USB goes read only suddenly

WeeDram · 2017-02-25 02:01:43

One of my USBs with Arch installed on it has suddenly gone read only. It does NOT have any physical write protect mechanism on it.
When I tried booting it, I saw something flash by about read-only and then the boot process just hung.
I removed the USB, booted my usual Arch and then mounted the USB. Got the message:

[ross@Lenovo3Part ~]$ sudo mount /dev/sdb1 /mnt
mount: /dev/sdb1 is write-protected, mounting read-only

The output of dmesg after this was

$ dmesg | tail
[22834.750438] usb-storage 2-1.2:1.0: USB Mass Storage device detected
[22834.750632] scsi host4: usb-storage 2-1.2:1.0
[22835.755848] scsi 4:0:0:0: Direct-Access     SanDisk  Cruzer Glide     1.27 PQ: 0 ANSI: 6
[22835.757862] sd 4:0:0:0: [sdb] 62530624 512-byte logical blocks: (32.0 GB/29.8 GiB)
[22835.759491] sd 4:0:0:0: [sdb] Write Protect is on
[22835.759496] sd 4:0:0:0: [sdb] Mode Sense: 43 00 80 00
[22835.760592] sd 4:0:0:0: [sdb] Write cache: disabled, read cache: enabled, doesn't support DPO or FUA
[22835.774948]  sdb: sdb1
[22835.779295] sd 4:0:0:0: [sdb] Attached SCSI removable disk
[22867.171520] EXT4-fs (sdb1): mounted filesystem with ordered data mode. Opts: (null)

A search on the problem suggested the worst case is that the USB has failed/ is failing.

However, I would like to see if I can fix it.
One suggestion was to try remount:

[ross@Lenovo3Part ~]$ sudo mount -o remount,rw /dev/sdb1
mount: cannot remount /dev/sdb1 read-write, is write-protected

which didn't work.

I also tried:

[ross@Lenovo3Part ~]$ sudo mount --rw /dev/sdb1 /mnt
mount: /dev/sdb1 is write-protected but explicit `-w' flag given

and that didn't even mount the USB. It's probably obvious from my attempts that I am just shooting in the dark and I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions as to what to try next.

olegabrielz · 2017-02-25 03:34:25

Hi there WeeDram

if you've got some important stuff on it then make sure to back it up while you still can read from it. From my experience when a device itself suddenly goes into read only mode it's usually a bad sign. Here is a thread from a couple of days ago discussing similar symptoms:
https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=223398

Edit: typo

Last edited by olegabrielz (2017-02-25 03:44:06)

WeeDram · 2017-02-25 07:01:19

Thanks for that link. It didn't come up with my search terms. Yes, I'd better back up my data while I can, though there isn't much.
I notice that the poster in the link was using a SanDisk, same brand as mine. Actually, the one I'm using is a replacement for another SanDisk I bought about a year ago that came in the read only state directly from the store.

So, food for thought: Are SanDisks bad because they fail or good because they go ro before failing completely.

olegabrielz · 2017-02-25 08:22:49

I don't have much experience with SanDisk. But I have weared out a couple Kingston USB3 DataTraveler (and some other brands) which have all died in this manner except for one that just stopped working altogether.

seth · 2017-02-25 09:28:51

you can try

sudo umount /dev/sdb1
sudo hdparm -r 0 /dev/sdb

But FIRST SECURE THE DATA! since as olegabrielz mentioned is't more likely the stick is at its end.
Also, before you start to "play" with hdparm "man hdparm" fore sure, google in doubt and DOUBLE CHECK every single command you fire.

x33a · 2017-02-27 08:42:59

Hi WeeDram, you posted the following in an unrelated thread: https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=223484 (Note: I have removed the post from that thread).

Here's your post.

WeeDram wrote:

Hi Seth,
Thanks, I tried that, but with no luck. I had hardly any data on it all because I was using it to pre-check the effect of -Syu each time I did it. In particular, whether or not printing still worked. If, after the upgrade, things were fine, I would comment out my ignore list and run pacman on my 2 main installations. Maybe that was too heavy on the drive.

WeeDram · 2017-02-28 00:17:52

How embarrassing! Thank you for catching that and fixing it. Fumble fingers on an iPad. Not been my week for technology.: failed hard drive, failed USB, PVR wipes all saved TV shows, other things going back further and now this.
Again, thank you very much.

Arch Linux

#1 2017-02-25 02:01:43

USB goes read only suddenly

#2 2017-02-25 03:34:25

Re: USB goes read only suddenly

#3 2017-02-25 07:01:19

Re: USB goes read only suddenly

#4 2017-02-25 08:22:49

Re: USB goes read only suddenly

#5 2017-02-25 09:28:51

Re: USB goes read only suddenly

#6 2017-02-27 08:42:59

Re: USB goes read only suddenly

#7 2017-02-28 00:17:52

Re: USB goes read only suddenly

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