Score:3

Unable to create live persistent drive with usbdata partition using mkusb when ISO selected from symlink

ve flag

I have a 128GB USB 3.0 pendrive in which I want to create a persistent live USB using mkusb. I also want to create a separate usbdata partition to store files as described here, but using the latest versions of mkusb-dus and mkusb-plug, I have only managed to create either a persistence partition or a usbdata partition, not both at the same time. Is there any way to achieve this?

Thank you all in advance for your help.

Edit: To clarify, when I use the standard method of dus-persistent from mkusb-dus as mentioned in the ubuntu help wiki, I always get the following error (My USB drive is /dev/sdc)

'/dev/sdc3' could not be mounted.

Poweroff and cold boot for dus-persistent to make persistent live drives again!

I am only able to successfully run the methods from mkusb-plug which result in either a persistence partition or a usbdata partition

Edit 2: I have also attached the mkusb log for everyone's convenience.

The mkusb console window displays,
or the file ~/mkusb.log contains:
output from the engine behind the zenity curtain.
[sudo] password for kumaresh: ---------------------------------------------
start [mkusb 11.2.2] @ 2023-03-28 01:04:06 PM IST
Current directory=/home/kumaresh
main: usbonly=true
main: liveonly=true
No input file specified yet
main: source=''
TERM=unknown
ubuntu
tput: unknown terminal "unknown"
/usr/sbin/mkusb-11: line 1033: [: -lt: unary operator expected
menu_shell:
select_source: imagefile=/home/kumaresh/Desktop/DATA/OS/ubuntu-22.04.2-2023.03.28-desktop-amd64.iso
menu_shell:
menu_shell:
imagefile=/home/kumaresh/Desktop/DATA/OS/ubuntu-22.04.2-2023.03.28-desktop-amd64.iso
Booted from: /dev/sdb
ans=1
***** tu=/dev/sdc ****************************************************
selected target partition table: 'gpt'
mkusb cannot install 'grub-pc' in installed systems in UEFI mode.
'grub-pc' is is used to make persistent live drives bootable in BIOS mode.
You *can* install 'grub-pc' in all live systems, so if you want a persistent
live system, that can boot in BIOS mode, you should run mkusb in BIOS mode
or in a live or persistent live session in UEFI mode.
mount: /tmp/tmp.sXOH6ziQdm: WARNING: source write-protected, mounted read-only.
Ubuntu 22.04.2 2023.03.28 LTS "Custom Jammy Jellyfish"
chk4ubuntu_upgrades: mkusb-11
can set the security upgrade action (the default action of the persistent
live system when security upgrades are available). This method works for
Ubuntu family operating systems and some 're-spins'. You are installing
Ubuntu 22.04.2 2023.03.28 LTS "Custom Jammy Jellyfish"
This can change 'Download and install automatically' to 'Display immediately'
set security upgrade action to 'Display immediately'
The boot system for UEFI must be fetched from the ISO file
mount: /tmp/tmp.Fqp509xv7v: WARNING: source write-protected, mounted read-only.
select_boot_system: [if installed, use] usb-pack_efi=true
'/home/kumaresh/Desktop/DATA/OS/ubuntu-22.04.2-2023.03.28-desktop-amd64.iso' is identified as the source ISO file
MODEL           NAME   FSTYPE LABEL    MOUNTPOINT   SIZE
SanDisk 3.2Gen1 sdc                               114.6G
                ├─sdc1 ntfs   usbdata              25.8G
                ├─sdc2                              977K
                ├─sdc3 vfat   usbboot             244.1M
                ├─sdc4                             11.2G
                └─sdc5 ext4   writable             77.4G
Using the file '/usr/share/mkusb/grub.cfg'
Clean for a GUID partition table
GPT fdisk (gdisk) version 1.0.8
Partition table scan:
MBR: protective
BSD: not present
APM: not present
GPT: present
Found valid GPT with protective MBR; using GPT.
Command (? for help): This option deletes all partitions and creates a new protective MBR.
Proceed? (Y/N): 
Command (? for help): 
Final checks complete. About to write GPT data. THIS WILL OVERWRITE EXISTING
PARTITIONS!!
Do you want to proceed? (Y/N): OK; writing new GUID partition table (GPT) to /dev/sdc.
The operation has completed successfully.
Wipe the first megabyte (mibibyte) to get a clean boot area
1024+0 records in
1024+0 records out
1048576 bytes (1.0 MB, 1.0 MiB) copied, 0.104682 s, 10.0 MB/s
lsblk: /dev/mmcblk?: not a block device
Selected percentage of remaining space for persistence = 70

preparing /dev/sdc3 ---------------------------------------------
1024+0 records in
1024+0 records out
1048576 bytes (1.0 MB, 1.0 MiB) copied, 0.0798508 s, 13.1 MB/s
umount: /dev/sdc3: not mounted.
mkfs.fat 4.2 (2021-01-31)
/dev/sdc3 has 255 heads and 63 sectors per track,
hidden sectors 0x1000;
logical sector size is 512,
using 0xf8 media descriptor, with 249795 sectors;
drive number 0x80;
filesystem has 2 32-bit FATs and 1 sector per cluster.
FAT size is 1922 sectors, and provides 245919 clusters.
There are 32 reserved sectors.
Volume ID is 8ff3e441, no volume label.

preparing /dev/sdc1 ---------------------------------------------
1024+0 records in
1024+0 records out
1048576 bytes (1.0 MB, 1.0 MiB) copied, 0.0873121 s, 12.0 MB/s
umount: /dev/sdc1: not mounted.
Cluster size has been automatically set to 4096 bytes.
Creating NTFS volume structures.
Creating root directory (mft record 5)
Creating $MFT (mft record 0)
Creating $MFTMirr (mft record 1)
Creating $LogFile (mft record 2)
Creating $AttrDef (mft record 4)
Creating $Bitmap (mft record 6)
Creating $Boot (mft record 7)
Creating backup boot sector.
Creating $Volume (mft record 3)
Creating $BadClus (mft record 8)
Creating $Secure (mft record 9)
Creating $UpCase (mft record 0xa)
Creating $Extend (mft record 11)
Creating system file (mft record 0xc)
Creating system file (mft record 0xd)
Creating system file (mft record 0xe)
Creating system file (mft record 0xf)
Creating $Quota (mft record 24)
Creating $ObjId (mft record 25)
Creating $Reparse (mft record 26)
Syncing root directory index record.
Syncing $Bitmap.
Syncing $MFT.
Updating $MFTMirr.
Syncing device.
mkntfs completed successfully. Have a nice day.
preparing /dev/sdc5 ---------------------------------------------
1024+0 records in
1024+0 records out
1048576 bytes (1.0 MB, 1.0 MiB) copied, 0.186855 s, 5.6 MB/s
umount: /dev/sdc5: not mounted.
mke2fs 1.46.5 (30-Dec-2021)
Creating filesystem with 18947328 4k blocks and 4743168 inodes
Filesystem UUID: c213b42e-ceee-4e5a-82b3-3ab57bcd1b0b
Superblock backups stored on blocks: 
32768, 98304, 163840, 229376, 294912, 819200, 884736, 1605632, 2654208, 
4096000, 7962624, 11239424
Allocating group tables: 0/579 done 
Writing inode tables: 0/579 done 
Creating journal (131072 blocks): done
Writing superblocks and filesystem accounting information: 0/579 done
mount: /tmp/tmp.Fqp509xv7v: /mnt/DATA Laptop/OS/ubuntu-22.04.2-2023.03.28-desktop-amd64.iso is already mounted.
fatlabel: warning - lowercase labels might not work properly on some systems
tune2fs 1.46.5 (30-Dec-2021)
source=/home/kumaresh/Desktop/DATA/OS/ubuntu-22.04.2-2023.03.28-desktop-amd64.iso
item 60
umount: /dev/sdc3: no mount point specified.
mount /dev/sdc3 /tmp/tmp.bbFV72Q8jR
mount: /tmp/tmp.bbFV72Q8jR: special device /dev/sdc3 does not exist.
'/dev/sdc3' could not be mounted
umount: /dev/loop-control: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop1: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop10: not mounted.
umount: /snap/cups/872: target is busy.
umount: /dev/loop12: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop13: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop14: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop15: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop16: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop17: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop18: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop19: not mounted.
umount: /snap/canonical-livepatch/164: target is busy.
umount: /dev/loop20: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop21: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop22: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop23: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop24: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop25: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop26: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop27: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop28: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop29: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop3: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop30: not mounted.
umount: /snap/snapd/18596: target is busy.
umount: /dev/loop32: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop33: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop34: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop35: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop4: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop5: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop6: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop7: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop8: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop9: not mounted.
Terminated
Cleanup after mkusb finished :-)
Zenity error log-file 'zerrlog'=/tmp/tmp.LRVwFndrxX
login attempt 1

When I attempt to mount the device using the command mount /dev/sdc3 in the terminal, I get the error of no mount option present in /etc/fstab. However, when I open the disks utility in Ubuntu and attempt to mount the partition, there are no issues.

In addition, here is the output of sudo fdisk -l /dev/sdc

Disk /dev/sdc: 114.6 GiB, 123048296448 bytes, 240328704 sectors
Disk model:  SanDisk 3.2Gen1
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: gpt
Disk identifier: 30F8ECAA-8F3A-4A77-BBCE-B94AC547B691

Device         Start       End   Sectors  Size Type
/dev/sdc1  175366144 240326655  64960512   31G Microsoft basic data
/dev/sdc2       2048      4095      2048    1M BIOS boot
/dev/sdc3       4096    253951    249856  122M EFI System
/dev/sdc4     253952  23787519  23533568 11.2G Linux filesystem
/dev/sdc5   23787520 175366143 151578624 72.3G Linux filesystem

Partition table entries are not in disk order.

Edit 3: After deleting all the partitions from the pendrive, reformatting to NTFS, and using another custom Ubuntu ISO created with Cubic, and using mkusb-dus 23 as suggested by @sudodus, the problem seems to be resolved.

Edit 4: The issue seems to be related to NTFS partitions. When the ISO is stored in an NTFS partition with the following /etc/fstab entry, the aforementioned error occurs.

UUID=01D94304BCDF47E0 /mnt/DATA\040Laptop ntfs-3g uid=1000,gid=1000,rw,user,exec,umask=000,x-gvfs-show 0 0

The error occurs regardless of the mount option being ntfs-3g (Traditional FUSE NTFS driver) or ntfs3 (The new kernel level NTFS driver). As soon as the file is moved to an Ext4 partition, the process completes successfully. The mount options are configured for proton compatibility in Steam.

Edit 5: Please find attached the pastebin from the system-info tool here as requested by @sudodus

Edit 6: The issue seems to be related not to the NTFS partition itself, but the fact that I accessed the ISO through a symlink in the browse menu of mkdus. When I access the ISO through the root directory structure, there are no issues. I tried accessing the ISO through a symlink to an Ext4 partition as well, and the same issue occurred.

Edit 7: To anyone who is interested, here is the updated system-info log without any truncation or errors.

Edit 8: Please find attached the mkusb log using the latest mkusb version 23.1.1

---------------------------------------------
Usage: mkusb [input-file]      # optional parameter
---------------------------------------------
d:  dus , guidus, mkusb-dus    - Classic, easy to use
p: Plug,   mkusb-plug          - New, easy to use
n: NoX,    sudo mkusb-nox      - original text mode
b: Bas,    sudo mkusb-bas      - basic text mode for old/basic linux
e: Eleven, sudo -H mkusb-11    - Old user interface
q: Quit
---------------------------------------------
Select version of mkusb (d/p/n/b/e/q) d
 dus 23.1.1 
[sudo] password for kumaresh: 
live system or temporary superuser permissions
 p_toolsel starts here ...
-----  p_persistent:  make persistent live drive -----
Crude estimate of possible mkusb tools/methods to create
persistent live drive from the selected iso file:
 /home/kumaresh/Desktop/DATA/OS/ubuntu-22.04.2-2023.03.29-desktop-amd64.iso 
live system or temporary superuser permissions
menuentry "Try or Install Ubuntu" {
live system or temporary superuser permissions
Works with  dus-persistent  according to name
Works with  dus-iso2usb  according to name
Persistent live by  mkusb-plug  according to name
---------------------------------------------
Drive that contains source file: /dev/sdb
Live drive, that is booted from: /dev/sdb
Drive with a partition in fstab: /dev/sda
cands=1
sdc
USB_SanDisk_3.2Gen1
114.6G
usb
USB or memory card
p_target: target=/dev/sdc
target drive size = 123 GB
Binary files /usr/share/mkusb/grub.img.xz and /usr/share/mkusb/grub-0.img.xz differ
settings=
percent=75
Prepare  persistent live  system from
'/home/kumaresh/Desktop/DATA/OS/ubuntu-22.04.2-2023.03.29-desktop-amd64.iso'
to the target device (drive) '/dev/sdc'
MODEL           NAME FSTYPE  LABEL                           SIZE
SanDisk 3.2Gen1 sdc                                        114.6G
                sdc1 ntfs    usbdata                        25.7G
                sdc2                                         977K
                sdc3 vfat    usbboot                       244.1M
                sdc4 iso9660 Ubuntu 22.04.2 2023.03.29 LTS  11.4G
                sdc5 ext4    writable                       77.2G
/home/kumaresh/Desktop/DATA/OS/ubuntu-22.04.2-2023.03.29-desktop-amd64.iso
/dev/sdc
75
settings=
-----
live system or temporary superuser permissions
/home/kumaresh/Desktop/DATA/OS/ubuntu-22.04.2-2023.03.29-desktop-amd64.iso
/dev/sdc
75
settings=
source=/home/kumaresh/Desktop/DATA/OS/ubuntu-22.04.2-2023.03.29-desktop-amd64.iso
target=/dev/sdc
percent=75
msdos=false
upefi=false
dni=false
source=/home/kumaresh/Desktop/DATA/OS/ubuntu-22.04.2-2023.03.29-desktop-amd64.iso
ls -l  /home/kumaresh/Desktop/DATA/OS/ubuntu-22.04.2-2023.03.29-desktop-amd64.iso
-rwxrwxrwx 1 kumaresh kumaresh 12263471104 Mar 29 01:00 /home/kumaresh/Desktop/DATA/OS/ubuntu-22.04.2-2023.03.29-desktop-amd64.iso
---------------------------------------------
start [dus-persistent 23.1.1] @ 2023-04-23 11:44:35 PM IST
---------------------------------------------
Making a USB boot drive or memory card ..........................
running operating system:  ubuntu 
grub_n_iso "$source" "$target" "$result"
grub_n_iso /home/kumaresh/Desktop/DATA/OS/ubuntu-22.04.2-2023.03.29-desktop-amd64.iso /dev/sdc 
***** tu=/dev/sdc ****************************************************
selected target partition table: 'gpt'
mount: /tmp/dus.CvOxaam1lx: WARNING: source write-protected, mounted read-only.
target version (from iso file) 22.04
host version (where dus runs)  22.04
 version 22.04 boots best with grubimg and usb-pack_efi (auto-set) 
layerfs=false
---------------------------------------------
mount: /tmp/dus.s1td8Kvxgb: WARNING: source write-protected, mounted read-only.
select_boot_system: usb-pack_efi is available
select_boot_system: usb-pack_efi: using variable 'upefi=true'
item 00
drels=22.04
distr=ubuntu
'/home/kumaresh/Desktop/DATA/OS/ubuntu-22.04.2-2023.03.29-desktop-amd64.iso' is identified as the source ISO file
<pre>
MODEL           NAME   FSTYPE  LABEL                         MOUNTPOINT   SIZE
SanDisk 3.2Gen1 sdc                                                     114.6G
                |-sdc1 ntfs    usbdata                                   25.7G
                |-sdc2                                                    977K
                |-sdc3 vfat    usbboot                                  244.1M
                |-sdc4 iso9660 Ubuntu 22.04.2 2023.03.29 LTS             11.4G
                `-sdc5 ext4    writable                                  77.2G
</pre>
Using the file '/usr/share/mkusb/grub.cfg'
item 10
Clean for a GUID partition table
GPT fdisk (gdisk) version 1.0.8

Partition table scan:
  MBR: protective
  BSD: not present
  APM: not present
  GPT: present

Found valid GPT with protective MBR; using GPT.

Command (? for help): This option deletes all partitions and creates a new protective MBR.
Proceed? (Y/N): 
Command (? for help): 
Final checks complete. About to write GPT data. THIS WILL OVERWRITE EXISTING
PARTITIONS!!

Do you want to proceed? (Y/N): OK; writing new GUID partition table (GPT) to /dev/sdc.
The operation has completed successfully.
Wipe the first megabyte (mibibyte) to get a clean boot area
1024+0 records in
1024+0 records out
1048576 bytes (1.0 MB, 1.0 MiB) copied, 0.2289 s, 4.6 MB/s
Wait 5 seconds and a little more ...
item 20
 Installed systems in UEFI mode: 'grub.img' to be used 
---------------------------------------------
 Selected percentage of remaining space for persistence = 75 
---------------------------------------------
 
partition 2 - bios_grub  installing via 'grub.img'
partition 3 - fat32 boot,efi        via 'grub.img' ...
62989+0 records in
62989+0 records out
258002944 bytes (258 MB, 246 MiB) copied, 8.62517 s, 29.9 MB/s
GPT fdisk (gdisk) version 1.0.8

Caution: invalid backup GPT header, but valid main header; regenerating
backup header from main header.

Warning! Main and backup partition tables differ! Use the 'c' and 'e' options
on the recovery & transformation menu to examine the two tables.

Warning! One or more CRCs don't match. You should repair the disk!
Main header: OK
Backup header: ERROR
Main partition table: OK
Backup partition table: ERROR

Partition table scan:
  MBR: protective
  BSD: not present
  APM: not present
  GPT: damaged

****************************************************************************
Caution: Found protective or hybrid MBR and corrupt GPT. Using GPT, but disk
verification and recovery are STRONGLY recommended.
****************************************************************************

Command (? for help): 
Caution: The CRC for the backup partition table is invalid. This table may
be corrupt. This program will automatically create a new backup partition
table when you save your partitions.

Problem: The secondary header's self-pointer indicates that it doesn't reside
at the end of the disk. If you've added a disk to a RAID array, use the 'e'
option on the experts' menu to adjust the secondary header's and partition
table's locations.

Identified 2 problems!

Command (? for help): 
Expert command (? for help): Relocating backup data structures to the end of the disk

Expert command (? for help): 
Recovery/transformation command (? for help): 
Recovery/transformation command (? for help): 
Final checks complete. About to write GPT data. THIS WILL OVERWRITE EXISTING
PARTITIONS!!

Do you want to proceed? (Y/N): OK; writing new GUID partition table (GPT) to /dev/sdc.
The operation has completed successfully.
partition 1 - ntfs 'usbdata'
partition 4 - iso9660 - cloned system
Warning: The resulting partition is not properly aligned for best performance: 503907s % 2048s != 0s
partition 5 - ext4 - for persistence
Warning: The resulting partition is not properly aligned for best performance: 24494141s % 2048s != 0s
item 30
 using grub.img: keeping file system of /dev/sdc3:  
item 40
preparing /dev/sdc1  ---------------------------------------------
1024+0 records in
1024+0 records out
1048576 bytes (1.0 MB, 1.0 MiB) copied, 0.123108 s, 8.5 MB/s
umount: /dev/sdc1: not mounted.
Cluster size has been automatically set to 4096 bytes.
Creating NTFS volume structures.
Creating root directory (mft record 5)
Creating $MFT (mft record 0)
Creating $MFTMirr (mft record 1)
Creating $LogFile (mft record 2)
Creating $AttrDef (mft record 4)
Creating $Bitmap (mft record 6)
Creating $Boot (mft record 7)
Creating backup boot sector.
Creating $Volume (mft record 3)
Creating $BadClus (mft record 8)
Creating $Secure (mft record 9)
Creating $UpCase (mft record 0xa)
Creating $Extend (mft record 11)
Creating system file (mft record 0xc)
Creating system file (mft record 0xd)
Creating system file (mft record 0xe)
Creating system file (mft record 0xf)
Creating $Quota (mft record 24)
Creating $ObjId (mft record 25)
Creating $Reparse (mft record 26)
Syncing root directory index record.
Syncing $Bitmap.
Syncing $MFT.
Updating $MFTMirr.
Syncing device.
mkntfs completed successfully. Have a nice day.
preparing /dev/sdc5  ---------------------------------------------
1024+0 records in
1024+0 records out
1048576 bytes (1.0 MB, 1.0 MiB) copied, 0.232945 s, 4.5 MB/s
umount: /dev/sdc5: not mounted.
mke2fs 1.46.5 (30-Dec-2021)
Creating filesystem with 20234488 4k blocks and 5062656 inodes
Filesystem UUID: 2cf0d9b1-df83-4ed9-b634-c6d062ae959f
Superblock backups stored on blocks: 
    32768, 98304, 163840, 229376, 294912, 819200, 884736, 1605632, 2654208, 
    4096000, 7962624, 11239424

Allocating group tables: done                            
Writing inode tables: done                            
Creating journal (131072 blocks): done
Writing superblocks and filesystem accounting information: done   

item 50
mount: /tmp/dus.s1td8Kvxgb: /mnt/DATA Laptop/OS/ubuntu-22.04.2-2023.03.29-desktop-amd64.iso is already mounted.
fatlabel: warning - lowercase labels might not work properly on some systems
Ubuntu or an Ubuntu family flavour
22.04
23.03
label on partition for persistence: 'writable'
tune2fs 1.46.5 (30-Dec-2021)
---------------------------------------------
source=/home/kumaresh/Desktop/DATA/OS/ubuntu-22.04.2-2023.03.29-desktop-amd64.iso
---------------------------------------------
item 60
umount: /dev/sdc3: no mount point specified.
mount /dev/sdc3 /tmp/dus.GJtbPpk9sf
mount: /tmp/dus.GJtbPpk9sf: special device /dev/sdc3 does not exist.
 '/dev/sdc3' could not be mounted 
umount: /dev/loop-control: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop1: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop10: not mounted.
umount: /snap/cups/872: target is busy.
umount: /dev/loop12: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop13: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop14: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop15: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop16: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop17: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop18: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop19: not mounted.
umount: /snap/canonical-livepatch/202: target is busy.
umount: /dev/loop20: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop21: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop22: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop23: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop24: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop25: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop26: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop27: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop28: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop29: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop3: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop30: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop31: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop32: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop33: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop34: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop35: not mounted.
umount: /snap/snapd/18933: target is busy.
umount: /dev/loop37: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop38: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop39: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop4: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop40: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop5: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop6: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop7: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop8: not mounted.
umount: /dev/loop9: not mounted.
Terminated
Cleanup after dus-persistent finished :-)
p_clean:
live system or temporary superuser permissions
clean if necessary and return
clean if necessary and quit

I will attempt the same procedure from a different Ubuntu distro via LiveUSB and see if I can replicate the issue.

Edit 9: Please find attached the output of the command sudo ls -l /dev/sdc3 as requested by @sudodus

brw-rw---- 1 root disk 8, 35 Apr 24 00:25 /dev/sdc3

Output of ls -l /dev/sdc

brw-rw---- 1 root disk 8, 32 Apr 24 00:25 /dev/sdc
sudodus avatar
jp flag
I notice that you run `mkusb-11`. This version is old, and not upgraded and tested with the newer versions of Ubuntu. So when trying to install Ubuntu 22.04.x LTS, **I suggest that you try with `mkusb-dus`**, which currently is at version 23.0.1. In my computers it can create persistent live systems with a usbdata partition as well as a partition for persistence labeled 'writable'.
Kumaresh Balaji Sundararajan avatar
ve flag
I tried with mkusb-dus as well, and it still displayed the same error. However, the error was resolved after I deleted all the partitions in the pendrive and retried with a new ISO created with Cubic.
Kumaresh Balaji Sundararajan avatar
ve flag
@sudodus I had initially tried mkusb-dus and mkusb-plug as mentioned in the question. I'm not sure why it wasn't working earlier, but I'm glad it got resolved.
sudodus avatar
jp flag
If you wish and have the time, I am willing to trouble-shoot this problem to check if there is a bug in mkusb-dus, and in that case squash the bug. In that case, please start with downloading and running the [Ubuntu `system-info` script](https://github.com/UbuntuForums/system-info/) and let it upload its result to a pastebin. Then edit your original question to show a link to the pastebin.
Kumaresh Balaji Sundararajan avatar
ve flag
That sounds like a good idea. I will upload the log to pastebin tomorrow and try to reproduce the issue.
Kumaresh Balaji Sundararajan avatar
ve flag
@sudodus Hello, I was able to consistently reproduce the problem just now. It only occurs when the ISO is located in an NTFS partition mounted using the new ntfs3 driver. I will run the system-info script tomorrow and share the full details.
sudodus avatar
jp flag
I tested with the current daily Jammy Ubuntu Desktop file located in a pendrive with a GUID partition table, GPT with an NTFS file system. I could create a working persistent live drive with both a 'usbdata' partition with NTFS and a 'writable' partition with ext4. See the 'console dialogue' in https://paste.ubuntu.com/p/xtRx3BHvs7/
Kumaresh Balaji Sundararajan avatar
ve flag
In that case, it could be something wrong with my system configuration or the particular ISO which I am using. I created a custom ISO using Cubic based on Ubuntu 22.04.2, and the script to setup the ISO in cubic is [here](https://paste.ubuntu.com/p/NB25D6DVT9/) if you'd like to reference it. The ISO kernel is upgraded to 6.2.6, and the error seems to occur on the bootable FAT partition, maybe they are related?
Kumaresh Balaji Sundararajan avatar
ve flag
@sudodus My original hypothesis was completely wrong. I found that when I access the ISO through a symlink to the NTFS drive, that's when the error occurred. When I accessed the same file through the root directory structure, there was no error and the live USB was created successfully. Could you please check if symlinks are the issue?
sudodus avatar
jp flag
It works for me with a symlink too. See the 'console dialogue' in https://paste.ubuntu.com/p/ty5kwdjqK5/. How did you create and use the symlink? -- I will spend some time to read and think about the system-info result ...
sudodus avatar
jp flag
The output of the system-info script seems truncated. Was there some error, when you ran it or did you truncate it by mistake when copying to the pastebin?
Kumaresh Balaji Sundararajan avatar
ve flag
The script ran successfully, but I will try and run it again. I created the symlink using the ```ln -s``` command.
sudodus avatar
jp flag
Please check if what you see in the local file `system-info.txt` in the home directory matches what is uploaded to the pastebin. (It should match, and there should be more data after the info about the audio devices, for example repository information, keymap and locale information, 'other details', HWE information, a long installed package list and some information about how the system was booted and how it is run, the kernel command line and possible missing programs.)
Kumaresh Balaji Sundararajan avatar
ve flag
Hello, I checked my file and the contents match what is posted on pastebin. The contents seem to be truncated somehow. Is there anyway to generate the whole report without size truncation?
sudodus avatar
jp flag
Something is failing in your installed system. An alternative might be to [create and] use a live or persistent live system and run the system-info script in that system. Another alternative is to create a portable installed Ubuntu Server system in a USB drive and run the system-info script there. It is also possible to create a working desktop system with a graphical user interface that way. See [this link](https://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2474692).
Kumaresh Balaji Sundararajan avatar
ve flag
Ok, I will try out one of these methods and produce the complete script.
Kumaresh Balaji Sundararajan avatar
ve flag
@sudodus I am extremely sorry about the delay. I had to shift cities and start a new job, hence I was unable to send the file sooner. [Here](https://pastebin.ubuntu.com/p/PvYvKpjKDM/) is the new pastebin link, which appears to be complete. I also had a lot of difficulty getting it to run properly for some unknown reason which fixed itself T_T
sudodus avatar
jp flag
Thanks @Kumaresh, for these details.The problem description in the uploaded file is exceptionally good. I can also notice that you have extremely many PPAs, which might or might not cause problems. Anyway I will do some tests in my own computer. - It would help if you show with as many details as possible the symlink to where you have the iso file. For example, is the symlink on a different partition than the iso file?
Kumaresh Balaji Sundararajan avatar
ve flag
@sudodus The symlink was created using the ```ln -s``` command as mentioned earlier, the link path is ```/home/kumaresh/Desktop/DATA```, which is located on the root Ext4 partition ```/dev/sdb2```, and it points to the directory ```/mnt/DATA Laptop``` which is the mountpoint for ```/dev/sdb1```, the NTFS partition.
sudodus avatar
jp flag
I linked `ln -s /media/multimed-2/CD/ubuntu/22.04/xubuntu-22.04-core-amd64.iso ~/xubucore.iso` and then ran `dus xubucore.iso` and it worked for me. I'll check if the space in the directory name causes problems.
Kumaresh Balaji Sundararajan avatar
ve flag
@sudodus I will try and record a video demonstration of the replicability of this issue on my system over the weekend. It might either be some corruption or package issues in my system or some obscure edge case which occurs just for me.
sudodus avatar
jp flag
I have a copy of the same file on a USB pendrive with FAT32, and I linked `ln -s /mnt/DATA\ Laptop/xubuntu-22.04-core-amd64.iso ~/xubucore.iso` and ran `dus xubucore.iso` in the home directory. It worked for me to create a persistent live drive with dus-persistent. I cannot reproduce the bug. - What partition is `/dev/sdc3`? Is it on the target drive?
sudodus avatar
jp flag
A video demo would be nice, but not really necessary. I believe that you have this problem, but you could copy and paste the whole output to the terminal window where you run dus (and dus-persistent), which I think is easier and I should get enough information from that.
Kumaresh Balaji Sundararajan avatar
ve flag
@sudodus Of course, I will share the mkusb-dus logs over the weekend. And yes, ```/dev/sdc3``` is the FAT partition located on the USB drive and created by mkusb to hold the UEFI files. I will try out the language flag you have mentioned below as well. Unfortunately, I only have one pendrive on hand, so I'll have to borrow a pendrive for creating additional live USBs.
sudodus avatar
jp flag
You could also try in a live (or persistent live) system made with mkusb-plug. Install mkusb into that system, copy and link an Ubuntu iso file there and check if things work better. In that case the problem is in your installed system. - By the way, you could also set the language to standard English by `LANG=C dus linkname.iso` and check if that helps.
sudodus avatar
jp flag
I see `mount: /tmp/dus.GJtbPpk9sf: special device /dev/sdc3 does not exist.` and yes, it is strange. That special device should exist. Unless you created a [regular?] file with that name, that is already occupying that path and name. Please run `sudo ls -l /dev/sdc3` and put the command & output into your original question.
sudodus avatar
jp flag
Check also `ls -l /dev/sdc`. In my Ubuntu I get the output line `brw-rw---- 1 root disk 8, 32 apr 23 20:57 /dev/sdc` where `b` indicates a block device, and `ls -l /dev/sdc3` gets the output `brw-rw---- 1 root disk 8, 35 apr 23 20:57 /dev/sdc3`
sudodus avatar
jp flag
So there is a block device with the same permissions and ownership. Why can't dus-persistent mount it?
Kumaresh Balaji Sundararajan avatar
ve flag
I am able to mount the partition using the command ```sudo mount /dev/sdc3 /mnt/FAT``` and the drive has the following contents as well: ```backup boot EFI mkusb-grub-bg_800x600.png restore```
sudodus avatar
jp flag
It works for me (and for you without using a symlink), but for some reason things go wrong, when using a symlink for the source (the iso file). It will be interesting to get the result when you run mkusb-dus from the live system.
Kumaresh Balaji Sundararajan avatar
ve flag
@sudodus I will be borrowing a USB drive soon to try this out. One question, should I use a vanilla Ubuntu 22.04 ISO or can I use the custom version I create with [Cubic](https://github.com/PJ-Singh-001/Cubic) using the following [script](https://pastebin.ubuntu.com/p/T6QFCjWkhX/) ?
sudodus avatar
jp flag
Start with vanilla Ubuntu, and if you wish, after that run the cubic custom version (which might act differently).
Ferroao avatar
bl flag
I have the same problem, selecting 100% persistent 0% usbdata was the workaround, thx
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