[SOLVED] fstab for usb devices in Squeeze

mark_alfred · 07-24-2011, 08:25 PM

Hello. Back in the good old days when I used Lenny, I was able to mount my usb stick, mount my digital camera, and sync my palm pilot, at the same time. After upgrading to Squeeze, this now seems like an impossible dream.

My fstab file used to look like this:

Code:

# /etc/fstab: static file system information.
#
# <file system> <mount point>   <type>  <options>       <dump>  <pass>
proc            /proc           proc    defaults        0       0
/dev/hda1       /               ext3    defaults,errors=remount-ro 0       1
/dev/hda5       none            swap    sw              0       0
/dev/hdc        /media/cdrom0   udf,iso9660 user,noauto     0       0
/dev/fd0        /media/floppy0  vfat,msdos    rw,user,noauto  0       0
/dev/sda1	/media/usb	vfat	noauto,user	0	0	
/dev/sdb1	/media/usb2	vfat	noauto,user	0	0
/dev/sdc1	/media/usb3	vfat	noauto,user	0	0

Now, it has all these messy unreadable entries like "UUID=14c375f6-91a3-45cd-b12a-d06b507c9dfe" in it. What does this mean?

I use Fluxbox, on an old Dell OptiPlex GX1. Whenever I try to mount and read the files on my digital camera, I am told I have "wrong fs type, bad option, bad superblock".

There's some strange entry in the current (and now incomprehensible) fstab that reads:

Code:

UUID=A456-E995	/media/usb  vfat  noauto,user  0 0

I think this might be for my usb stick, which sometimes I can mount and read. But, when I try to read images from my digital camera, via plugging it in and mounting /media/usb, it tells me that "mount: special device UUID=A456-E995 does not exist".

How I yearn for the good old days of Lenny. But, I digress. Can someone tell me how to fix my fstab to get it so I can once again mount my usb devices (specifically the camera)?

Mark

mark_alfred · 07-24-2011, 09:10 PM

A user on the Debian mailing list helped me to solve it. The program blkid did the trick, allowing to find the weird number for my fstab:

Code:

debian:/home/mark# blkid
/dev/sdc1: SEC_TYPE="msdos" UUID="0000-115E" TYPE="vfat" 
debian:/home/mark#

So, with the UUID=0000-115E, I was able to make the entry in the fstab to establish a mount point for the camera.

David the H. · 07-24-2011, 10:53 PM

UUID is a unique device identifier. mount/fstab can use it instead of a /dev entry, allowing you to tie the command a specific drive or partition. There are many ways to get the UUID for a device, so google it. You can also define a device by its label, which may be a little more flexible.

But in any case, fstab is generally not the recommended place for handling removable disks. These really should be dealt with by your desktop's automounting system or pmount, or something similar.

gradinaruvasile · 07-25-2011, 12:39 AM

Removable media is handled by udisks in Squeeze.