Problem: Unable to Mount USB Drive or Access Partition

javi-amarant · Yesterday 23:22:54

I’m having trouble with a USB drive (/dev/sda) that I cannot mount or access. Here’s what I’ve tried:

I attempted to mount the device using different filesystems (NTFS, EXT4, EXFAT), but each time I get errors such as "Failed to read bootsector" or "Can't read superblock."

Running ntfsfix returns the error "Failed to read bootsector" and "Unrecoverable error."

I also tried running fsck on the drive, but it gives the error "The superblock could not be read or does not describe a valid ext2/ext3/ext4 filesystem."

It seems the partition table might be damaged, as the system doesn't recognize the device properly (I don’t see any partitions in testdisk or gparted).

I suspect the disk may have filesystem corruption or partition issues, but I'm not sure how to proceed.

Below is the dmesg log that shows the errors I'm encountering.

[225972.708879] usb 3-3: new high-speed USB device number 43 using xhci_hcd
[225972.848698] usb 3-3: New USB device found, idVendor=0bda, idProduct=9210, bcdDevice=f0.01
[225972.848719] usb 3-3: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
[225972.848725] usb 3-3: Product: Ugreen Storage Device
[225972.848729] usb 3-3: Manufacturer: Ugreen
[225972.848733] usb 3-3: SerialNumber: 012345678944
[225972.883758] usb-storage 3-3:1.0: USB Mass Storage device detected
[225972.884841] scsi host0: usb-storage 3-3:1.0
[225973.925300] scsi 0:0:0:0: Direct-Access Realtek RTL9210 1.00 PQ: 0 ANSI: 6
[225973.926262] sd 0:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg0 type 0
[225973.934482] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] Read Capacity(10) failed: Result: hostbyte=DID_OK driverbyte=DRIVER_OK
[225973.934497] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] Sense Key : Illegal Request [current]
[225973.934503] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] Add. Sense: Invalid command operation code
[225973.935155] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] 0 512-byte logical blocks: (0 B/0 B)
[225973.935165] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] 0-byte physical blocks
[225973.935735] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] Write Protect is off
[225973.935742] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] Mode Sense: 37 00 00 08
[225973.936350] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] Write cache: disabled, read cache: enabled, doesn't support DPO or FUA
[225973.937231] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] Attached SCSI disk

Any ideas on how to proceed?

thank you in advance!

dimich · Today 08:06:21

javi-amarant wrote:

Any ideas on how to proceed?

Does the drive contain partitions? Was it formatted without partitioning? What exact command did you run for mount?
What is output of

$ lsblk -f /dev/sda

# fdisk -l /dev/sda

?

Last edited by dimich (Today 08:07:48)

dimich · Today 08:11:53

Ah, it looks like device's controller is broken:

[225973.935155] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] 0 512-byte logical blocks: (0 B/0 B)
[225973.935165] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] 0-byte physical blocks

Does the drive work on any other machine?

javi-amarant · Today 10:58:58

Thank you for answering!

dimich wrote:

Does the drive contain partitions? Was it formatted without partitioning? What exact command did you run for mount?

The disk is from a friend so Im not sure about the formatting.

When I try to mount I get:
sudo mount /dev/sda /mnt/usb/
mount: /mnt/usb: can't read superblock on /dev/sda.
dmesg(1) may have more information after failed mount system call.

sudo mount -t exfat /dev/sda /mnt/usb/
mount: /mnt/usb: can't read superblock on /dev/sda.
dmesg(1) may have more information after failed mount system call.

dmesg output:
[267162.820986] mount: attempt to access beyond end of device
sda: rw=0, sector=0, nr_sectors = 1 limit=0
[267162.820997] exFAT-fs (sda): unable to read boot sector
[267162.821001] exFAT-fs (sda): failed to read boot sector
[267162.821003] exFAT-fs (sda): failed to recognize exfat type

dimich wrote:

Ah, it looks like device's controller is broken:
[225973.935155] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] 0 512-byte logical blocks: (0 B/0 B)
[225973.935165] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] 0-byte physical blocks
Does the drive work on any other machine?

I tried on 2 different laptops and same result.

Tried ddrescue:

sudo ddrescue -r3 -d /dev/sda /tmp/test.img /tmp/recovery.log
GNU ddrescue 1.27
Press Ctrl-C to interrupt
Initial status (read from mapfile)
rescued: 0 B, tried: 0 B, bad-sector: 0 B, bad areas: 0

Current status
ipos: 0 B, non-trimmed: 0 B, current rate: 0 B/s
opos: 0 B, non-scraped: 0 B, average rate: 0 B/s
non-tried: 0 B, bad-sector: 0 B, error rate: 0 B/s
rescued: 0 B, bad areas: 0, run time: 0s
pct rescued: 0.00%, read errors: 0, remaining time: n/a
time since last successful read: n/a
Copying non-tried blocks... Pass 1 (forwards)
ipos: 0 B, non-trimmed: 0 B, current rate: 0 B/s
opos: 0 B, non-scraped: 0 B, average rate: 0 B/s
non-tried: 0 B, bad-sector: 0 B, error rate: 0 B/s
rescued: 0 B, bad areas: 0, run time: 0s
pct rescued: 0.00%, read errors: 0, remaining time: n/a
time since last successful read: n/a

About the lsblk and fdisk I get the following:
sudo lsblk /dev/sda
NAME
MAJ:MIN RM SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINTS
sda 8:0 0 0B 0 disk

sudo fdisk -l /dev/sda
fdisk: cannot open /dev/sda: Invalid argument

seth · Today 13:30:49

The controller responds to the host but says there's no actual storage device.
Is this a customizable encasing, ie. can you disassemble it and take out the drive?
(Don't just pry it open)
This was the case and solution in the other thread you responded to.

PS: you might have noticed that private mails don't make anything go faster but just take more competent eyes off the problem

dimich · Today 13:39:30

The disk itself reports that it has 0 size. Probably internal flash degraded or some other hardware failure in the drive. It has nothing to do with your OS. It's very unlikely you can recovery it with software, sorry.

javi-amarant · Today 14:24:04

thank you both for the responses!

I think is this model: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N12gkOYsezw

seth wrote:

Is this a customizable encasing, ie. can you disassemble it and take out the drive?
(Don't just pry it open)
This was the case and solution in the other thread you responded to.

I think I can try, but how can I read it? do I need some nvme adapter'?

Thank you again and sorry for the mail.

seth · Today 15:06:45

Assuming only the controller is damaged you'd plug the disk into a different case or directly onto a motherboard.
Iff there's an nvme inside.
The other thread was resolved by simply re-attaching it inside the casing (probably ha just come loose)

The youtube video is some dude in a red shirt, the disk vendor/model is likely printed on it and more relevant.

javi-amarant · Today 15:44:40

seth wrote:

Assuming only the controller is damaged you'd plug the disk into a different case or directly onto a motherboard.
Iff there's an nvme inside.
The other thread was resolved by simply re-attaching it inside the casing (probably ha just come loose)
The youtube video is some dude in a red shirt, the disk vendor/model is likely printed on it and more relevant.

I see

Just tried to re-attach on the same case and got the same error , I think I'll need to try a dif case or ono a motherboard as u said

Arch Linux

#1 Yesterday 23:22:54

Problem: Unable to Mount USB Drive or Access Partition

#2 Today 08:06:21

Re: Problem: Unable to Mount USB Drive or Access Partition

#3 Today 08:11:53

Re: Problem: Unable to Mount USB Drive or Access Partition

#4 Today 10:58:58

Re: Problem: Unable to Mount USB Drive or Access Partition

#5 Today 13:30:49

Re: Problem: Unable to Mount USB Drive or Access Partition

#6 Today 13:39:30

Re: Problem: Unable to Mount USB Drive or Access Partition

#7 Today 14:24:04

Re: Problem: Unable to Mount USB Drive or Access Partition

#8 Today 15:06:45

Re: Problem: Unable to Mount USB Drive or Access Partition

#9 Today 15:44:40

Re: Problem: Unable to Mount USB Drive or Access Partition

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