How to mount IDE HDD

SentralOrigin · 10-01-2008, 03:39 PM

I have an IDE HDD and I bought an IDE to USB adapter. I connected the connector to the HDD and plugged it into my USB port, and I plugged the power in as well, but when I try to mount it, it gives me an error:

Quote:

mount: /dev/sdb: can't read superblock

dmesg | tail:

Code:

~$ dmesg | tail
[437202.031193] usb-storage: device scan complete
[437202.032235] scsi 7:0:0:0: Direct-Access                                    PQ: 0 ANSI: 2 CCS
[437202.047126] sd 7:0:0:0: [sdb] Attached SCSI disk
[437202.047222] sd 7:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg2 type 0
[437251.944530] FAT: unable to read boot sector
[154323.320484] RPC: Registered udp transport module.
[154323.320490] RPC: Registered tcp transport module.
[437651.011347] FAT: unable to read boot sector

jailbait · 10-01-2008, 03:44 PM

Is this a brand new drive? That message is probably from automount. When you plug the device in automount tries to automatically mount the device and cannot if the drive has not been partitioned and formatted yet. When you get the message you should reply ignore or something similar. Then log in as root and partition and format the drive.

----------------
Steve Stites

MS3FGX · 10-01-2008, 03:45 PM

Those errors look like it didn't detect any usable drive connected to the adapter. Check the Master/Slave jumper on the drive. Some IDE drives need to be set as Master even if there is no Slave, and others need the jumpers removed if they are single-Master.

farslayer · 10-01-2008, 03:49 PM

you are trying to mount the device not a partition..

typically you would mount /dev/sdb1 but it looks as though the partition table might be corrupt on the drive.

Is there data on the drive you wish to access ? or could you repartition and reformat the drive ?

I have also run into IDE to USB adapters that didn't work very well and provided similar results to what you are experiencing. so it could be related to the adapter as well. I purchased an expensive enclosure a while back, and it failed miserably in both Windows and Linux.

amazingly enough, this el-cheapo adapter works great for Windows and Linux at times I just want to hook up a IDE or SATA drive to a USB port to grab some data. http://www.inland-products.com/singl...&partnum=08412

So there are a couple things you need to look at.
Is the drive OK ? does it work when connected ot an actual IDE cable ?
Is your Adapter functioning properly ? or is it a paperweight like the first one I purchased ...

SentralOrigin · 10-01-2008, 03:58 PM

This is not a new drive. I just brought it from my friend's house and it worked fine on his computer before I took it home.

How do I check Master/Slave jumper on the drive?

ls -a /dev/hd* and sd*:

Code:

$ ls -a /dev/sd*
/dev/sda  /dev/sda1  /dev/sda2  /dev/sda5  /dev/sdb

$ ls -a /dev/hd*
ls: cannot access /dev/hd*: No such file or directory

/dev/sdb appears when I plug in my drive, but my HDD makes no noises at all even when I put my ear close to it.

I do want to access data from the drive. It's formatted with NTFS.

The adapter I have is a Vantec SATA/IDE to USB.

Any suggestions?

MS3FGX · 10-01-2008, 04:03 PM

Is the power supply good? Is there another one you could test with?

The drive should be humming and should feel like it is spinning if it is running properly.

SentralOrigin · 10-01-2008, 04:15 PM

Code:

$ sudo mount -t ntfs /dev/sdb /mount1/
Failed to read bootsector (size=0)
Failed to mount '/dev/sdb': Invalid argument
The device '/dev/sdb' doesn't have a valid NTFS.
Maybe you selected the wrong device? Or the whole disk instead of a
partition (e.g. /dev/hda, not /dev/hda1)? Or the other way around?

Code:

$ sudo fdisk /dev/sdb

Unable to read /dev/sdb

Code:

$ dmesg
[439866.653800] usb 4-3: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 11
[439866.787900] usb 4-3: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
[155216.806112] scsi10 : SCSI emulation for USB Mass Storage devices
[155216.817994] usb-storage: device found at 11
[155216.818000] usb-storage: waiting for device to settle before scanning
[439872.294135] usb-storage: device scan complete
[439872.295158] scsi 10:0:0:0: Direct-Access                                    PQ: 0 ANSI: 2 CCS
[439872.310090] sd 10:0:0:0: [sdb] Attached SCSI disk
[439872.310184] sd 10:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg2 type 0

MS3FGX · 10-01-2008, 04:19 PM

You won't be able to mount anything until you figure out why the drive isn't spinning. This isn't a software problem.

David1357 · 10-01-2008, 04:28 PM

You want to use

Quote:

Originally Posted by SentralOrigin

Code:

$ sudo mount -t ntfs /dev/sdb1 /mount1

Note the device is "/dev/sdb1" (first partition).

farslayer · 10-01-2008, 06:51 PM

actually you would want to use ntfs-3g to mount it, rather than ntfs.

But there still appears to be a possible hardware issue or the usb-storage modules are not being loaded.

lsmod | grep usb

SentralOrigin · 10-01-2008, 07:13 PM

I solved the problem...I forgot to plug in the power supply cord...

farslayer · 10-01-2008, 07:28 PM

should have used a smaller font. I can still read that ;p

Well you won't forget to check that again will ya