USB flash drive and SCSI

DiscoStoo · 08-03-2005, 11:02 AM

I've got a USB flash drive that I'd like to use, but something is up with my scsi support. When I plug the drive in I can see it on /dev/uba1, and can even mount it on /dev/uba1, but it doesn't seem to work properly. Writing to the disk is kind of screwy. From the (seemingly) thousands of posts I've read since then, it seems that I should be treating the disk as SCSI, but I can't seem to get it to work. I'm using Slackware 10.1's default (and ONLY) 2.6.10 kernel, which could be the problem. The thing is, I kind of assumed the default kernel for a distro would at least include scsi support as a module, but I can't seem to find scsi_mod or sd_mod or anything like that. I know I should just compile my own, and I will before too long, but I've been really busy lately and haven't had much time to spare. I just kinda need to use that drive ASAP.

Here's what I get when I plug it in, by the way:

Code:

root@slackbox:~# tail /var/log/messages
Aug  3 12:00:53 slackbox kernel: usb 2-2: new full speed USB device using ohci_hcd and address 5
Aug  3 12:00:53 slackbox kernel: uba: device 5 capacity nsec 507968 bsize 512
Aug  3 12:00:53 slackbox kernel: uba: device 5 capacity nsec 507968 bsize 512
Aug  3 12:00:54 slackbox kernel:  uba: uba1
Aug  3 12:00:54 slackbox udev[22262]: creating device node '/dev/uba'
Aug  3 12:00:54 slackbox udev[22264]: creating device node '/dev/uba1'

It's weird, but I've never heard /dev/uba being mentioned anywhere... what IS that device exactly, and why can't I use that?

urka58 · 08-03-2005, 05:33 PM

New kernels (from 2.6.10 on) seems no longer using usb-scsi emulation.
uba stands for 'usb block' and is defined in latest lanana specs (reccomendations).
To verify, you can try when the drive is plugged
udevinfo -a -p `udevinfo -q path -n /dev/uba1` or
cdrecord -scanbus
You'll see the device will not appear on the scsi chain.
You cannot find scsi_mod and sd_mod on lsmod output, because those drivers are probably built in the kernel.
BTW, can you tell what problem you're having with this device?
It is possible the probems stand in the filesystem option you're using to mount the drive.
Ciao

DiscoStoo · 08-03-2005, 07:21 PM

The problem is that it's just incredibly slooooow when writing or reading, and fairly unreliable (sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't). I actually found the answer I was looking for in this post:

http://www.linuxpackages.net/forum/v...sb+flash+drive

I installed 2.6.12.3 a few minutes ago and everything works perfectly. My drive is being recognized fine, and reading/writing is happening at good speeds. Only one thing to say: sweet!

hades11 · 12-19-2005, 02:02 PM

Guys i really need some help here! UBA or UBA1 dont exist mknod is not a solution and sda1 is already populated by the following device:

scsi0 : Adaptec AIC7XXX EISA/VLB/PCI SCSI HBA DRIVER, Rev 7.0
<Adaptec 29160 Ultra160 SCSI adapter>
aic7892: Ultra160 Wide Channel A, SCSI Id=7, 32/253 SCBs

Vendor: QUANTUM Model: ATLAS IV 9 WLS Rev: 0909
Type: Direct-Access ANSI SCSI revision: 03
scsi0:A:0:0: Tagged Queuing enabled. Depth 8
target0:0:0: Beginning Domain Validation
target0:0:0: wide asynchronous.
target0:0:0: Domain Validation skipping write tests
target0:0:0: FAST-80 WIDE SCSI 160.0 MB/s DT (12.5 ns, offset 31)
target0:0:0: Ending Domain Validation
SCSI device sda: 17942584 512-byte hdwr sectors (9187 MB)
SCSI device sda: drive cache: write back
SCSI device sda: 17942584 512-byte hdwr sectors (9187 MB)
SCSI device sda: drive cache: write back
sda: sda1

USB seems to be correctly configured in the kernel.

ub(1.4): GetMaxLUN returned 0, using 1 LUNs
uba: uba1
usbcore: registered new driver ub
Initializing USB Mass Storage driver...
usbcore: registered new driver usb-storage
USB Mass Storage support registered.

But if i try to mount UBA1 with mount -t vfat /dev/uba1 /MiniCruzer it says its not a valid block device.

Again im in the dark here!

pegwole · 12-19-2005, 07:11 PM

Hello, I'm having a slight problem using my thumb drive, i plug it in ( i have hotplug enabled) it finds it

Code:

 lsusb
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 0000:0000
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 0000:0000
Bus 002 Device 002: ID 058f:9360 Alcor Micro Corp.
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 0000:0000
Bus 001 Device 005: ID 0ea0:2168 Ours Technology, Inc. Transcend JetFlash 2.0 / Astone USB Drive

when i type tail /var/log/messages i get

Code:

Dec 19 21:25:25 morphosite kernel: usb.c: USB disconnect on device 00:02.2-8 address 2
Dec 19 21:25:29 morphosite kernel: hub.c: new USB device 00:02.2-8, assigned address 3
Dec 19 21:25:29 morphosite kernel: hub.c: new USB device 00:02.2-8, assigned address 4
Dec 19 21:28:37 morphosite kernel: hub.c: new USB device 00:02.2-3, assigned address 5

any ideas? it works fine under XP but i'm slowly trying to make the switch to Linux. Thanks in advance

P.S. i am running Slackware 10.2 with the 2.4.31 kernel

pegwole · 12-19-2005, 08:47 PM

One thing i didn't mention (d'oh!) is that it doesn't give me a /dev link or a /mnt link to the device