No usb disks at all mount [gutsy]

[Tom Badran]

Binary package hint: gnome-mount

This seems to be a different problem to #121203 as i cant even mount things through nautilus. I dont quite know which bit of the stack (gnome-mount/hal/udev/whatever other bits are involved) this could be from, so im filling here in the hope it will be pushed to the correct package if its a gnome-mount bug.

It affects both my usb key, and my ipod, as well as my n770, essentially every usb disk i have to try, and all of which have worked in the past, including on earlier versions of gutsy.

Pluggin devices in does nothing at all, nothing comes up on screen, nothing in Places->Computer. However lsub always shows the device.

With my usb key in:

lsusb:
Bus 007 Device 006: ID 4146:ba01 USBest Technology Intuix Flash Drive

gmount -vbd /dev/sdb1 (it also pops up a dialog saying i dont have permission to mount):
gnome-mount 0.6

** (gnome-mount:9128): DEBUG: Mounting /org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/volume_uuid_46AE_5793
** (gnome-mount:9128): DEBUG: read default option 'shortname=mixed' from gconf strlist key /system/storage/default_options/vfat/mount_options
** (gnome-mount:9128): DEBUG: read default option 'uid=' from gconf strlist key /system/storage/default_options/vfat/mount_options
** (gnome-mount:9128): DEBUG: read default option 'utf8' from gconf strlist key /system/storage/default_options/vfat/mount_options
** (gnome-mount:9128): DEBUG: read default option 'umask=077' from gconf strlist key /system/storage/default_options/vfat/mount_options
** (gnome-mount:9128): DEBUG: read default option 'exec' from gconf strlist key /system/storage/default_options/vfat/mount_options
** (gnome-mount:9128): DEBUG: Mounting /org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/volume_uuid_46AE_5793 with mount_point='256M Key', fstype='', num_options=5
** (gnome-mount:9128): DEBUG: option='shortname=mixed'
** (gnome-mount:9128): DEBUG: option='uid=1000'
** (gnome-mount:9128): DEBUG: option='utf8'
** (gnome-mount:9128): DEBUG: option='umask=077'
** (gnome-mount:9128): DEBUG: option='exec'

** (gnome-mount:9128): WARNING **: Mount failed for /org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/volume_uuid_46AE_5793
org.freedesktop.Hal.Device.Volume.PermissionDenied : Device has /dev/sdb1 volume.ignore set to TRUE. Refusing to mount.

However, the permisiions on /dev/sdb1 are:

brw-rw---- 1 root plugdev 8, 17 2007-08-05 15:47 /dev/sdb1

And im in the plugdev group as shown by 'groups' (username is tom):
tom adm dialout cdrom floppy audio dip video plugdev netdev lpadmin powerdev scanner admin

If you need any more info just ask, and ill post more.

[Tom Badran (tom-badran)]

I did some removal of various hal/udev config files, and reinstalled those packages and it seems to be working again. I had never edited any of that stuff by hand, so my guess would be its either some cruft left over from another package, that wasnt removed by apt, or something in /etc/hal/policy isnt being forcibly updated correctly.

[wilk (j-cubizolles)]

I had the same problem (volume.ignore set to true) and the same fix worked (rm /usr/share/hald/fdi and reinstall everyting hal-related). I'm running Gutsy.

[zsquareplusc (zsquareplusc)]

i had the same problem and can confirm that
# rm -r /usr/share/hal
and
# apt-get install --reinstall hal
solved the issue

(the path is different from the last message, maybe a typo? i'm also running Gutsy)

[wilk (j-cubizolles)]

indeed, should read /usr/share/hal/fdi.

[cit (cit)]

I had the same issue. Thanks for this workaround!

[Andrew Frank (frank-geoinfo)]

thank you - this corrected the problem.
could this be built into a regular update so it gets fixed everywhere?

[Andrew Frank (frank-geoinfo)]

i did the above trick on another (similar) laptop, but failed to succeed. no automatic mount of usb devices (stick or hard disk).

needs fixing!! any detailed information which couuld be helpful required?

[Rashind (dennis-millarker)]

I have also run into this bug. Confirmed with a 500 GB USB external drive and a 4 GB USB thumb drive. Both devices work fine with my laptop (running Ubuntu Feisty), and fail to be recognized by my desktop (running Ubuntu Gutsy Tribe 5.)

[Rashind (dennis-millarker)]

Oh, and I tried the delete and --reinstall hal package fix to no avail.

[Rashind (dennis-millarker)]

I have fixed my problem. Removing the /usr/share/hal and /usr/share/hal/fdi were not sufficient. apt-get remove --purge hal followed by apt-get install --reinstall hal worked like a charm, though. Of course, purging hal was a scary thing to try... but, what's a re-installation from the CD between friends?

[Artships (ubuntubugs-johndouglass-deactivatedaccount)]

My only problem has been with plugging-in a USB harddrive. Worked in Edgy. Hasn't worked since. I get a popup from gnome-volume:

'CANNOT MOUNT VOLUME.
Invalid mount option when attempting to mount the volume "Mediagate".'

Tried Rashind's solution. Resintalled hal and all the things removing it removed:
gnome-mount* gnome-power-manager* gnome-session* gnome-volume-manager* hal*
  hal-cups-utils* hal-device-manager* hwdb-client-common* hwdb-client-gnome*
  network-manager* network-manager-gnome* sound-juicer* ubuntu-desktop*
  update-notifier*

Solved the problem of the 'CANNOT MOUNT VOLUME.' Now, nothing happens when I pug it in.

[Oz123 (nahumoz)]

I tried following zsquareplusc's solution, but it doesn't work.
I can't mount usb disks or my ipod.
The error msg is the following:
mount: wrong fs type, bad option, bad superblock on /dev/sda1. Missing codepage or helper program, or other error.

I can mount the volume via terminal with root account to read only state. even 'root' can't write to disk when mounting like this.

Any idea how to solve ?

Like others before me, mounting worked perfectly on feisty, but broke after upgrdate to gutsy.

[timothywcrane (timothywcrane)]

I had the same problem, and then I found this post. I was having problems getting my usb camera to mount after a gutsy upgrade. Using synaptic, I was going to remove everything hal related, but did not wish to remove everything that synaptic wanted to to remove the main hal package. I opted to remove only the hal device manager package. I then reinstalled it, hooked up my usb camera, and what do you know, problem solved. try to remove device manager and reinstall before moving on to more packages. No reason to do more than you have to. I hope this helps.

[Alec Wright (alecjw)]

Oz123, the first partition of the iPod isnt a filesystem, but the iPod's firmware. Try the 2nd partition (sda2, sdb2 etc). It will probably be sdb2 if you have a SATA hard disk.

[Oz123 (nahumoz)]

Well, I don't really see how this is connected to Gparted so I'm reporting here:
Here is a list of thing I've tried - and didn't manage to solve this annoying problem:
1. Remove - Purge, to be exact - all hal related files. This includes gnome-mount.
2. Delete all gnome config and thunar files.

well, none seems to work. I could find a work around and I'm pretty frustrated... This should not be happening in a released distro. Maybe on beta phase. I did see it then, but since it was reported I didn't bother to report.

[Kjell Braden (afflux)]

Did you try to remove the file /usr/share/hal/fdi/policy/gparted-disable-automount.fdi?

[Oz123 (nahumoz)]

No I didn't remove /usr/share/hal/fdi/policy/gparted-disable-automount.fdi because it doesn't even exist.
And two more reasons:
1. I didn't even have gparted installed on this machine.
2. I erased everything inside /usr/share/hal/fdi

[Kjell Braden (afflux)]

Oz123, since the reported bug really seems to be due to the fdi policy created by hal, could you please report it as a different bug?

[Artships (ubuntubugs-johndouglass-deactivatedaccount)]

Nothing I've done has made a difference. "pmount-hal /dev/sde1" on a command line mounts my removable USB harddrive.

I ran lshal. A windows NTFS drive looks like this in lshal:
  volume.fstype = 'ntfs' (string)
Which is remarkable since in /etc/fstab it looks like this:
UUID=C440F40940F40448 /media/winxp ntfs-3g defaults,locale=en_US.UTF-8 00

lshal describes my removable drive as:
  volume.fstype = 'ntfs-3g' (string)

Where is the file that describes the fstype? I'd love to change the line to read 'ntfs' to see what happens.

[Eoghan Murray (eoghan-qatano)]

Have you got ntfs-config installed? I had this problem and uninstalling ntfs-config + reboot worked.

[Artships (ubuntubugs-johndouglass-deactivatedaccount)]

Uninstalling ntfs-config + reboot did not work. But, it didn't break anything else, either!

[Kjell Braden (afflux)]

artships, please post the output of the following command:

gnome-mount -v -b -t -d /dev/disk/by-uuid/$(readlink /dev/disk/by-uuid/C440F40940F40448)

[Artships (ubuntubugs-johndouglass-deactivatedaccount)]

For my NTFS partition listed in /etc/fstab...
bash > gnome-mount -v -b -t -d /dev/disk/by-uuid/$(readlink /dev/disk/by-uuid/C440F40940F40448)
gnome-mount 0.6
Resolved device file /dev/disk/by-uuid/../../hda1 -> /dev/hda1
** (gnome-mount:5588): DEBUG: Mounting /org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/volume_uuid_C440F40940F40448
Device /dev/hda1 is in /etc/fstab with mount point "/media/winxp"

** (gnome-mount:5588): WARNING **: /bin/mount said error 256, stdout='', stderr='mount: according to mtab, /dev/hda1 is already mounted on /media/winxp
mount failed
'
For grins, I put in the uuid for my USB removable drive:
bash > gnome-mount -v -b -t -d /dev/disk/by-uuid/$(readlink /dev/disk/by-uuid/381C49871C4940DC)
gnome-mount 0.6
Resolved device file /dev/disk/by-uuid/ -> /dev/disk/by-uuid

** (gnome-mount:5594): WARNING **: Given device '/dev/disk/by-uuid' is not a volume or a drive.

Intersting. I tried it again after plugging-in the drive and getting the "CANNOT MOUNT" message:

bash > gnome-mount -v -b -t -d /dev/disk/by-uuid/$(readlink /dev/disk/by-uuid/381C49871C4940DC)
gnome-mount 0.6
Resolved device file /dev/disk/by-uuid/../../sde1 -> /dev/sde1
** (gnome-mount:5651): DEBUG: Mounting /org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/volume_uuid_381C49871C4940DC
** (gnome-mount:5651): DEBUG: read mount point 'Mediagate' from gconf string key '/system/storage/drives/_org_freedesktop_Hal_devices_storage_serial_ST332062_0A_0_0/mount_point'
** (gnome-mount:5651): DEBUG: read option 'rw' from gconf string key '/system/storage/drives/_org_freedesktop_Hal_devices_storage_serial_ST332062_0A_0_0/mount_options'
** (gnome-mount:5651): DEBUG: read fstype_override 'ntfs-3g' from gconf string key '/system/storage/drives/_org_freedesktop_Hal_devices_storage_serial_ST332062_0A_0_0/fstype_override'
** (gnome-mount:5651): DEBUG: read mount point 'Mediagate' from gconf string key '/system/storage/volumes/_org_freedesktop_Hal_devices_volume_uuid_381C49871C4940DC/mount_point'
** (gnome-mount:5651): DEBUG: read option 'rw' from gconf string key '/system/storage/volumes/_org_freedesktop_Hal_devices_volume_uuid_381C49871C4940DC/mount_options'
** (gnome-mount:5651): DEBUG: read fstype_override 'ntfs-3g' from gconf string key '/system/storage/volumes/_org_freedesktop_Hal_devices_volume_uuid_381C49871C4940DC/fstype_override'
** (gnome-mount:5651): DEBUG: Mounting /org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/volume_uuid_381C49871C4940DC with mount_point='Mediagate', fstype='ntfs-3g', num_options=1
** (gnome-mount:5651): DEBUG: option='rw'

** (gnome-mount:5651): WARNING **: Mount failed for /org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/volume_uuid_381C49871C4940DC
org.freedesktop.Hal.Device.Volume.MountPointNotAvailable : The mount point '/media/Mediagate' is already occupied

** (gnome-mount:5651): WARNING **: Given mount point name 'Mediagate' is unavailable, trying with 'Mediagate_'...
** (gnome-mount:5651): DEBUG: Mounting /org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/volume_uuid_381C49871C4940DC with mount_point='Mediagate_', fstype='ntfs-3g', num_options=1
** (gnome-mount:5651): DEBUG: option='rw'

** (gnome-mount:5651): WARNING **: Mount failed for /org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/volume_uuid_381C49871C4940DC
org.freedesktop.Hal.Device.Volum...

[Artships (ubuntubugs-johndouglass-deactivatedaccount)]

To clarify, I executed the above command first on an NTFS partition mounted through /etc/fstab, UUID=C440F40940F40448. I then tried it on a removable drive, UUID=381C49871C4940DC, /dev/sde1, after gnome-mount failed to mount it.

[Kjell Braden (afflux)]

This is definetly not the same bug. You seem to have broken values in the gconf options for this device. Please try running the following command:

$ gconftool-2 --recursive-unset /system/storage/drives/_org_freedesktop_Hal_devices_storage_serial_ST332062_0A_0_0

After that, your device should get automatically mounted again. Note that option "rw" is not supported with ntfs-3g, since it has read-write support as default.

[Suchawato (anavi)]

Hi ,
I'm having a similar problem.
My fat32 formatted iPod video will not mount at all,
and my hfs+ formatted LaCie external harddrive WILL mount, but only as read-only.

[Kjell Braden (afflux)]

Suchawato, the bug you're reporting is totally different from the one that got initially reported here. Please open a new one.

Please post any comments on the bug with the volume.ignore thing caused by gparted to bug 134712, and please open new bugs for problems not similiar to the gparted one.

[Artships (ubuntubugs-johndouglass-deactivatedaccount)]

Kjell,

I executed:
 gconftool-2 --recursive-unset /system/storage/drives/_org_freedesktop_Hal_devices_storage_serial_ST332062_0A_0_0

Then plugged-in the USB harddrive. Same error. I executed:
gnome-mount -v -b -t -d /dev/disk/by-uuid/$(readlink /dev/disk/by-uuid/381C49871C4940DC)

I got the same results as yesterday. Sorry!
 gconftool-2 --ping returned nothing (certainly not a "2").

So, where is this database that I might remove the "rw" option?

[Kjell Braden (afflux)]

Artships,

Okay, please try this after plugging in the drive and provide the output here:
gnome-mount --display-settings -d /dev/disk/by-uuid/$(readlink /dev/disk/by-uuid/381C49871C4940DC)
gnome-mount --erase-settings -d /dev/disk/by-uuid/$(readlink /dev/disk/by-uuid/381C49871C4940DC)
gnome-mount --display-settings -d /dev/disk/by-uuid/$(readlink /dev/disk/by-uuid/381C49871C4940DC)
gnome-mount -v -b -t -d /dev/disk/by-uuid/$(readlink /dev/disk/by-uuid/381C49871C4940DC)

[Artships (ubuntubugs-johndouglass-deactivatedaccount)]

Ok. I plugged it in, waited for 'CANNOT MOUNT VOLUME', hit Ok and left it at that.

gnome-mount --display-settings -d /dev/disk/by-uuid/$(readlink /dev/disk/by-uuid/381C49871C4940DC)

gnome-mount 0.6
Resolved device file /dev/disk/by-uuid/../../sde1 -> /dev/sde1
Displaying settings for volume (overrides drive settings)
hal udi: /org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/volume_uuid_381C49871C4940DC
mount point: Mediagate
mount option: rw
fs type: ntfs-3g

gnome-mount --erase-settings -d /dev/disk/by-uuid/$(readlink /dev/disk/by-uuid/381C49871C4940DC)

gnome-mount 0.6
Resolved device file /dev/disk/by-uuid/../../sde1 -> /dev/sde1
Erasing settings for volume
hal udi: /org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/volume_uuid_381C49871C4940DC

gnome-mount --display-settings -d /dev/disk/by-uuid/$(readlink /dev/disk/by-uuid/381C49871C4940DC)

gnome-mount 0.6
Resolved device file /dev/disk/by-uuid/../../sde1 -> /dev/sde1
Displaying settings for volume (overrides drive settings)
hal udi: /org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/volume_uuid_381C49871C4940DC
There are no settings; you can use --write-settings

gnome-mount -v -b -t -d /dev/disk/by-uuid/$(readlink /dev/disk/by-uuid/381C49871C4940DC)

gnome-mount 0.6
Resolved device file /dev/disk/by-uuid/../../sde1 -> /dev/sde1
** (gnome-mount:5757): DEBUG: Mounting /org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/volume_uuid_381C49871C4940DC
** (gnome-mount:5757): DEBUG: read default option 'locale=' from gconf strlist key /system/storage/default_options/ntfs-3g/mount_options
** (gnome-mount:5757): DEBUG: read default option 'exec' from gconf strlist key /system/storage/default_options/ntfs-3g/mount_options
** (gnome-mount:5757): DEBUG: Mounting /org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/volume_uuid_381C49871C4940DC with mount_point='Mediagate', fstype='ntfs-3g', num_options=2
** (gnome-mount:5757): DEBUG: option='locale=en_US.UTF-8'
** (gnome-mount:5757): DEBUG: option='exec'

** (gnome-mount:5757): WARNING **: Mount failed for /org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/volume_uuid_381C49871C4940DC
org.freedesktop.Hal.Device.Volume.MountPointNotAvailable : The mount point '/media/Mediagate' is already occupied

** (gnome-mount:5757): WARNING **: Given mount point name 'Mediagate' is unavailable, trying with 'Mediagate_'...
** (gnome-mount:5757): DEBUG: Mounting /org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/volume_uuid_381C49871C4940DC with mount_point='Mediagate_', fstype='ntfs-3g', num_options=2
** (gnome-mount:5757): DEBUG: option='locale=en_US.UTF-8'
** (gnome-mount:5757): DEBUG: option='exec'
Mounted /dev/sde1 at "/media/Mediagate_"

Hmm... Does this mean I should delete /media/Mediagate? But first... In nautilus->Computer I see Mediagate displayed, not Mediagate_. Click on it, sure enough, all my files are "there". I can right-mouse-button->Unmount. I do, unplug the drive, plug it back in, and... It works! As Mediagate_.

Ok. Let's move Mediagate out of the way.
cd /media
sudo mv Mediagate george

Ok. (Drum-roll, please) Plug-in the drive, and...

It works. As God - And you - Intended. You're my new hero. Now, while your on a roll, can you do something about the Middle East?

Seriously, thank you, Kjell.

[Kjell Braden (afflux)]

You're welcome and just made my day ;)