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I have a USB 3.0 external hard disk which I am unable to mount. The entry appears in the "lsusb" command, but I do not exactly understand how to mount it.

This is the output for my lsusb command. "ASMedia Technology Inc." is the USB 3.0 device. I would appreciate some help in mounting and accessing the hard disk.

This the relevant output of my "sudo fdisk -l" when I connect the USB 3.0 HDD to a normal USB 2.0 port:

Disk /dev/sdb: 320.1 GB, 320072933376 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 38913 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x8e0eee9e

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sdb1   *           1          13      102400    7  HPFS/NTFS
Partition 1 does not end on cylinder boundary.
/dev/sdb2              13       38914   312466432    7  HPFS/NTFS

As you can see the sdb drive and paritions are listed accurately.

However when I connect the USB 3.0 HDD to the (ExpressCard34) USB 3.0 port and run the same "sudo fdisk -l" command, the sdb drives are not detected. They only seem to appear in the "lsusb" output. I have given the "sudo fdisk -l" output below:

Disk /dev/sda: 320.1 GB, 320072933376 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 38913 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x000b441f

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sda1   *           1       37434   300686336   83  Linux
/dev/sda2           37434       38914    11882497    5  Extended
/dev/sda5           37434       38914    11882496   82  Linux swap / Solaris

This the relevant output of my "lsusb" :

lsusb
Bus 009 Device 002: ID 174c:5106 ASMedia Technology Inc. 
Bus 008 Device 002: ID 0a5c:2150 Broadcom Corp. BCM2046 Bluetooth Device
Bus 008 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 007 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 006 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 005 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 5986:0205 Acer, Inc 
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub

This the relevant output of my "lsusb -v" :

Bus 009 Device 002: ID 174c:5106 ASMedia Technology Inc. 
Device Descriptor:
  bLength                18
  bDescriptorType         1
  bcdUSB               2.10
  bDeviceClass            0 (Defined at Interface level)
  bDeviceSubClass         0 
  bDeviceProtocol         0 
  bMaxPacketSize0        64
  idVendor           0x174c ASMedia Technology Inc.
  idProduct          0x5106 
  bcdDevice            0.01
  iManufacturer           2 ASMedia
  iProduct                3 AS2105
  iSerial                 1 00000000000000000000
  bNumConfigurations      1
  Configuration Descriptor:
    bLength                 9
    bDescriptorType         2
    wTotalLength           32
    bNumInterfaces          1
    bConfigurationValue     1
    iConfiguration          0 
    bmAttributes         0xc0
      Self Powered
    MaxPower                0mA
    Interface Descriptor:
      bLength                 9
      bDescriptorType         4
      bInterfaceNumber        0
      bAlternateSetting       0
      bNumEndpoints           2
      bInterfaceClass         8 Mass Storage
      bInterfaceSubClass      6 SCSI
      bInterfaceProtocol     80 Bulk (Zip)
      iInterface              0 
      Endpoint Descriptor:
        bLength                 7
        bDescriptorType         5
        bEndpointAddress     0x81  EP 1 IN
        bmAttributes            2
          Transfer Type            Bulk
          Synch Type               None
          Usage Type               Data
        wMaxPacketSize     0x0200  1x 512 bytes
            bInterval               0
      Endpoint Descriptor:
        bLength                 7
        bDescriptorType         5
        bEndpointAddress     0x02  EP 2 OUT
        bmAttributes            2
          Transfer Type            Bulk
          Synch Type               None
          Usage Type               Data
        wMaxPacketSize     0x0200  1x 512 bytes
        bInterval               0
Device Qualifier (for other device speed):
  bLength                10
  bDescriptorType         6
  bcdUSB               2.10
  bDeviceClass            0 (Defined at Interface level)
  bDeviceSubClass         0 
  bDeviceProtocol         0 
  bMaxPacketSize0        64
  bNumConfigurations      1
Device Status:     0x0001
  Self Powered

Bus 009 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
Device Descriptor:
  bLength                18
  bDescriptorType         1
  bcdUSB               3.00
  bDeviceClass            9 Hub
  bDeviceSubClass         0 Unused
  bDeviceProtocol         3 
  bMaxPacketSize0         9
  idVendor           0x1d6b Linux Foundation
  idProduct          0x0003 3.0 root hub
  bcdDevice            2.06
  iManufacturer           3 Linux 2.6.35-28-generic xhci_hcd
  iProduct                2 xHCI Host Controller
  iSerial                 1 0000:04:00.0
  bNumConfigurations      1
  Configuration Descriptor:
    bLength                 9
    bDescriptorType         2
    wTotalLength           25
    bNumInterfaces          1
    bConfigurationValue     1
    iConfiguration          0 
    bmAttributes         0xe0
      Self Powered
      Remote Wakeup
    MaxPower                0mA
    Interface Descriptor:
      bLength                 9
      bDescriptorType         4
      bInterfaceNumber        0
      bAlternateSetting       0
      bNumEndpoints           1
      bInterfaceClass         9 Hub
      bInterfaceSubClass      0 Unused
      bInterfaceProtocol      0 Full speed (or root) hub
      iInterface              0 
      Endpoint Descriptor:
        bLength                 7
        bDescriptorType         5
        bEndpointAddress     0x81  EP 1 IN
        bmAttributes            3
          Transfer Type            Interrupt
          Synch Type               None
          Usage Type               Data
        wMaxPacketSize     0x0004  1x 4 bytes
        bInterval              12
Hub Descriptor:
  bLength               9
  bDescriptorType      41
  nNbrPorts             4
  wHubCharacteristic 0x0009
    Per-port power switching
    Per-port overcurrent protection
    TT think time 8 FS bits
  bPwrOn2PwrGood       10 * 2 milli seconds
  bHubContrCurrent      0 milli Ampere
  DeviceRemovable    0x00
  PortPwrCtrlMask    0xff
 Hub Port Status:
   Port 1: 0000.0100 power
   Port 2: 0000.0100 power
   Port 3: 0000.0503 highspeed power enable connect
   Port 4: 0000.0503 highspeed power enable connect
Device Status:     0x0003
  Self Powered
  Remote Wakeup Enabled

This is the error given when I try to mount the hard drive:

shinso@shinso-IdeaPad:~$ sudo mount /dev/sdb /mnt
[sudo] password for shinso: 
mount: /dev/sdb: unknown device

This the output of "dmesg|tail":

[30062.774178] Either the lower file is not in a valid eCryptfs format, or the key could not be retrieved. Plaintext passthrough mode is not enabled; returning -EIO
[30535.800977] usb 9-4: USB disconnect, address 3
[30659.237342] Valid eCryptfs headers not found in file header region or xattr region
[30659.237351] Either the lower file is not in a valid eCryptfs format, or the key could not be retrieved. Plaintext passthrough mode is not enabled; returning -EIO
[31259.268310] Valid eCryptfs headers not found in file header region or xattr region
[31259.268313] Either the lower file is not in a valid eCryptfs format, or the key could not be retrieved. Plaintext passthrough mode is not enabled; returning -EIO
[31860.059058] Valid eCryptfs headers not found in file header region or xattr region
[31860.059062] Either the lower file is not in a valid eCryptfs format, or the key could not be retrieved. Plaintext passthrough mode is not enabled; returning -EIO
[32465.220590] Valid eCryptfs headers not found in file header region or xattr region
[32465.220593] Either the lower file is not in a valid eCryptfs format, or the key could not be retrieved. Plaintext passthrough mode is not enabled; returning -EIO

I am using Ubuntu 10.10 (64 bit).

I have included a screengrab from Disk Utility for people who want extra info.

http://i.stack.imgur.com/mcFRh.png

Any help is appreciated.

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  • 1
    Hi! I think everything is OK with your device, but your method is wrong, because, you have to use the partiton to mount, /dev/sdb is the device, not a partition on that. To list that, use sudo fdisk -l, you may have: /dev/sdb1, /dev/sdb2...; to mount that, at first make a new dir in /media, with (sudo) mkdir /mount/mydiscname, than use the correct command: sudo mount /dev/sdbX /media/mydiscname... the X refers to partition number! Am I right? – antivirtel Mar 20 '11 at 11:11
  • I cant seem to find the "sdb" device partitions even though they show up on the "lsusb" command. – Tenken Mar 20 '11 at 11:19
  • Can you post the output of dmesg|tail after connecting your USB drive? What Ubuntu version are you using? – Lekensteyn Mar 20 '11 at 11:24
  • I have added the required output to the post. I am using Ubuntu 10.10 (64 bit). – Tenken Mar 20 '11 at 11:52
  • @B. Roland -- That's a burgeoning answer, not a comment. – djeikyb Mar 20 '11 at 12:54
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Depending on the partition format, and the partition number (both of which can be found with sudo fdisk -l), the syntax for the mount command would be something like this:
sudo mount -t ntfs /dev/sdb1 /media/mountPoint
Note that the command listed assumes three things:

  1. That the partition is on sdb, and has the number of 1 (which is how you end up with /dev/sdb1)
  2. That your partition is of the type ntfs (which most large capacity drives are, unless they're formatted for Macs (in which case they have hfs+ or similar as the formatting)
  3. That you're trying to mount the drive to the location /media/mountPoint.

Each of those 3 items I just mentioned can be adjusted as is needed based on the type of partition being used, the location you want to mount the drive to, and the partition number of the drive.

EDIT
I just realized I forgot a crucial step. Assuming you are going to use the above mentioned command, you need to create the mount point first. So using my above example of using a mount point of /media/mountPoint, you will need to do this command before you attempt to mount the drive:
mkdir /media/mountPoint
If this command requires you to have superuser, prepend the mkdir command with sudo, which will allow the command to be run as superuser.

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5
  • I have updated the my original post with the relevant "sudo fdisk -l" & "lsusb" output. The problem seems to be that for some reason the HDD is shown in lsusb output (i.e. the ASMedia Entry) but the partitions are not shown in the "sudo fdisk -l". I dont seem to understand why this is happening???? Any clues??? – Tenken Mar 21 '11 at 16:19
  • Based on the information you're providing, I'm going to guess that the USB 3.0 port isnt being correctly used by the computer. Having said this, I'm also assuming that the system isnt able to process the information on the drive itself via the USB 3.0 port. Did you make sure that the USB 3.0 card is compatible with Linux? – Thomas Ward♦ Mar 21 '11 at 16:47
  • The Express Card I bought is a Generic Chinese make. It has a NEC uPD720200 chipset. I asked around in ubuntu forums (ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=10551419) and found out from there, that its does indeed run on linux. How do I proceed from here?? – Tenken Mar 21 '11 at 16:58
  • The weird thing is that if I connect a USB 2.0 HDD to the USB 3.0 Express Card port, it works flawlessly. If the system cannot process the info from the drive via the USB 3.0 port, then how does the USB 2.0 HDD work?? – Tenken Mar 21 '11 at 17:01
  • I'm not sure, this may be some kind of hardware bug or something. I might not be the best person to help you with debugging that, though. – Thomas Ward♦ Mar 21 '11 at 17:08
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Your USB 3.0 card may claim it has the NEC chipset, which is perfectly compatible with Linux, but lsusb output shows it has a (cheaper, less compatible) AsMedia chipset. This isn't compatible (yet) in USB 3.0 mode with Linux.

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download ntfs configuration tool from Ubuntu Software center. It will help u to mount and R/W enable disable. its easy and easy. you dont need the use of terminal in this case. Hope it works for u.

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  • Thanks for the info, however I have already tried the NTFS config tool and it was of no use. – Tenken Mar 21 '11 at 16:42
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I wasn't able to get my HDD to work at all when I plugged in a USB 3.0 ExpressCard after the machine had booted. I read somewhere that Ubuntu doesn't seem to detect the ExpressCard properly if the machine is already running, and detects them properly if it's inserted before you turn on the machine.

So basically, try booting with the ExpressCard already inserted, and see if your Hard Drive operates properly after that.

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