Ubuntu can't detect my usb hard drive

Question

I'm very new to everything related to Ubuntu. I've been doing good so far trying to build a Plex Media Server running on Ubuntu Server 16.04 with an unused alienware laptop. The problem is: the laptop doesn't have enough disk space for a large amount of video files. So I'm trying to mount my 500Gb Seagate (P/N: 9SD2A4-500) but nothing has been working for me. It's formatted to NTFS and is working fine in Windows 10.

I tried ls /dev/ | grep sd before I plug the hard drive:

sda
sda1
sda2
sda5

And after I plug it:

sda
sda1
sda2
sda5

Same thing.

I tried fsdisk -l:

/dev/sda1  *       2048    999423    997376   487M 83 Linux
/dev/sda2       1001470 976771071 975769602 465.3G  5 Extended
/dev/sda5       1001472 976771071 975769600 465.3G 8e Linux LVM




Disk /dev/mapper/ubuntuserv--vg-root: 461.5 GiB, 495565406208 bytes, 967901184 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes


Disk /dev/mapper/ubuntuserv--vg-swap_1: 3.8 GiB, 4026531840 bytes, 7864320 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes

No luck.

I don't see any changes when I run lsusb:

Bus 002 Device 003: ID 0c45:63e9 Microdia
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 004 Device 002: ID 187c:0512 Alienware Corporation
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 003 Device 004: ID 413c:8158 Dell Computer Corp. Integrated Touchpad / Trackstick
Bus 003 Device 003: ID 413c:8157 Dell Computer Corp. Integrated Keyboard
Bus 003 Device 002: ID 0a5c:4500 Broadcom Corp. BCM2046B1 USB 2.0 Hub (part of BCM2046 Bluetooth)
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub

Also no changes when running dmesg | tail -n 20:

[   32.911289] audit: type=1400 audit(1515126458.296:7): apparmor="STATUS" operation="profile_load" profile="unconfined" name="/usr/lib/connman/scripts/dhclient-script" pid=896 comm="apparmor_parser"
[   32.911318] audit: type=1400 audit(1515126458.296:8): apparmor="STATUS" operation="profile_load" profile="unconfined" name="/usr/sbin/tcpdump" pid=901 comm="apparmor_parser"
[   32.911525] audit: type=1400 audit(1515126458.296:9): apparmor="STATUS" operation="profile_load" profile="unconfined" name="lxc-container-default" pid=895 comm="apparmor_parser"
[   32.911534] audit: type=1400 audit(1515126458.296:10): apparmor="STATUS" operation="profile_load" profile="unconfined" name="lxc-container-default-cgns" pid=895 comm="apparmor_parser"
[   32.911540] audit: type=1400 audit(1515126458.296:11): apparmor="STATUS" operation="profile_load" profile="unconfined" name="lxc-container-default-with-mounting" pid=895 comm="apparmor_parser"
[   33.387616] cgroup: new mount options do not match the existing superblock, will be ignored
[   34.659373] FS-Cache: Loaded
[   35.288776] FS-Cache: Netfs 'cifs' registered for caching
[   35.288867] Key type cifs.spnego registered
[   35.288877] Key type cifs.idmap registered
[   41.288178] CIFS VFS: Error connecting to socket. Aborting operation.
[   41.288210] CIFS VFS: Error connecting to socket. Aborting operation.
[   41.288219] CIFS VFS: Error connecting to socket. Aborting operation.
[   41.288678] CIFS VFS: Error connecting to socket. Aborting operation.
[   41.288861] CIFS VFS: Error connecting to socket. Aborting operation.
[   41.288924] CIFS VFS: cifs_mount failed w/return code = -113
[   41.289446] CIFS VFS: cifs_mount failed w/return code = -113
[   41.293798] CIFS VFS: cifs_mount failed w/return code = -113
[   41.293829] CIFS VFS: cifs_mount failed w/return code = -113
[   41.294053] CIFS VFS: cifs_mount failed w/return code = -113

Could it be possible that my drive isn't even compatible with Ubuntu? I know 500Gb isn't enough but I want to test that my laptop with Ubuntu Server can be built into a Plex Media Server before buying a new external hard drive. Can someone please help me?

Thank you.

Answer 1

If that is an SSD drive, 16.04 may not support it. I have Dell PC and the SSD required a special driver and fdisk is not compatible with it. The support needed was not in kernel until early 2017. I believe the type of drive for me is M-2. The drive does not appear as /dev/sdb as I expected. It is entirely different, like /dev/nvme*

I think you need to tell us about the type of drive and how you are connecting it. If drive is internal, and it is SATA it likely would show as /dev/sdb, and if it is external you'd see dmesg output about plugging it in. Also, check bios to make sure drive is enabled.

Your dmesg output makes me wonder if you have ntfs working? If you did not try ntfs before, understand it is a separate issue and needs to be solved before worrying about hard drive type and connections. Format a USB stick w ntfs and practice on that.