Score:1

How do i mount an external USB HDD that shows up in dmesg and lshw, but nowhere else

br flag
RVC

I just bought an external USB HDD for back ups. When I plug it in, dmesg sees it:

[    1.619343] usb 1-7: new high-speed USB device number 4 using xhci_hcd
[    1.769014] usb 1-7: New USB device found, idVendor=174c, idProduct=55aa, bcdDevice= 1.00
[    1.769026] usb 1-7: New USB device strings: Mfr=2, Product=3, SerialNumber=1
[    1.769032] usb 1-7: Product: Elements
[    1.769037] usb 1-7: Manufacturer: WD
[    1.769041] usb 1-7: SerialNumber: 00000000017E
[    1.777056] usb-storage 1-7:1.0: USB Mass Storage device detected
[    1.777301] usb-storage 1-7:1.0: Quirks match for vid 174c pid 55aa: 400000
[    1.777343] scsi host6: usb-storage 1-7:1.0

lshw sees it:

 *-usb:2
               description: Mass storage device
               product: Elements
               vendor: WD
               physical id: 7
               bus info: usb@1:7
               version: 1.00
               serial: 00000000017E
               capabilities: usb-2.10 scsi
               configuration: driver=usb-storage speed=480Mbit/s

But neither lsusb, sudo fdisk -l nor disks (gui utility) sees it. How can i mount it?

francois P avatar
it flag
You need usb-mass-storage support activated, I think this is default. If not add it from packages. If this doesn't make it appear as a device in /dev, try to use external tools like udisksctl and so on to detect it. It can also be hardware limitation from BIOS, or a failling USB port, try on others ones.
ChanganAuto avatar
us flag
Although the manufacturer mentions compatibility with both USB3 and USB2, experience tells us that it's only guaranteed to work with USB3 because, depending on the specific hardware, many USB2 ports do not provide sufficient power. You're using USB2 and the symptoms are consistent with exactly what I commented before.
br flag
RVC
@francoisP, thank you. a line in `dmsg` says, `[ 1.777056] usb-storage 1-7:1.0: USB Mass Storage device detected`, doesn't that imply the driver is installed?
br flag
RVC
@ChanganAuto, could you please elaborate on what you commented before"? I don't see any other comment from you. Thank you
ChanganAuto avatar
us flag
In a nutshell, connect it to an USB3.x port. The symptom is consistent with an USB2.0 NOT providing enough power to spin the disk inside albeit sufficient to have the SATA-USB interface recognized. It's this simple. If you don't have USB3.x ports then currently you should choose external drives with external power supply because almost everything nowadays expects USB3.x specifications.
francois P avatar
it flag
@RVC the dmesg identifies hardware just like demidecode or any other tool, it reads it from the hardware metadata & bios in some cases, this doen't mean any driver can manage it. It's only identified. In fact changanAuto might be right in my point of view, many too-modern devices need high current, and USB3 only can provide enough *I forgot to think about it* so first try an USB3 connector
br flag
RVC
@ChanganAuto, Thank you for your inputs. I think this is the problem. I just need to find the correct usb storage device. Thank you!
br flag
RVC
@francoisP, Thank you, i think i just need to find an appropriate usb device.
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