Linux distro (Mint) will not recognize new external usb harddrive
 

I just plugged a new external SSD - USB on my laptop and the external hd is not recognized automatically.
Do I have to mount this manually and if so how?
Does the SSD have to be formatted prior to mounting? IF so, how?
This is my first attempt at using a backup device.
Would appreciate any suggestions.

Hi...

Welcome to the forum :)

If your version of Mint is using a kernel that is older than 3.2.35, then the solution (on the very last post) here might solve this issue. Using the command...

should tell which kernel version you're using. If you're using a newer kernel, I'm not sure what to suggest. :(

Regards...

I'm not expert enough to give you answers but the following info would help those who might be:

computer hardware

size and model of USB drive

Certainly - but it probably already is. Pull the drive out, wait a few seconds then plug it back in. Open a terminal and run the following - it will create a file LQlog.txt; post it here.

Extra idea. In some distro's, user permissions may be set to allow or disallow such tasks. I'd think Mint has a user allowed by default but maybe double check on that.


Hello and welcome to LQ by the way.

Checked the kernel vs . . . . it's 3.13.0-24-generic.
Used Gparted to check and it seems to recognize the SSD (Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250GB) but haven't gotten further with it.
Also checked USERS and made sure permissions were checked.
I've actually have used Linux distros for some time now but am humbled by all there is yet to learn.
Still have to research the other suggestions and sites.
I appreciate the suggestions and ideas very much. Still seeking the 'silver bullet'.

If Gparted sees the SSD, it should also show you if it's partitioned and formatted.