Problem mounting usb flash drive with 2.6.12.2 kernel

dcdbutler · 07-23-2005, 09:27 AM

I did a kernel recompile to 2.6.12.2 recently from the 2.4. Everything went great, after some initial hiccoughs, now I'm using the 2.6.12.2 daily.

Trouble is, I recently tried mounting my usb flash drive

# mount /mnt/usb

then I get;

Code:

mount: you must specify the filesystem type

This procedure works fine for the 2.4 kernel which I kept. The filesystem type is set to auto, but I've also tried vfat and a couple of others in desperation.

# lsusb

Code:

Bus 002 Device 002: ID 0781:5151 SanDisk Corp.

# cat /proc/scsi/usb-storage/1

Code:

Host scsi1: usb-storage
       Vendor: SanDisk Corporation
      Product: Cruzer Micro
Serial Number: SNDK2E6AD502C4706602
     Protocol: Transparent SCSI
    Transport: Bulk
       Quirks:

# dmesg | grep sdb

Code:

SCSI device sdb: 501759 512-byte hdwr sectors (257 MB)
sdb: Write Protect is off
sdb: Mode Sense: 03 00 00 00
sdb: assuming drive cache: write through
SCSI device sdb: 501759 512-byte hdwr sectors (257 MB)
sdb: Write Protect is off
sdb: Mode Sense: 03 00 00 00
sdb: assuming drive cache: write through
 sdb: sdb1
Attached scsi removable disk sdb at scsi1, channel 0, id 0, lun 0

# less /var/log/messages

Code:

Jul 23 09:53:50 myhost kernel: usb 2-2: new full speed USB device using uhci_hcd
 and address 2
Jul 23 09:53:51 myhost kernel: scsi1 : SCSI emulation for USB Mass Storage devic
es
Jul 23 09:53:56 myhost kernel:   Vendor: SanDisk   Model: Cruzer Micro      Rev:
 0.3 
Jul 23 09:53:56 myhost kernel:   Type:   Direct-Access                      ANSI
 SCSI revision: 02
Jul 23 09:53:56 myhost kernel: SCSI device sdb: 501759 512-byte hdwr sectors (25
7 MB)
Jul 23 09:53:56 myhost kernel: sdb: Write Protect is off
Jul 23 09:53:56 myhost kernel: SCSI device sdb: 501759 512-byte hdwr sectors (25
7 MB)
Jul 23 09:53:56 myhost kernel: sdb: Write Protect is off
Jul 23 09:53:56 myhost kernel:  sdb: sdb1
Jul 23 09:53:56 myhost kernel: Attached scsi removable disk sdb at scsi1, channe
l 0, id 0, lun 0

The usb and scsi sections of the config file are obviously a bit large, so I won't post them just now. The output of lsmod does show usb_storage ohci_hcd and ehci_hcd though.

Cheers for any help with this, I'm sure it's a common enough problem, but I just can't think what I left out during the kernel compile. Just to remind everyone, everything works fine with the 2.4 kernel with the same general settings.

Thanks

gbonvehi · 07-23-2005, 09:37 AM

Does mount -t vfat /dev/sdb1 /mnt/usb works?

dcdbutler · 07-23-2005, 09:50 AM

Code:

# mount -t vfat /dev/sdb1 /mnt/usb
mount: special device /dev/sdb1 does not exist

Code:

# mount -t auto /dev/sdb1 /mnt/usb
mount: you must specify the filesystem type

weird. I'm confused. What have I done wrong? And why does it work for the other kernel if /dev/sdb1 does not exist?

keefaz · 07-23-2005, 10:15 AM

Does cat /proc/partitions show sdb1 after you plug the device ?

dcdbutler · 07-23-2005, 10:18 AM

Code:

$ cat /proc/partitions 
major minor  #blocks  name

   3     0  160086528 hda
   3     1   40957686 hda1
   3     2          1 hda2
   3     5   19535008 hda5
   3     6     497983 hda6
   3    64   78125040 hdb
   3    65    2931862 hdb1
   3    66   46315395 hdb2
   8    16     250879 sdb
   8    17     250574 sdb1

Yes, it does.

keefaz · 07-23-2005, 10:25 AM

Lol, it seems there are ghost USB devices today

Does fdisk -l /dev/sdb work ?

dcdbutler · 07-23-2005, 10:36 AM

Quote:

Does fdisk -l /dev/sdb work ?

I get no output for this command. fdisk -l shows my other drives as usual, but no sdb or sdb1
Cheers

keefaz · 07-23-2005, 10:42 AM

What is your output with udevinfo -V ?

dcdbutler · 07-23-2005, 10:48 AM

Code:

# udevinfo -V
udevinfo, version 062

I was wondering when udev would get a mention, seems like there have been a few issues with it recently. I'm using slackware-current.

I'll be away from the forum for a couple of hours, but keep the good advice flowing.

Thanks

keefaz · 07-23-2005, 10:54 AM

Well maybe try downgrade to udev-054 (which I currently use)
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...hreadid=345648

Nathanael · 07-23-2005, 10:58 AM

what does
sfdisk -l
say?

dcdbutler · 07-23-2005, 01:07 PM

Quote:

Well maybe try downgrade to udev-054

Hey, thanks, it worked!

For the record, sfdisk -l did not pull up my usb drive before the downgrade, but afterwards, I can see it fine as /dev/sdb1.

Thanks for all the excellent advice!

dcdbutler · 07-23-2005, 01:14 PM

one more question: Is is usually considered safe to just plug and unplug the usb flash drive whenever you want to? I know that windows can get unstable if you do this and was just wondering what the acceptable protocol for performing this transition under Linux was. Obviously I'd unmount the device first

Cheers

Nathanael · 07-23-2005, 01:30 PM

it's not like you are unpluging the device without unmounting it first, right?

dcdbutler · 07-23-2005, 01:40 PM

Quote:

it's not like you are unpluging the device without unmounting it first, right?

Yes, that's right, but the light stays on even after unmounting it. I suppose that's what I'm concerned about. When you stop the device under windows, if you do it correctly that is, the light goes out, then you can unplug it. Don't worry, I'm not highly strung or anything, I just like to do things right, that's all.

Cheers