[probably solved]Can't mount removable disk

rzodkiewka · 2009-05-19 17:58:46

Hello.
I plug in a removable disk, then

# mount /dev/sdb1 /media/disk
mount: special device /dev/sdb1 does not exist

Indeed, fdisk -l shows only all partitions in /dev/sda, even 15 minutes after pluging the usb device.
However,

# tail -n5 /var/log/messages.log
May 19 19:41:59 yubaba kernel: pci 0000:00:02.0: PCI INT A -> Link[LNKA] -> GSI 11 (level, low) -> IRQ 11
May 19 19:41:59 yubaba kernel: [drm] Initialized i915 1.6.0 20080730 on minor 0
May 19 19:42:28 yubaba kernel: usb 1-5: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 3
May 19 19:42:28 yubaba kernel: usb 1-5: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
May 19 19:55:24 yubaba kernel: usb 1-5: USB disconnect, address 3

What can it be?

Edit: start the system with usb disk in -> can mount the /dev/sdb1 and /dev/sdc1 and plug disks in and out unless I remove all the disks - then again can't mount after pluging in.

Last edited by rzodkiewka (2009-05-21 15:13:24)

Primoz · 2009-05-19 18:59:21

I did this; not the best thing but still very simple.
Add your external disk to fstab. Name it something like external...
Then add a alias to bashrc which will automate the mounting:

alias external='su root mount /mnt/zundisk'
alias unexternal='su root umount /mnt/zundisk'

That should do it.

EDUT: Don't forget to add noauto to fstab for the external disk...

Last edited by Primoz (2009-05-19 19:00:04)

rzodkiewka · 2009-05-19 19:13:55

I'm afraid you didn't read my post.
"/dev/sdb1 does not exist" is not at all about permission to mount or shortcuts.

Last edited by rzodkiewka (2009-05-19 19:19:51)

perbh · 2009-05-19 19:22:40

so - insert it and do a 'dmesg|tail' and show us what it says ....

rzodkiewka · 2009-05-19 19:40:41

# dmesg|tail
Adding 771080k swap on /dev/sda6.  Priority:-1 extents:1 across:771080k 
NET: Registered protocol family 10
lo: Disabled Privacy Extensions
ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): wlan0: link is not ready
ADDRCONF(NETDEV_CHANGE): wlan0: link becomes ready
[drm] Initialized drm 1.1.0 20060810
pci 0000:00:02.0: PCI INT A -> Link[LNKA] -> GSI 11 (level, low) -> IRQ 11
pci 0000:00:02.0: setting latency timer to 64
[drm] Initialized i915 1.6.0 20080730 on minor 0
wlan0: no IPv6 routers present

for about 3 minutes.
Then tried once more, removed, inserted and

# dmesg|tail -n 22
wlan0: no IPv6 routers present
usb 1-4: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 3
usb 1-4: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
Initializing USB Mass Storage driver...
scsi2 : SCSI emulation for USB Mass Storage devices
usbcore: registered new interface driver usb-storage
USB Mass Storage support registered.
usb-storage: device found at 3
usb-storage: waiting for device to settle before scanning
scsi 2:0:0:0: Direct-Access     CREATIVE MuVo T200             PQ: 0 ANSI: 0 CCS
sd 2:0:0:0: [sdb] 7911424 512-byte hardware sectors: (4.05 GB/3.77 GiB)
sd 2:0:0:0: [sdb] Write Protect is off
sd 2:0:0:0: [sdb] Mode Sense: 45 00 00 08
sd 2:0:0:0: [sdb] Assuming drive cache: write through
sd 2:0:0:0: [sdb] 7911424 512-byte hardware sectors: (4.05 GB/3.77 GiB)
sd 2:0:0:0: [sdb] Write Protect is off
sd 2:0:0:0: [sdb] Mode Sense: 45 00 00 08
sd 2:0:0:0: [sdb] Assuming drive cache: write through
 sdb: sdb1
sd 2:0:0:0: [sdb] Attached SCSI removable disk
sd 2:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg1 type 0
usb-storage: device scan complete

at once and /dev/sdb1 exists.
Weird.

Update:
Rebooted few times. Sometimes it worked nice and after <10 secs I had /dev/sdb1 correctly. Sometimes had to unplug and plug the device one more time to make it work. Sometimes nothing helped.
When nothing helped the dmesg output looked like

usb 1-4: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 4
usb 1-4: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice

and nothing next.

Last edited by rzodkiewka (2009-05-19 20:07:35)

perbh · 2009-05-19 20:42:18

Yup - sometimes it takes some time before they come up - but I've never seen as much as 10 secs before.
What you _could_ do is to make a li'l script ...

dmesg | tail | grep -q 'sdb1$' && {
  mount /dev/sdb1 /mnt/whereever && echo "sdb1 successfully mounted" && exit 0
}
echo "sdb1 _not_ ready
exit 1

rzodkiewka · 2009-05-19 20:57:32

perbh wrote:

Yup - sometimes it takes some time before they come up - but I've never seen as much as 10 secs before.

12 minutes and counting. Still

# dmesg|tail -n3
wlan0: no IPv6 routers present
usb 1-4: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 3
usb 1-4: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice

Any idea what could it be?

Last edited by rzodkiewka (2009-05-19 21:00:11)

Peasantoid · 2009-05-19 21:11:23

[wild_guess]Maybe you need hotplugging support?[/wild_guess]

Primoz · 2009-05-19 21:34:14

rzodkiewka wrote:

I'm afraid you didn't read my post.
"/dev/sdb1 does not exist" is not at all about permission to mount or shortcuts.

Sorry for that...
I was so happy that I could present my solution to the problem

But I would go with the hot-plugging now.
Did you install and configure evdev?
(probably you did...)

karol · 2009-05-19 22:59:59

Hope they're somewhat relevant:
http://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=71903
http://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=72067
http://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=72250
http://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=72347
http://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=72154&p=2
http://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=67765
http://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=72450
http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/HAL

USB devices may take some time to settle & show up, but obviously it shouldn't take minutes.

Last edited by karol (2009-05-19 23:17:45)

rzodkiewka · 2009-05-20 07:19:20

Thanks, Karol.
So it looks like it's not hal problem. I don't use any file manager, just try to mount a device manually.
In wiki:

When a new device is added, e.g. a USB drive is plugged in, the following occurs (roughly):
* The kernel becomes aware of a new device and registers it in /sys.
* Udev creates a device node (e.g. /dev/sdb1), and loads the drivers/modules needed.
* The HAL daemon is notified by D-Bus and adds the device and what it can find out about it to its database.
* The addition of the new device is broadcast by HAL over D-Bus to whatever programs are subscribing, e.g. Thunar, which shows it as an icon in the shortcuts side panel, or Metacity/Nautilus which will add an icon to the desktop.
* Another program listening may be a volume manager, such as thunar-volman or AutoFS, configured to automatically create mount points and mount certain types of drives, start Rhythmbox whenever an iPod is connected, etc.

Looks like I'm stuck somewhere between the first and the second step.

Also I don't know from the discussion in http://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=72154&p=2
bender02 says you need hal only to automount not to manual mount, Wilco says you may sometimes not have kernel informed about a new device without hal.
Anyway, my dmesg output suggests the kernel knows about the new device but for some reason it can't go to the next step...

karol · 2009-05-20 12:03:00

I've never had any problems (never = a month or so, I'm new here). Yesterday I removed HAL and things still work, mounting is just as simple as it was, no errors. I too mount manually.

Depending on your setup, you may want to try this, but honestly I have no idea ...
http://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=65070&p=1

rzodkiewka · 2009-05-21 15:12:45

Thanks for everyone.
It looks like it was a dbus bug - I downgraded dbus and dbus-core and now the problem seems to be solved.

karol · 2009-05-21 15:16:22

Which version were you using? There is a '-permissive' flavor you might want to check.

rzodkiewka · 2009-05-21 15:42:43

Current, dbus-1.2.4.6permissive-1-i686.
What do you mean "'-permissive' flavor" I might check?

karol · 2009-05-21 15:49:03

I meant the 'permissive' like in dbus-1.2.4.6permissive-1-i686 :-)
There's dbus and dbus-core / dbus-core-permissive:
http://www.archlinux.org/packages/?arch … =&limit=50
http://www.archlinux.org/pipermail/arch … 11636.html

rzodkiewka · 2009-05-21 17:54:54

Alright
I installed non-permissive dbus from Testing and it works nice too. Thanks.
So it must have been something wrong with the 6permissive dbus.

rzodkiewka · 2009-05-25 13:01:38

Damn!
Doesn't work again!

karol · 2009-05-25 16:44:15

Maybe it's a faulty device - does this happen w/ other things you plug in?

rzodkiewka · 2009-05-25 19:40:57

Mouse works without any problems.
I tested three different flash disks (creative muvo mp3 player, kingston and samsung so it doesn't depend on model) and all have the same problem.

karol · 2009-05-25 19:44:54

Do you plug them to the same USB port?
If the port is OK and you haven't updated dbus etc. and it just stopped working all by itself you should call an exorcist.

rzodkiewka · 2009-05-25 20:10:08

Yes, the same, but it looks perfectly the same when I try another port.
I know an exorcist, he lives near to my parents, do you think he could help?

Last edited by rzodkiewka (2009-05-25 20:14:56)

karol · 2009-05-25 20:17:06

rzodkiewka wrote:

I know an exorcist, he lives near to my parents, do you think he could help?

Suuuuuure :-) But if he fails, you can always 'rm -rf /' and start again.

Apropos 'again': let's start from the beginning.
- Does it happen when you mount it as root / normal user/ in both cases?
- Is the user in the storage group?
- What the hell (pun indented) did you do w/ your udev rules, because I've read that they are responsible for that whole mounting.
- Running / doing anything out of the ordinary like running a custom kernel?
- Do you have HAL? If yes, does it run?
- Plug the device directly to the USB port, not through any hub and whatnot.
- Is the device you want to mount listed in fstab? I've read it shouldn't be, so delete it :-)

Edit: Ummm, how do you know what device to pick? It isn't always /dev/sdb1 so 'fdisk -l' before blaming anything. In case the device *is* plugged and fdisk still shows nothing (like you wrote), call the exorcist.

Edit 2: http://forums.fedoraforum.org/printthread.php?t=182049
This would explain the muvo, but if you've tried plain USB sticks and they too show the symptoms than get some holy water.

Edit 3: I wonder why everything seems OK when you start w/ mounted devices. This may be a hint; now I have to find my crystal ball.

Last edited by karol (2009-05-25 22:54:23)

mini_ed · 2009-05-26 11:53:58

i have a similar problem....with a usb card reader
i think it may be something to do with this:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+sour … +bug/88746
have a go at unloading ehci_hcd: 'sudo modprobe -r ehci_hcd'
this worked well for me....once haha now it's stopped working again for some reason.
Ed

edit: on further testing i found that perhaps the problem is unrelated. it works even if I have ehci_hcd loaded, but I need to have a compact flash card in the reader before it can read anything else?? strange. in any case try unloading ehci_hcd and plugging ur usb device in. anyways i'l stop hijacking this thread hehe.

Last edited by mini_ed (2009-05-26 12:27:22)

karol · 2009-05-26 12:53:27

I've read about unloading ehci_hcd and friends (IIRC also from Ubuntu bugslist) but those cases seemed unrelated. Let's hope that exorcist knows how to do his job.

Arch Linux

#1 2009-05-19 17:58:46

[probably solved]Can't mount removable disk

#2 2009-05-19 18:59:21

Re: [probably solved]Can't mount removable disk

#3 2009-05-19 19:13:55

Re: [probably solved]Can't mount removable disk

#4 2009-05-19 19:22:40

Re: [probably solved]Can't mount removable disk

#5 2009-05-19 19:40:41

Re: [probably solved]Can't mount removable disk

#6 2009-05-19 20:42:18

Re: [probably solved]Can't mount removable disk

#7 2009-05-19 20:57:32

Re: [probably solved]Can't mount removable disk

#8 2009-05-19 21:11:23

Re: [probably solved]Can't mount removable disk

#9 2009-05-19 21:34:14

Re: [probably solved]Can't mount removable disk

#10 2009-05-19 22:59:59

Re: [probably solved]Can't mount removable disk

#11 2009-05-20 07:19:20

Re: [probably solved]Can't mount removable disk

#12 2009-05-20 12:03:00

Re: [probably solved]Can't mount removable disk

#13 2009-05-21 15:12:45

Re: [probably solved]Can't mount removable disk

#14 2009-05-21 15:16:22

Re: [probably solved]Can't mount removable disk

#15 2009-05-21 15:42:43

Re: [probably solved]Can't mount removable disk

#16 2009-05-21 15:49:03

Re: [probably solved]Can't mount removable disk

#17 2009-05-21 17:54:54

Re: [probably solved]Can't mount removable disk

#18 2009-05-25 13:01:38

Re: [probably solved]Can't mount removable disk

#19 2009-05-25 16:44:15

Re: [probably solved]Can't mount removable disk

#20 2009-05-25 19:40:57

Re: [probably solved]Can't mount removable disk

#21 2009-05-25 19:44:54

Re: [probably solved]Can't mount removable disk

#22 2009-05-25 20:10:08

Re: [probably solved]Can't mount removable disk

#23 2009-05-25 20:17:06

Re: [probably solved]Can't mount removable disk

#24 2009-05-26 11:53:58

Re: [probably solved]Can't mount removable disk

#25 2009-05-26 12:53:27

Re: [probably solved]Can't mount removable disk

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