Is anyone using "Flash Memory" sticks?

theonlylivinggo · 02-15-2004, 07:14 AM

I've got a SanDisk Cruzer 128mb flash memory stick that I plug into the usb port. I'm on RH 9.0. It recognizes the memory (the stick lights up), but I don't see it anyplace (like a hardware icon on the desktop of Gnome or ???).
I'm wondering if anyone's working with flash mem., and if so, what their workflow (read/write/remove from sys) is.
thank you all.
Cheers.
Scott

swobodin · 02-15-2004, 07:55 AM

The mine perfectly works:

Code:

mkdir /mnt/usb && mount -t vfat /dev/sda1 /mnt/usb

theonlylivinggo · 02-15-2004, 08:00 AM

I'll try that. Muchas gracias.

theonlylivinggo · 02-15-2004, 08:05 AM

I just tried it and got the error message:
mount: /dev/sda1 is not a valid block device

don't know what this means, but I'll be working on it. At least you pointed me in the right direction.
Cheers.

2damncommon · 02-15-2004, 08:52 AM

Mine mounts as /dev/sda.
Check "fdisk -l" with the USB disk plugged in. Mine lists a bunch of bogus partitions, but the main device works. If I have been using other usb devices the stick may show up as /dev/sdb.
If you can mount it and list the contents you are good. If not, you may be missing a usb mass-storage kernel module or such. That should be easy to add.
Good Luck.

theonlylivinggo · 02-15-2004, 08:58 AM

dumbass question #1: is fdisk a command? since when I type "fdisk -1" from a terminal prompt I get told " bash: fdisk: command not found"
I know...but I don't know all these Linux commands yet. And there isn't really a command to type that will tell me all the commands I need to know. I've linked to the online Man doc, but that's alot of reading...which I'm doing, albeit slowly.
Anyway, if you have a "more basic" level to instruct at, I'm there.
Scott

2damncommon · 02-15-2004, 09:05 AM

You need to be root to use the fdisk command.
First type "su" in the terminal and your root password when prompted.
You will then be logged in as the root user and should be able to run the "fdisk -l" command.

EDIT: And that's -l (lower case L) not -1 (a number one).

theonlylivinggo · 02-15-2004, 10:15 AM

I was and am in root. The command apparently doesn't exist on my Red Hat 9.0. I do a man on it and see what it is/does, but if I try to use the command I keep getting that same stupid message.
When I type which fdisk it doesn't find a file with that name.
Any suggestions for getting the rest of my commands enabled on a new install would be appreciated.

2damncommon · 02-15-2004, 10:42 AM

The command "which fdisk" will show the full path if it is installed. You may need to type the full path. Probably "/sbin/fdisk -l". It would be odd to have the man page installed without the program, but if that is the case you just need to install it.

theonlylivinggo · 02-15-2004, 10:51 AM

apparently my problem is that I don't have a path to /sbin in my .bash_profile. I'll check that. I just cd'd over to /sbin and fdisk is there and I can run it. What I get is "can't open hdc and can't open hdd" That's it.
Is there a command that displays all the hardware on the system, or do you know where I might find it in the GUI (I'm using Gnome).
I know this is pretty basic stuff, but I've only been at it since Friday.
Thanks for your help/patience.
Scott

2damncommon · 02-15-2004, 11:03 AM

There is lots of system info in the /proc directory.
Try "cat /proc/cpuinfo" for example.
I find my usb drive in /proc/scsi/usb-storage-0/1 on my Debian system.

urka58 · 02-15-2004, 12:33 PM

Usb pendrives require a scsi driver to be loaded into Ram to work
Check first what scsi module your kernel loads (sg or sd) and according to that try different devices such as sgx or sometimes srx.
Hope this helps
Ciao

sudz1979 · 02-16-2004, 01:17 AM

What if the USB pen drive is inserted and the 'fdisk -l' output does not show any listing of the device. Please note, the usb-storage module is also insmod'd.

What does one do in that case ?

2damncommon · 02-16-2004, 08:06 AM

Quote:

What if the USB pen drive is inserted and the 'fdisk -l' output does not show any listing of the device.

Check your kernel modules with "lsmod". You should have a scsi module (if a CDRW drive is working you do have it), and a usbcore module. I have noticed the modules may have slightly different names either as versions change or by distro.
Another way to check to see if the drive is seen at all is with the "cdrecord --scanbus" command. It will display your CDRW drive and hopefully your USB drive.