Using a USB flash drive with Linux

SAPnet · 01-12-2004, 12:54 PM

hi

i've followed all of the instructions given
QUOTE]We need to add a line to this file that reads:[/QUOTE] etc

yet my USB stick still doesn't work.

I get an error saying cannot mount usbstick as it is not a valid block drive.

Whats the problem?

I'm running Mandrake 9.1 (Bamboo) on an Acer Aspire 1353XC Laptop.

Please reply ASAP!

cheers,
Brad.

faheyd · 01-12-2004, 02:06 PM

Please post the results of 'tail -s 3 -f /var/log/messages' when you plugged in the device. Also post the results of 'lsusb -v'.
Thanks.

itsjustme · 01-12-2004, 09:30 PM

I'm getting that same 'not a valid block device' message.
Bought a Sandisk Cruzer Mini 128 today.
Stuck it in my W2Kmachine - poof - it was available and I threw a file on it.
Decided to try it on my Red Hat 8 machine, but first... check LQ for threads.
Found this thread. Stepped through the steps.
Tried /dev/sda1, sda, sdb1, sdc1, etc etc...

This was from that tail command:
Jan 12 21:12:26 localhost su(pam_unix)[2268]: session opened for user root by (uid=500)
Jan 12 21:13:13 localhost kernel: Initializing USB Mass Storage driver...
Jan 12 21:13:13 localhost kernel: usb.c: registered new driver usb-storage
Jan 12 21:13:13 localhost kernel: USB Mass Storage support registered.
This happened when I did the 'insmod usb-storage', and got the same thing earlier when I used 'modprobe usb-storage'.

When I stick the drive in the usb slot, nothing happens.

Here's that lsusb -v:

Code:

[root@localhost /]# lsusb -v

Bus 001 Device 001: ID 0000:0000 Virtual Hub
Device Descriptor:
  bLength                18
  bDescriptorType         1
  bcdUSB               1.00
  bDeviceClass            9 Hub
  bDeviceSubClass         0
  bDeviceProtocol         0
  bMaxPacketSize0         8
  idVendor           0x0000 Virtual
  idProduct          0x0000 Hub
  bcdDevice            0.00
  iManufacturer           0
  iProduct                2 USB UHCI Root Hub
  iSerial                 1 d400
  bNumConfigurations      1
  Configuration Descriptor:
    bLength                 9
    bDescriptorType         2
    wTotalLength           25
    bNumInterfaces          1
    bConfigurationValue     1
    iConfiguration          0
    bmAttributes         0x40
      Self Powered
    MaxPower                0mA
    Interface Descriptor:
      bLength                 9
      bDescriptorType         4
      bInterfaceNumber        0
      bAlternateSetting       0
      bNumEndpoints           1
      bInterfaceClass         9 Hub
      bInterfaceSubClass      0
      bInterfaceProtocol      0
      iInterface              0
      Endpoint Descriptor:
        bLength                 7
        bDescriptorType         5
        bEndpointAddress     0x81  EP 1 IN
        bmAttributes            3
          Transfer Type            Interrupt
          Synch Type               none
        wMaxPacketSize          8
        bInterval             255
  Language IDs: (length=4)
     0000 (null)((null))

here's fdisk -l :

Code:

[root@localhost /]# fdisk -l

Disk /dev/hda: 255 heads, 63 sectors, 4866 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 bytes

   Device Boot    Start       End    Blocks   Id  System
/dev/hda1   *         1        13    104391   83  Linux
/dev/hda2          4092      4866   6225187+  83  Linux
/dev/hda3            14      3837  30716280   83  Linux
/dev/hda4          3838      4091   2040255    f  Win95 Ext'd (LBA)
/dev/hda5          3838      4091   2040223+  82  Linux swap

Partition table entries are not in disk order

[root@localhost /]# mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/flash
mount: /dev/sda1 is not a valid block device

And, like I said, I also went through the whole process for sdb, sdc, sdd...

The little light on the end of the little 'drive' never comes on in the linux machine.
How can I determine which device is associated with the thing??

Thanks for any additional info.

itsjustme · 01-12-2004, 09:35 PM

oops... never mind!!!

I guess I didn't connect up the usb ports on the front of this machine.
It works in the ports on the back...

Sorry about that...

Should've checked on that before posting.

the dufus.

itsjustme · 01-12-2004, 10:51 PM

oops... never mind!!!

Well, I plugged the stupid thing into the back usb port and got the light on the device, but nothing works to get it to mount or to be available.

As a matter of fact the computer completely locked up a couple of times.

I undid everything in the original steps, rebooted, started over... now the dang light doesn't even come on when I plug it in.

Well, that's enough for me for one wasted 4 hour session.

darkhonor · 01-14-2004, 10:20 AM

Well, I'm having a similar problem. I have the Sandisk Cruzer Mini 256 and I'm having problems connecting it to my Redhat Linux 9 system. The usb-storage module loads fine, but the system locks solid each time I connect the cruzer. When I first tried to connect the stick (pre reading this howto), it did the same thing. I checked /var/log/messages and nothing is in there that might give a clue. The last entry before my last reboot was that the USB Storage module was successfully loaded. Any thoughts?

Alex

MacTool · 01-14-2004, 06:34 PM

Interesting enough, I have 2 memory sticks. One is a PNY Attache 128 Meg, the other is a SanDisk Cruzer mini, 256 Meg.

The PNY works just fine, with this tutorial. However, I can't seem to get the Cruzer working. I wonder if it has to do with it being a Cruzer, or the capacity.

Anyone know? I'm running RH AS 3.

faheyd · 01-14-2004, 06:38 PM

Please post the results of 'tail -s 3 -f /var/log/messages' when you plugged in the device. Also post the results of 'lsusb -v' .
Thanks.

itsjustme · 01-16-2004, 05:55 PM

Quote:

Hello,

Thank you for contacting SanDisk Technical Support.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.
The Cruzer Mini is not supported on Windows Red Hat 8 Systems. However, it is supported on Windows98SE and higher.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to reply to this e-mail or contact our technical support department toll free at 866-SANDISK (866-726-3475). Our technical support team is open Monday through Friday, 7 am to 4 pm PST. Have a Great Day and thank you for choosing SanDisk!

Best Regards,

Derek
SanDisk Technical Support

G67 · 01-17-2004, 03:24 PM

Nice info on USB drives as i just purchased one a few days ago. All the info i needed is right here.

'nbd' did raise a question that didnt seem to get answered, and i was wondering about the same thing.

refering to the fact that is is possible for auto mounting when you plug in the device and un-mounting when you unplug the device.

"No USB attached -> no /dev/sda1 (or similar) icon on the desktop
Attach USB -> /dev/sda1 icon appears on the desktop
Remove USB -> /dev/sda1 icon disappears from the desktop" --nbd

I am sure you can put a small script somewhere that does this for you since my system already loads 'usb-storage' module automaically once the device is plugged in.

Right now all i have to do is 'mount -t vfat /dev/sda1 /mnt/usbkey'

As stated above, i was wondering if the process could be furthur automated by having the key auto mount / unmount as you plugin the usb-key.

I'm Using Slackware 9.1.

WRXSTi · 02-07-2004, 09:16 PM

Red Hat 9
Comapq Armada M700
Sandisk Cruzer Mini

I plug in the flash drive and messages returns the following:

Feb 7 21:59:52 JimNote kernel: hub.c: new USB device 00:07.2-1, assigned address 8
Feb 7 21:59:55 JimNote /etc/hotplug/usb.agent: Setup usb-storage for USB product 781/7101/102
Feb 7 21:59:58 JimNote devlabel: devlabel service started/restarted

/etc/fstab has the following:

LABEL=/ / ext3 defaults 1 1
LABEL=/boot /boot ext3 defaults 1 2
none /dev/pts devpts gid=5,mode=620 0 0
none /proc proc defaults 0 0
none /dev/shm tmpfs defaults 0 0
/dev/hda5 swap swap defaults 0 0
/dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom udf,iso9660 noauto,owner,kudzu,ro 0 0
/dev/sde1 /mnt/usbstick vfat user,noauto,umask=0 0 0

I try to mount it:

[jim@JimNote mnt]$ mount /mnt/usbstick
mount: mount point /mnt/usbstick does not exist
[jim@JimNote mnt]$

What am I doing wrong?

WRXSTi · 02-07-2004, 09:26 PM

I got it... I needed to

mkdir /mnt/usbstick

and I changed fstab from e1 back to a1.

cjdock · 02-08-2004, 08:19 AM

Here is the tail output and the lsusb -v output. The error I get when trying to mount the thumbdrive is:
root@slacker:/home/chuck# mount /mnt/thumb
mount: /dev/sda1 is not a valid block device

fstab looks like:
root@slacker:/home/chuck# cat /etc/fstab
/dev/hda2 swap swap defaults 0 0
/dev/hda1 / ext3 defaults 1 1
/dev/hdb1 /mnt/nt ntfs noexec,auto,user,rw,uid=1000 0 0
/dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom iso9660 noauto,owner,ro 0 0
/dev/dvd /mnt/dvd iso9660 noauto,users,ro 0 0
/dev/fd0 /mnt/floppy auto noauto,owner 0 0
devpts /dev/pts devpts gid=5,mode=620 0 0
proc /proc proc defaults 0 0
/dev/sda1 /mnt/thumb vfat user,noauto,umask=0 0 0

Feb 8 09:00:57 slacker kernel: usb 1-1: USB disconnect, address 2
Feb 8 09:01:05 slacker kernel: hub 1-0:1.0: new USB device on port 1, assigned address 3
Feb 8 09:01:05 slacker kernel: usb 1-1: Product: JUMPDRIVE
Feb 8 09:01:05 slacker kernel: usb 1-1: Manufacturer: LEXAR MEDIA
Feb 8 09:01:05 slacker kernel: usb 1-1: SerialNumber: L137142325060
Feb 8 09:01:06 slacker modprobe: FATAL: Module usb_storage already in kernel.
Feb 8 09:01:06 slacker kernel: scsi1 : SCSI emulation for USB Mass Storage devi ces
Feb 8 09:01:06 slacker scsi.agent[1501]: bogus sysfs DEVPATH=/devices/pci0000:0 0/0000:00:1f.2/usb1/1-1/1-1:1.0/host1/1:0:0:0
Feb 8 09:01:06 slacker kernel: Vendor: LEXAR Model: JUMPDRIVE Rev : 1.11
Feb 8 09:01:06 slacker kernel: Type: Direct-Access ANS I SCSI revision: 02

Unknown line at line 1809
Duplicate HUT Usage Spec at line 2650

Bus 002 Device 001: ID 0000:0000 Virtual Hub
Device Descriptor:
bLength 18
bDescriptorType 1
bcdUSB 1.10
bDeviceClass 9 Hub
bDeviceSubClass 0
bDeviceProtocol 0
bMaxPacketSize0 8
idVendor 0x0000 Virtual
idProduct 0x0000 Hub
bcdDevice 2.06
iManufacturer 3 Linux 2.6.1 uhci_hcd
iProduct 2 UHCI Host Controller
iSerial 1 0000:00:1f.4
bNumConfigurations 1
Configuration Descriptor:
bLength 9
bDescriptorType 2
wTotalLength 25
bNumInterfaces 1
bConfigurationValue 1
iConfiguration 0
bmAttributes 0x40
Self Powered
MaxPower 0mA
Interface Descriptor:
bLength 9
bDescriptorType 4
bInterfaceNumber 0
bAlternateSetting 0
bNumEndpoints 1
bInterfaceClass 9 Hub
bInterfaceSubClass 0
bInterfaceProtocol 0
iInterface 0
Endpoint Descriptor:
bLength 7
bDescriptorType 5
bEndpointAddress 0x81 EP 1 IN
bmAttributes 3
Transfer Type Interrupt
Synch Type none
wMaxPacketSize 2
bInterval 255
Language IDs: (length=4)
0409 English(US)

Bus 001 Device 003: ID 05dc:0080 Lexar Media, Inc.
Device Descriptor:
bLength 18
bDescriptorType 1
bcdUSB 1.10
bDeviceClass 0 Interface
bDeviceSubClass 0
bDeviceProtocol 0
bMaxPacketSize0 8
idVendor 0x05dc Lexar Media, Inc.
idProduct 0x0080
bcdDevice 0.01
iManufacturer 1 LEXAR MEDIA
iProduct 2 JUMPDRIVE
iSerial 3 L137142325060
bNumConfigurations 1
Configuration Descriptor:
bLength 9
bDescriptorType 2
wTotalLength 32
bNumInterfaces 1
bConfigurationValue 1
iConfiguration 0
bmAttributes 0x80
MaxPower 90mA
Interface Descriptor:
bLength 9
bDescriptorType 4
bInterfaceNumber 0
bAlternateSetting 0
bNumEndpoints 2
bInterfaceClass 8 Mass Storage
bInterfaceSubClass 6 SCSI
bInterfaceProtocol 80 Bulk (Zip)
iInterface 0
Endpoint Descriptor:
bLength 7
bDescriptorType 5
bEndpointAddress 0x82 EP 2 IN
bmAttributes 2
Transfer Type Bulk
Synch Type none
wMaxPacketSize 64
bInterval 0
Endpoint Descriptor:
bLength 7
bDescriptorType 5
bEndpointAddress 0x03 EP 3 OUT
bmAttributes 2
Transfer Type Bulk
Synch Type none
wMaxPacketSize 64
bInterval 0
Language IDs: (length=4)
0409 English(US)

Bus 001 Device 001: ID 0000:0000 Virtual Hub
Device Descriptor:
bLength 18
bDescriptorType 1
bcdUSB 1.10
bDeviceClass 9 Hub
bDeviceSubClass 0
bDeviceProtocol 0
bMaxPacketSize0 8
idVendor 0x0000 Virtual
idProduct 0x0000 Hub
bcdDevice 2.06
iManufacturer 3 Linux 2.6.1 uhci_hcd
iProduct 2 UHCI Host Controller
iSerial 1 0000:00:1f.2
bNumConfigurations 1
Configuration Descriptor:
bLength 9
bDescriptorType 2
wTotalLength 25
bNumInterfaces 1
bConfigurationValue 1
iConfiguration 0
bmAttributes 0x40
Self Powered
MaxPower 0mA
Interface Descriptor:
bLength 9
bDescriptorType 4
bInterfaceNumber 0
bAlternateSetting 0
bNumEndpoints 1
bInterfaceClass 9 Hub
bInterfaceSubClass 0
bInterfaceProtocol 0
iInterface 0
Endpoint Descriptor:
bLength 7
bDescriptorType 5
bEndpointAddress 0x81 EP 1 IN
bmAttributes 3
Transfer Type Interrupt
Synch Type none
wMaxPacketSize 2
bInterval 255
Language IDs: (length=4)
0409 English(US)
Thanks for any info to help make this thumbdrive work!

tuckerg76 · 02-08-2004, 09:36 PM

Hi there,
I followed the instructions and here's what happened at the point where i plug in the usb key(i am using fedora core 1)...

root$ tail -s 3 -f /var/log/messages
Feb 8 22:48:23 localhost kernel: emu10k1: Audigy rev 4 model 0x1007 found, IO at 0xdf00-0xdf3f, IRQ 5
Feb 8 22:48:23 localhost kernel: ac97_codec: AC97 Audio codec, id: 0x8384:0x7609 (SigmaTel STAC9721/23)
Feb 8 22:48:23 localhost modprobe: modprobe: Can't locate module sound-service-0-0
Feb 8 22:49:44 localhost kernel: Initializing USB Mass Storage driver...
Feb 8 22:49:44 localhost kernel: usb.c: registered new driver usb-storage
Feb 8 22:49:44 localhost kernel: USB Mass Storage support registered.
Feb 8 22:51:37 localhost kernel: hub.c: new USB device 00:1d.7-6, assigned address 2
Feb 8 22:51:37 localhost kernel: usb.c: USB device not accepting new address=2 (error=-71)
Feb 8 22:51:37 localhost kernel: hub.c: new USB device 00:1d.7-6, assigned address 3
Feb 8 22:51:37 localhost kernel: usb.c: USB device not accepting new address=3 (error=-71)

Anyone know how to resolve this ?

CodeSplice · 02-09-2004, 07:43 PM

Hey guys.
I just recently updated to RH9, previously running RH8. I've got two USB Flash Drives, a PNY Attache 64MB and a ghetto cheap one I picked up for free (16MB). Before the upgrade, I had read the how-to in this thread and had managed to get both drives to work beautifully.

But post-update, I can only get the ghetto cheap drive to work (and it works fine), but I'm a bit constricted by the relative small size. Is there any reason that one should work and the other wouldn't?

My /etc/fstab file:

Code:

LABEL=/                 /                       ext3    defaults        1 1
LABEL=/boot             /boot                   ext3    defaults        1 2
none                    /dev/pts                devpts  gid=5,mode=620  0 0
LABEL=/home             /home                   ext3    defaults        1 2
none                    /proc                   proc    defaults        0 0
none                    /dev/shm                tmpfs   defaults        0 0
LABEL=/tmp              /tmp                    ext3    defaults        1 2
LABEL=/var              /var                    ext3    defaults        1 2
/dev/hda6               swap                    swap    defaults        0 0
/dev/cdrom              /mnt/cdrom              udf,iso9660 noauto,owner,kudzu,ro 0 0
/dev/fd0                /mnt/floppy             auto    noauto,owner,kudzu 0 0
/dev/sda1               /mnt/usbstick           auto    user,noauto,umask=0 0 0

Now for the tail output for the 16Megger:

Code:

Feb  9 19:34:13 SplicedBox su(pam_unix)[23245]: session opened for user root by csplice(uid=500)
Feb  9 19:36:16 SplicedBox kernel: hub.c: new USB device 00:07.2-2, assigned address 16
Feb  9 19:36:19 SplicedBox /etc/hotplug/usb.agent: Setup usb-storage for USB product 9a6/8001/100
Feb  9 19:36:21 SplicedBox kernel: SCSI device sda: 31520 512-byte hdwr sectors (16 MB)
Feb  9 19:36:21 SplicedBox kernel: sda: Write Protect is off
Feb  9 19:36:21 SplicedBox kernel:  sda: sda1
Feb  9 19:36:21 SplicedBox kernel: Device not ready.  Make sure there is a disc in the drive.
Feb  9 19:36:21 SplicedBox kernel: sdb : READ CAPACITY failed.
Feb  9 19:36:21 SplicedBox kernel: sdb : status = 1, message = 00, host = 0, driver = 08
Feb  9 19:36:21 SplicedBox kernel: Info fld=0xa00 (nonstd), Current sd00:00: sense key Not Ready
Feb  9 19:36:21 SplicedBox kernel: sdb : block size assumed to be 512 bytes, disk size 1GB.
Feb  9 19:36:21 SplicedBox kernel:  sdb: I/O error: dev 08:10, sector 0
Feb  9 19:36:21 SplicedBox kernel:  I/O error: dev 08:10, sector 0
Feb  9 19:36:21 SplicedBox kernel:  unable to read partition table
Feb  9 19:36:22 SplicedBox devlabel: devlabel service started/restarted

Despite the few error-ish messages, the drive mounts/unmounts beautifully just by double-clicking the icon on my Desktop. Another thing... I've got the drive set up to be /dev/sda1... so what's with this stuff about sdb in the tail output?

Moving on, here's the output for the non-working Attache:

Code:

Feb  9 19:39:55 SplicedBox kernel: hub.c: new USB device 00:07.2-2, assigned address 17
Feb  9 19:39:58 SplicedBox /etc/hotplug/usb.agent: Setup usb-storage for USB product ea0/6828/110
Feb  9 19:39:59 SplicedBox kernel: Device not ready.  Make sure there is a disc in the drive.
Feb  9 19:39:59 SplicedBox kernel: sda : READ CAPACITY failed.
Feb  9 19:39:59 SplicedBox kernel: sda : status = 1, message = 00, host = 0, driver = 08
Feb  9 19:39:59 SplicedBox kernel: Info fld=0xa00 (nonstd), Current sd00:00: sense key Not Ready
Feb  9 19:39:59 SplicedBox kernel: sda : block size assumed to be 512 bytes, disk size 1GB.
Feb  9 19:39:59 SplicedBox kernel:  sda: I/O error: dev 08:00, sector 0
Feb  9 19:39:59 SplicedBox kernel:  I/O error: dev 08:00, sector 0
Feb  9 19:39:59 SplicedBox kernel:  unable to read partition table
Feb  9 19:40:00 SplicedBox kernel: SCSI device sdb: 128000 512-byte hdwr sectors (66 MB)
Feb  9 19:40:00 SplicedBox kernel: sdb: Write Protect is off
Feb  9 19:40:00 SplicedBox kernel:  sdb: sdb1
Feb  9 19:40:03 SplicedBox devlabel: devlabel service started/restarted
Feb  9 19:40:17 SplicedBox kernel: Device not ready.  Make sure there is a disc in the drive.
Feb  9 19:40:17 SplicedBox kernel: sda : READ CAPACITY failed.
Feb  9 19:40:17 SplicedBox kernel: sda : status = 1, message = 00, host = 0, driver = 08
Feb  9 19:40:17 SplicedBox kernel: Info fld=0xa00 (nonstd), Current sd00:00: sense key Not Ready
Feb  9 19:40:17 SplicedBox kernel: sda : block size assumed to be 512 bytes, disk size 1GB.
Feb  9 19:40:17 SplicedBox kernel:  sda: I/O error: dev 08:00, sector 0
Feb  9 19:40:17 SplicedBox kernel:  I/O error: dev 08:00, sector 0
Feb  9 19:40:17 SplicedBox kernel:  unable to read partition table
Feb  9 19:40:17 SplicedBox kernel: Device not ready.  Make sure there is a disc in the drive.
Feb  9 19:40:17 SplicedBox kernel: sda : READ CAPACITY failed.
Feb  9 19:40:17 SplicedBox kernel: sda : status = 1, message = 00, host = 0, driver = 08
Feb  9 19:40:17 SplicedBox kernel: Info fld=0xa00 (nonstd), Current sd00:00: sense key Not Ready
Feb  9 19:40:17 SplicedBox kernel: sda : block size assumed to be 512 bytes, disk size 1GB.
Feb  9 19:40:17 SplicedBox kernel:  sda: I/O error: dev 08:00, sector 0
Feb  9 19:40:17 SplicedBox kernel:  I/O error: dev 08:00, sector 0
Feb  9 19:40:17 SplicedBox kernel:  unable to read partition table

Also...

Code:

[root@SplicedBox root]# mount /mnt/usbstick
mount: No medium found

Now I'm sure that I've probably screwed something up along the way (I don't feel bad, that's how ya learn!), so please point it out to me.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

*edit* After viewing a post here, I typed the following at the command line:

Code:

[root@SplicedBox root]# fdisk -l /dev/sd[a-z]

Disk /dev/sdb: 65 MB, 65536000 bytes
16 heads, 32 sectors/track, 250 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 512 * 512 = 262144 bytes

   Device Boot    Start       End    Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sdb1   *         1       249     63728    6  FAT16
[root@SplicedBox root]# mount /dev/sdb1
[root@SplicedBox root]#

It mounted fine.. I edited fstab, and now that device (at least) works okay... by why would one work on /dev/sda1 and one on /dev/sdb1? Personally, I think that's wierd...

Guidance, please?