thank you all for your replies !!
now it works !
the thing that got it to work was "modprobe sd-mod"
it's funny, but the SCSI device it creates is "/dev/sdb1" on my computer .... and I don't have a /dev/sda.... don't know how to explain this
so, for future newbies, here's a "HOWTO USB-KEY" :
0) create a mounting directory :
for instance, you might want to call it /mnt/usbkey
cd /mnt
mkdir usbkey
1) check that you've got the required modules in your kernel.
you need :
the USB&SCSI stuff
usb-storage
sd-mod
the FAT/VFAT filesystem
2) load the modules :
modprobe usb-storage
modprobe sd-mod
3) plug your USB key
as root, type "tail /var/log/messages" to check that the SCSI device has been created.
Code:
Aug 4 09:05:18 darkstar udev[4572]: creating device node '/dev/sdb1'
Aug 4 09:05:19 darkstar udev[4564]: creating device node '/dev/sdb'
note down the name of the device representing your partition on your USB key : here, it's /dev/sdb1.
4) mount your USB key. Of course, this can later be automatized by adding an entry to your /etc/fstab
assuming the previous step has given you /dev/sdb1, and your mounting point is /mnt/usbkey, type, as root :
Code:
mount -tauto -oumask=0000 /dev/sdb1 /mnt/usbkey
5) finished !