cannot mount usbstick

verbose · 09-12-2005, 03:45 PM

How would I go about recompiling the kernel? Or should I create a whole new thread for this? I wonder if kernel 2.6.13.1 has fixed whatever was causing 2.6.8 not to boot, assuming it isn't a hardware incompatibility...

Bruce Hill · 09-12-2005, 05:56 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by verbose
How would I go about recompiling the kernel? Or should I create a whole new thread for this? I wonder if kernel 2.6.13.1 has fixed whatever was causing 2.6.8 not to boot, assuming it isn't a hardware incompatibility...

You're running Debian, which doesn't do things the same way
as Slackware, which is why I'm hesitant to spend a lot of time
telling you to "do this and that," only to have you find out that
Debian does things differently.

Would you please post the output of the following commands:
ls -alh /mnt
cat /etc/fstab

How are you trying to mount the device? Please post the entire
line you're using and the results after you issue the command, i.e.

Code:

mingdao@titus:~$ mount /mnt/hd 
mingdao@titus:~$

Sooner or later we'll get your flash drive to work. They're not at
all difficult in Linux, we just need to get you issuing the correct
set of commands for your configuration.

Kwan Lowe has a really good Kernel Build Guide that you should
be able to follow to compile a new kernel for your Debian system.
Your 2.4.27 kernel should work just fine, but there are some nice
changes in the 2.6.x.x series of kernels. And 2.6.8 was a pivotal
point -- there were some crucial things that didn't work right that
have been fixed since then.

verbose · 09-12-2005, 06:12 PM

Yes, I've compiled my own kernel before and I used Kernel Build Guide as a reference, as well as my trusty Linux manual. I've forgotten the procedure since then but it shouldn't be too difficult to pick up again. I was just curious as to how you recompile the existing kernel. Probably a pretty easy task, but I've never had the pleasure of doing it before.

Do you suggest I compile the latest kernel (2.6.13.1)?

$ ls -alh /mnt
total 32K
drwxr-xr-x 8 root bathat 4.0K 2005-09-12 12:47 .
drwxr-xr-x 22 root root 4.0K 2005-07-19 12:56 ..
drwxr-xr-x 5 bathat bathat 4.0K 2005-06-04 02:11 boot
drwxr-xr-x 2 bathat bathat 4.0K 2005-09-12 12:47 cd
drwxr-xr-x 2 bathat bathat 4.0K 2005-06-04 02:05 floppy
drwxr-xr-x 2 bathat bathat 4.0K 2005-06-04 03:05 grub
drwxr-xr-x 2 bathat bathat 4.0K 2005-09-11 18:05 usbstick
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4.0K 2005-05-20 21:43 win

$ cat /etc/fstab
# /etc/fstab: static file system information.
#
# <file system> <mount point> <type> <options> <dump> <pass>
proc /proc proc defaults 0 0
/dev/hda1 /mnt/win ntfs defaults,user,users,ro,gid=winxp 0 0
/dev/hde5 / ext3 defaults,errors=remount-ro 0 1
/dev/hde10 /boot ext3 defaults 0 2
/dev/hde7 /home ext3 defaults 0 2
/dev/hde9 /tmp ext3 defaults 0 2
/dev/hde6 /usr ext3 defaults 0 2
/dev/hde8 /var ext3 defaults 0 2
/dev/hde11 none swap sw 0 0
/dev/hdc /media/cdrom0 iso9660 ro,user,noauto 0 0
/dev/fd0 /media/floppy0 auto rw,user,noauto 0 0
/dev/sda1 /mnt/usbstick vfat noauto,users,rw,umask=1000 0 0

tuxdev · 09-12-2005, 06:29 PM

REcompiling your kernel simply involves doing a "make clean", then mess with your config the way you desire, then compile and install it. usb-storage might actually be compiled into the kernel already, but that seems a bit unusual.

Bruce Hill · 09-12-2005, 06:59 PM

My advice is to leave your present kernel alone.
You'll always want to be able to boot that one if
a new one doesn't work. If you've used a new one
for a while, and you're satisfied everything is okay
with it, then you can remove your old kernel.

To compile a new kernel, download the sources from
one of the Kernel.org mirrors. Then you unpack it
somewhere under your /home directory, and start by
reading Linus Torvald's in ./linux-2.6.13.1/README file.

These are the modules I have related to USB, but
I am running 2.6.13, which is different than 2.4.27:

Code:

sd_mod                 13712  0 
ub                     16924  0 
usb_storage            30468  0 
scsi_mod               79332  2 sd_mod,usb_storage
usbhid                 25732  0 
ohci_hcd               18948  0 
ehci_hcd               31112  0

You can check to see what you have by looking
in /usr/src/linux-2.4.27-2-386/.config or where
Debian puts the kernel .config file. For you it
might be as simple as "apt-get <new_kernel>"
but I only ran Debian a couple of months about
2 years ago and don't remember.

I know that you should be mounting that USB
drive with this command:

Code:

mount /mnt/usbstick

according to the information you've provided.

verbose · 09-12-2005, 10:55 PM

It turns out the answer was staring me in face this whole time. I thought about plugging the flash drive into the usb port in the back of the computer instead of the one in the front. Apparently the front usb port is not functional.

Thanks very much for everyone's help.

Bruce Hill · 09-13-2005, 04:10 AM

If you would like your front USB ports working, we might
go a little further. Are you comfortable taking your comp
apart and looking at the wiring? Perhaps the front port(s)
were never connected, or it's connected incorrectly? That
could be a possible problem.

If they are connected right, then do you have another USB
device you can try there? Was the device of this thread a
USB 2.0; and if so, do you have a USB 1.0 or 1.1 device?

It might be better just to try another USB device, especially
an USB 1.0 or 1.1, before even checking the wires. I have
found front ports which didn't get the proper power to them,
for one reason or another. Where the low-speed (1.0 & 1.1)
ports don't need it, the high-speed (2.0) ports require this
power to function.

verbose · 09-13-2005, 10:10 AM

My computer is about 6 years old and I fairly recently took it apart and unplugged all the wires. I'm pretty sure I hooked everything back up correctly but it is possible I did not. I was thinking the same thing, however... that I should open up my computer and check to see everything is connected properly.

It's not USB2. I'm pretty sure it is 1.1.

It's not that big of a deal but the front usb port would be easier to access, of course.

moxieman99 · 09-19-2005, 02:12 PM

You have in your etc/fstab the line:
/dev/sda1 /mnt/usbstick vfat noauto,users,rw,umask=1000 0 0
----------------------------------------------
what happens when you (as root, not user) change that to
/dev/sda1 /mnt/usbstick auto user,sync,noauto,unmask=0 0 0

Depending on the names of your groups, you may need to stay with "users" and not "user" and you may need to include the "rw,"

Bruce Hill · 09-19-2005, 03:46 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by moxieman99
You have in your etc/fstab the line:
/dev/sda1 /mnt/usbstick vfat noauto,users,rw,umask=1000 0 0
----------------------------------------------
what happens when you (as root, not user) change that to
/dev/sda1 /mnt/usbstick auto user,sync,noauto,unmask=0 0 0

Depending on the names of your groups, you may need to stay with "users" and not "user" and you may need to include the "rw,"

I'm replying, since he got that from one of my threads anyway.
I've been wanting to try the sync option, so I changed it:

Code:

#/dev/sda1        /mnt/hd          vfat        noauto,users,rw,umask=1000  0  0
/dev/sda1        /mnt/hd          auto        users,sync,noauto,rw,unmask=0 0 0

With the filesystem as auto rather than vfat, this happens:

Code:

mingdao@titus:~/mingdao/downloads$ mount /mnt/hd
mount: I could not determine the filesystem type, and none was specified

Then I changed auto back to vfat, and there's another problem:

Code:

mingdao@titus:~/mingdao/downloads$ dmesg | tail
sda: Write Protect is off
sda: Mode Sense: 03 00 00 00
sda: assuming drive cache: write through
SCSI device sda: 256000 512-byte hdwr sectors (131 MB)
sda: Write Protect is off
sda: Mode Sense: 03 00 00 00
sda: assuming drive cache: write through
 sda: sda1
Attached scsi removable disk sda at scsi0, channel 0, id 0, lun 0
FAT: Unrecognized mount option "unmask=0" or missing value

So I changed it back like I had it, and added async:

Code:

/dev/sda1        /mnt/hd          vfat        noauto,users,rw,async,umask=1000  0  0

And it works fine, only now when I write to the disk, it syncs and when I
unmount it, I don't have to wait for it to write. Just a little diddy, actually.

The auto option for the filesystem should work, in theory, but didn't.
And since I know all my flash disks and USB gas drives are FAT32,
the vfat option is fine. Also, I don't think auto is a good option:

Quote:

mingdao@titus:~$ man mount
The auto type may be useful for user-mounted floppies. Creating a file
/etc/filesystems can be useful to change the probe order (e.g., to try vfat
before msdos or ext3 before ext2) or if you use a kernel module autoloader.
Warning: the probing uses a heuristic (the presence of appropriate `magic'),
and could recognize the wrong filesystem type, possibly with catastrophic
consequences. If your data is valuable, don't ask mount to guess.

The sync option isn't recommended for FAT filesystems, it's async instead:

Quote:

mingdao@titus:~$ man mount
ptions are specified with a -o flag followed by a comma separated string of
options. Some of these options are only useful when they appear in the
/etc/fstab file. The following options apply to any file system that is
being mounted (but not every file system actually honors them - e.g., the
sync option today has effect only for ext2, ext3 and ufs):

I still have a lot to learn about Linux, so if something here isn't right, I
welcome the correction.

verbose · 09-19-2005, 06:26 PM

I want to thank you for your replies, even though I've already resolved this problem.

Here's /etc/fstab as it exists now. I've just changed users to user and added async.

Code:

/dev/sda1       /mnt/usbstick   vfat    noauto,user,rw,async,umask=1000     0       0