd method messes up the partition table.

Cfr! Thanks for helping me. You spotted right away that the sabayon usb stick had a twisted partition. And, indeed that was the problem as the entire formatting was messed up preventing nautilus from recognizing it.

cfr · 2013-08-14 00:16:32

No problem. Wish I knew why KDE is treating my install media differently (and they do not have invalid partition tables - I checked). The only one with an invalid partition table was the new memory stick and it was perfectly happy offering to mount that one. One benefit of this thread is that it now has a valid partition table although I may redo it when I decide how to use it. (Not quite sure what to do with a 30G memory stick as I've never had one bigger than 1G before!)

Arch Linux

#1 2013-08-13 00:56:46

Problem mounting usb stick with ISO installed on it [SOLVED]

#2 2013-08-13 01:20:55

Re: Problem mounting usb stick with ISO installed on it [SOLVED]

#3 2013-08-13 01:47:46

Re: Problem mounting usb stick with ISO installed on it [SOLVED]

#4 2013-08-13 01:59:52

Re: Problem mounting usb stick with ISO installed on it [SOLVED]

#5 2013-08-13 02:15:39

Re: Problem mounting usb stick with ISO installed on it [SOLVED]

#6 2013-08-13 02:22:21

Re: Problem mounting usb stick with ISO installed on it [SOLVED]

#7 2013-08-13 02:23:01

Re: Problem mounting usb stick with ISO installed on it [SOLVED]

#8 2013-08-13 02:27:03

Re: Problem mounting usb stick with ISO installed on it [SOLVED]

#9 2013-08-13 02:39:17

Re: Problem mounting usb stick with ISO installed on it [SOLVED]

#10 2013-08-13 02:50:10

Re: Problem mounting usb stick with ISO installed on it [SOLVED]

#11 2013-08-13 12:39:16

Re: Problem mounting usb stick with ISO installed on it [SOLVED]

#12 2013-08-13 20:38:52

Re: Problem mounting usb stick with ISO installed on it [SOLVED]

#13 2013-08-13 21:44:35

Re: Problem mounting usb stick with ISO installed on it [SOLVED]

#14 2013-08-13 22:39:12

Re: Problem mounting usb stick with ISO installed on it [SOLVED]

#15 2013-08-13 22:42:14

Re: Problem mounting usb stick with ISO installed on it [SOLVED]

#16 2013-08-13 22:49:00

Re: Problem mounting usb stick with ISO installed on it [SOLVED]

#17 2013-08-13 23:01:17

Re: Problem mounting usb stick with ISO installed on it [SOLVED]

#18 2013-08-14 00:07:30

Re: Problem mounting usb stick with ISO installed on it [SOLVED]

#19 2013-08-14 00:16:32

Re: Problem mounting usb stick with ISO installed on it [SOLVED]

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