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Old 06-15-2021, 12:14 AM   #1
USER173814
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Question USB Files cannot be accssed with other apps


I use a external hard drive,on Pop!OS,I have installed Filebot and Plex,Both require accsess to the Media on the Hard Drive but the directory would either be called invalid or wouldnt appear at all unless I open it through the external HDD Icon on my shortcuts
 
Old 06-15-2021, 09:50 PM   #2
michaelk
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Welcome to LinuxQuestions.

I have never tried Pop!OS but if the drive is not already mounted filebot and plex do not have access. When opened the drive via the shortcut I guess it gets mounted. You can compare the output of the df command before and after you open the shortcut to see what happens.

You can add the drive to your /etc/fstab but with some systems if the filesystem is not found may cause errors. Using an automount option would allow filebot or plex to access the contents without that problem.
 
Old 09-07-2021, 04:04 PM   #3
Irish666
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How do I add the USB drive to /etc/fstab?
 
Old 09-08-2021, 12:39 AM   #4
ondoho
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Irish666 View Post
How do I add the USB drive to /etc/fstab?
The same way you'd add any other drive to /etc/fstab.
What have you tried, what research have you done?
 
Old 09-08-2021, 09:51 AM   #5
computersavvy
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Look at the the output of "man fstab" and "man mount" to see most of the mount options.

Then with the drive mounted look at the output of "sudo fdisk -x" which will show the UUID of the filesystem that is mounted on that drive.

Create an entry in fstab that mounts the drive of interest and use at least the nofail option to make certain that it does not block boot if the usb is not connected when you boot. If you use the UUID for the entry in fstab it will always mount that specific file system at the specified mount point.

I also suggest you use a mount point that is not under /media or /run/media so there is never a conflict with what is mounted at that location. Not necessary, but for me it is better peace of mind.
 
Old 09-08-2021, 03:37 PM   #6
jefro
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Plex kind of runs as a user. Usually you have to add file permissions for plex.
 
Old 09-08-2021, 06:03 PM   #7
computersavvy
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^ jefro says.
Plex MUST have read and execute (r-x) permissions for every directory in the path between / and the media it serves.

I use a directory under my /home directory for media and the path is set r-x for "other" the whole way down since plex runs as the plex user & group.
 
Old 09-08-2021, 08:25 PM   #8
frankbell
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As always, the Arch Wiki is an excellent reference: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Fstab
 
Old 09-09-2021, 01:12 AM   #9
ondoho
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FWIW, OP never came back since asking this question in June, and my reply was to some other poster (I didn't look closely enough) who doesn't mention Plex at all.
 
Old 09-09-2021, 02:54 AM   #10
mrmazda
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Quote:
Originally Posted by computersavvy View Post
If you use the UUID for the entry in fstab it will always mount that specific file system at the specified mount point.
Indeed.

If you use the volume LABEL for the entry in fstab, the system will always mount any file system with that LABEL at the specified mount point. This is handy for a chronological series of backup media rotated but always utilized via the same mount point, among other uses that make using 36 character UUIDs cumbersome or otherwise inconvenient.
 
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Old 09-09-2021, 05:15 PM   #11
jefro
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Doohhh!

Didn't notice the extra post. Maybe cut it to it's own thread and delete what doesn't apply to fstab.
 
Old 09-11-2021, 07:17 PM   #12
Irish666
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ondoho View Post
The same way you'd add any other drive to /etc/fstab.
What have you tried, what research have you done?
Gee, if I knew how to do that I wouldn't need help now would I? If I knew what /etc/fstab was I might have figured this out but I don't. PLEASE, if my posts bother you just ignore them. I'll give you an A+ for sarcasm though ;-)

For what its worth (probably nothing) I'm doing my best to figure out how to use LINUX because I refuse to continue to support Dr. Gates - oh wait, he didn't even graduate college so he's probably not someone I want medical advice from. Am I the only one who balked at 'free' W10 since I do know TANSTAAFL - the EULA agreement which you have to agree to - gives Gates the rights to every key stroke if you use his free W10.

So if it's too much trouble to help, PLEASE just ignore. I'll probably figure it out someday :-)
 
Old 09-11-2021, 07:25 PM   #13
Irish666
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I did find a young man who offers help for a nominal fee (which I gladly pay) for advice with problems like this. [There is a computer store in town that is terrified of Linux so it is no help.]

He offered links to two sites which were in fact helpful for someone as ignorant as I am. If you have the same problem try:

https://itectec.com/ubuntu/ubuntu-pl...al-hard-drive/

and if that doesn't get it try:

https://nickescobedo.com/640/how-to-...ate-hard-drive

Ubuntu is not exactly the same as Mint, but it is close enough that even I could figure out what to do.
 
Old 09-11-2021, 10:36 PM   #14
jefro
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Irish666, you kind of hijacked the original thread.

Can you please make a new dedicate post on your question?
 
Old 09-12-2021, 07:57 PM   #15
Irish666
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Misunderstanding

I searched for something about connecting files on a USB drive to PLEX and that search brought me to the post you say I hijacked - that is not what I meant to do. I thought I was trying to follow the guidance people were giving him. Unfortunately the guidance was incomplete as I saw it - MichaelK replied "You can add the drive to your /etc/fstab but with some systems if the filesystem is not found may cause errors." and that seemed like an answer to my problem of getting the PLEX program to read from the USB drive if only I knew how to add the drive to the /etc/fstab so I asked how to do that. I was not trying to divert the discussion but to clarify what had to be done. It appears USER173814 either understood and that solved his problem so he left or he didn't understand either????

I believe what I posted in the links were directions to make the USB drives readable to the computer's other programs such as PLEX. Those links worked for me in large part because the replies gave detailed instructions rather then just flipping off the questioner. If the people replying just want to show how smart they are and how dumb we who ask questions are, ondoho convinced me he's brilliant! Either that or he didn't know how either?

Meanwhile I have solved my problem of connecting the USB drive. Do you really want me to start another thread?
 
  


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