problem with specific USB drive in new distributions
 

I have a USB drive that will now longer mount. It still mounts in OpenSuSE 11.0, which is built on kernel 2.6.25, but it will not mount in Ubuntu 8.10 or four other distributions that are built on kernel 2.6.27. All of my other USB devices mount in all the distributions I currently use or have recently tested.

Here is the info for this drive from hwinfo:

UDI: /org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/usb_device_4971_a002_8F29E2_if0_scsi_host_0_scsi_device_lun0_scsi_generic
Unique ID: CLb3.vQ_wcuH+9uD
SysFS ID: /class/block/sdb
SysFS BusID: 5:0:0:0
SysFS Device Link: /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1d.7/usb7/7-6/7-6.5/7-6.5:1.0/host5/target5:0:0/5:0:0:0
Hardware Class: disk
Model: "WDC WD16 00BB-56GUC0"
Vendor: usb 0x4971 "WDC WD16"
Device: usb 0xa002 "00BB-56GUC0"
Revision: "20.0"
Serial ID: "8F29E2"
Driver: "usb-storage", "sd"
Driver Modules: "usb_storage"
Device File: /dev/sdb (/dev/sg2)
Device Number: block 8:16-8:31 (char 21:2)
Speed: 480 Mbps
Module Alias: "usb:v4971pA002d0001dc00dsc00dp00ic08isc06ip50"
Driver Info #0:
Driver Status: libusual is active
Driver Activation Cmd: "modprobe libusual"
Drive status: no medium


The lsusb information for this device is:

Bus 007 Device 004: ID 4971:a002.


When I run a blkid command, no UUID id displayed for this drive in the distributions that will not mount it.

Any ideas anyone?

How exactly is it not mounting? Is it just failing to mount, or is the drive not being detected at all, that is, no /dev entries are being created? Are you talking about the gui automounter only? Have you tried mounting it manually? What kind of errors do you get? Did you try fscking the drive? Is there anything different about this drive compared to the others that may affect what's going on? What does "fdisk -l show when you have the device plugged in?

Disconnect it. Connect it again. Wait a minute. Post "dmesg" output from the first line where it mentions new USB device.

The drive does not show up in the list of partitions I get through the fdisk -l command, so I cannot mount it manually, since there is no /dev entry for it. There really is nothing out of the ordinary about this drive and its USB interface, so I suspect a bug, maybe at the kernel level since it is consistent across several distributions, is causing an obscure regression. One trait this drive has that is not entirely typical is that it also has a Firewire interface. I had to get a cable (or adapter) to fit the 4-circuit jack on my laptop, but when I could finally try the 1394 connection, the drive mounted just as it should. I'd still like to know what is wrong with the USB connection, but having a working Firewire connection now means that curiosity has become the main reason why.

Here is some of what I could get from the dmesg output. I don't know how much the terminal lopped off the top. This fragment at the end of the output is too long to post, so I've chopped it off after a few lines. It goes on in the same way for many, many more lines.

[20565.139022] sd 7:0:0:0: [sdb] Add. Sense: No additional sense information
[20565.475585] sd 7:0:0:0: [sdb] Sense Key : No Sense [current]
[20565.475604] sd 7:0:0:0: [sdb] Add. Sense: No additional sense information
[20565.814121] sd 7:0:0:0: [sdb] Sense Key : No Sense [current]
[20565.814141] sd 7:0:0:0: [sdb] Add. Sense: No additional sense information
[20566.147524] sd 7:0:0:0: [sdb] Sense Key : No Sense [current]
[20566.147543] sd 7:0:0:0: [sdb] Add. Sense: No additional sense information
[20566.480272] sd 7:0:0:0: [sdb] Sense Key : No Sense [current]
[20566.480292] sd 7:0:0:0: [sdb] Add. Sense: No additional sense information
[20566.814278] sd 7:0:0:0: [sdb] Sense Key : No Sense [current]
[20566.814297] sd 7:0:0:0: [sdb] Add. Sense: No additional sense information
[20567.147558] sd 7:0:0:0: [sdb] Sense Key : No Sense [current]
[20567.147578] sd 7:0:0:0: [sdb] Add. Sense: No additional sense information
[20567.480654] sd 7:0:0:0: [sdb] Sense Key : No Sense [current]
[20567.480674] sd 7:0:0:0: [sdb] Add. Sense: No additional sense information
[20567.814387] sd 7:0:0:0: [sdb] Sense Key : No Sense [current]
[20567.814407] sd 7:0:0:0: [sdb] Add. Sense: No additional sense information
[20568.147759] sd 7:0:0:0: [sdb] Sense Key : No Sense [current]
[20568.147780] sd 7:0:0:0: [sdb] Add. Sense: No additional sense information
[20568.480776] sd 7:0:0:0: [sdb] Sense Key : No Sense [current]
[20568.480796] sd 7:0:0:0: [sdb] Add. Sense: No additional sense information
[20568.814436] sd 7:0:0:0: [sdb] Sense Key : No Sense [current]
[20568.814456] sd 7:0:0:0: [sdb] Add. Sense: No additional sense information
[20569.148033] sd 7:0:0:0: [sdb] Sense Key : No Sense [current]
[20569.148053] sd 7:0:0:0: [sdb] Add. Sense: No additional sense information
[20569.480638] sd 7:0:0:0: [sdb] Sense Key : No Sense [current]
[20569.480657] sd 7:0:0:0: [sdb] Add. Sense: No additional sense information

Ok.. Try "dmesg | less", scroll up and post lines between the report on new USB device and the cyclical error you have posted.

[ 2123.376484] usb 7-6.7: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 4
[ 2123.604130] usb 7-6.7: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
[ 2123.745995] usbcore: registered new interface driver libusual
[ 2123.785299] Initializing USB Mass Storage driver...
[ 2123.787404] scsi5 : SCSI emulation for USB Mass Storage devices
[ 2123.788185] usbcore: registered new interface driver usb-storage
[ 2123.788196] usb-storage: device found at 4
[ 2123.788202] usb-storage: waiting for device to settle before scanning
[ 2123.788215] USB Mass Storage support registered.
[ 2128.788637] usb-storage: device scan complete
[ 2128.789406] scsi 5:0:0:0: Direct-Access WDC WD16 00BB-56GUC0 20.0 PQ: 0 ANSI: 0
[ 2128.794118] sd 5:0:0:0: [sdb] 312581809 512-byte hardware sectors (160042 MB)
[ 2128.795106] sd 5:0:0:0: [sdb] Write Protect is off
[ 2128.795113] sd 5:0:0:0: [sdb] Mode Sense: 03 00 00 00
[ 2128.795120] sd 5:0:0:0: [sdb] Assuming drive cache: write through
[ 2128.795986] sd 5:0:0:0: [sdb] 312581809 512-byte hardware sectors (160042 MB)
[ 2128.797758] sd 5:0:0:0: [sdb] Write Protect is off
[ 2128.797765] sd 5:0:0:0: [sdb] Mode Sense: 03 00 00 00
[ 2128.797771] sd 5:0:0:0: [sdb] Assuming drive cache: write through
[ 2128.797781] sdb: sdb1
[ 2128.818363] sd 5:0:0:0: [sdb] Attached SCSI disk
[ 2128.820525] sd 5:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg2 type 0
[ 2129.297481] sd 5:0:0:0: [sdb] Sense Key : No Sense [current]
[ 2129.297493] sd 5:0:0:0: [sdb] Add. Sense: No additional sense information

And /dev/sdb1 doesn't appear? Did you try building a new vanilla kernel on an old distribution or installing new distribution kernels there?

Right, no /dev/sb1.

I installed new distribution kernels; I don't think I am ready to try building kernels yet. I am using Mint 6 currently, but have tested Ubuntu 8.10, Fedora 10, and Mepis 8 beta 5. The drive behaves in the same way in all of them when trying to connect through the USB interface. I think all these distributions are built on kernel 2.6.27. As I noted in my original post, this drive still connects without problem via USB to openSuSE 11.0, which is built on kernel 2.6.25. Also, I don't know if you read in a reply I made to post from someone else, this drive will connect automatically in Mint 6 via its Firewire connection.

Well, if you tried to compile a few kernels, you'd have a good chance to either make your distribution not spoil vanilla kernel here or submit a useful Linux kernel bug report.. But without compiling your own kernel it is useless. I have never seen such an error on my computers, so I cannot help you in feeding your curiosity.

Thank you for the attention you gave my problem, Raskin.