Re: [tlug] Trouble with external USB hard disk

[David Bernat <dbernat@example.com>]

Nguyen Vu Hung wrote:

> > What is the output of "mount" when you log into Hardy?

root@example.com:~# mount
/dev/sda1 on / type ext3 (rw,relatime,errors=remount-ro)
proc on /proc type proc (rw,noexec,nosuid,nodev)
/sys on /sys type sysfs (rw,noexec,nosuid,nodev)
varrun on /var/run type tmpfs (rw,noexec,nosuid,nodev,mode=0755)
varlock on /var/lock type tmpfs (rw,noexec,nosuid,nodev,mode=1777)
udev on /dev type tmpfs (rw,mode=0755)
devshm on /dev/shm type tmpfs (rw)
devpts on /dev/pts type devpts (rw,gid=5,mode=620)
lrm on /lib/modules/2.6.24-21-generic/volatile type tmpfs (rw)
securityfs on /sys/kernel/security type securityfs (rw)
binfmt_misc on /proc/sys/fs/binfmt_misc type binfmt_misc
(rw,noexec,nosuid,nodev)

> > and ls -l /etc; ls -l /root; Are they empty?

root@example.com:~# ls -l /etc
total 1392
drwxr-xr-x  8 root root      4096 2008-04-23 03:49 acpi
-rw-r--r--  1 root root      2975 2008-04-23 03:39 adduser.conf
-rw-r--r--  1 root root        44 2008-10-19 16:05 adjtime
-rw-r--r--  1 root root        50 2008-07-16 00:06 aliases
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root     12288 2008-10-20 16:32 alternatives
-rw-r--r--  1 root root       395 2007-03-05 23:32 anacrontab
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-07-16 15:12 anthy
drwxr-xr-x  6 root root      4096 2008-04-23 03:43 apm
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-07-15 15:30 apparmor
drwxr-xr-x  6 root root      4096 2008-10-17 07:58 apparmor.d
drwxr-xr-x  3 root root      4096 2008-07-15 15:30 apport
drwxr-xr-x  4 root root      4096 2008-07-22 13:00 apt
-rw-r-----  1 root daemon     144 2007-02-20 23:05 at.deny
drwxr-xr-x  3 root root      4096 2008-04-23 03:52 avahi
-rw-r--r--  1 root root      1733 2008-04-15 12:37 bash.bashrc
-rw-r--r--  1 root root    216529 2008-04-15 10:45 bash_completion
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-07-18 12:14 bash_completion.d
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-04-23 03:39 belocs
-rw-r--r--  1 root root       332 2008-04-05 07:18 bindresvport.blacklist
-rw-r--r--  1 root root       309 2008-10-16 09:56 blkid.tab
-rw-r--r--  1 root root       309 2008-08-27 13:00 blkid.tab.old
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-04-23 03:52 bluetooth
-rw-r--r--  1 root root      6813 2008-02-25 05:22 bogofilter.cf
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-07-16 16:07 boinc-client
-rw-r--r--  1 root root        33 2008-04-23 03:52 brlapi.key
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-04-23 03:52 brltty
-rw-r--r--  1 root root     15721 2008-03-28 08:25 brltty.conf
-rw-r--r--  1 root root      4867 2008-04-23 03:49 ca-certificates.conf
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-04-23 03:48 calendar
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-07-16 15:12 canna
drwxr-s---  2 root dip       4096 2008-04-23 03:49 chatscripts
drwxr-xr-x  3 root root      4096 2008-04-23 03:44 ConsoleKit
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-04-23 03:40 console-setup
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-04-23 03:39 console-tools
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-08-10 12:20 cron.d
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-08-10 12:20 cron.daily
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-04-23 03:48 cron.hourly
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-08-10 12:20 cron.monthly
-rw-r--r--  1 root root       724 2008-04-09 03:13 crontab
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-08-10 12:20 cron.weekly
-rw-r--r--  1 root root        54 2008-04-23 03:44 crypttab
drwxr-xr-x  4 root lp        4096 2008-10-17 07:58 cups
drwxr-xr-x  5 root root      4096 2008-10-16 09:57 dbus-1
-rw-r--r--  1 root root      2969 2008-03-12 00:51 debconf.conf
-rw-r--r--  1 root root        10 2007-10-20 20:51 debian_version
drwxr-xr-x  5 root root      4096 2008-04-23 03:49 debtags
drwxr-xr-x  3 root root      4096 2008-10-17 07:58 default
drwxr-xr-x  4 root root      4096 2008-04-23 03:47 defoma
-rw-r--r--  1 root root       600 2007-10-24 00:01 deluser.conf
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-04-23 03:39 depmod.d
drwxr-xr-x  4 root root      4096 2008-04-23 03:46 devfs
drwxr-xr-x  4 root root      4096 2008-04-23 03:39 dhcp3
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-04-23 03:55 dictionaries-common
drwxr-xr-x  3 root root      4096 2008-07-18 12:14 dpkg
-rw-r--r--  1 root root        34 2008-02-19 13:33 e2fsck.conf
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-07-17 11:22 egoboo
drwxr-xr-x  3 root root      4096 2008-10-20 16:32 emacs
drwxr-xr-x  3 root root      4096 2008-10-20 16:32 emacs22
-rw-r--r--  1 root root      5138 2007-11-06 06:06 enscript.cfg
-rw-r--r--  1 root root        79 2008-04-23 03:39 environment
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-04-23 03:47 esound
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-04-23 03:39 event.d
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-07-17 11:22 falconseye
-rw-r--r--  1 root root       354 2007-03-06 01:23 fdmount.conf
drwxr-xr-x  4 root root      4096 2008-09-26 09:51 firefox
drwxr-xr-x  4 root root      4096 2008-04-23 03:41 fonts
drwxr-xr-x  3 root root      4096 2008-04-23 03:46 foomatic
-rw-r--r--  1 root root       717 2008-10-19 20:51 fstab
-rw-r--r--  1 root root       631 2008-10-07 16:14 fstab.pre-ntfs-config
-rw-r-----  1 root fuse       216 2008-02-27 03:25 fuse.conf
-rw-r--r--  1 root root      2689 2008-04-05 07:18 gai.conf
drwxr-xr-x  5 root root      4096 2008-07-23 20:47 gconf
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-07-15 15:29 gdm
drwxr-xr-x  3 root root      4096 2008-07-16 12:51 ggi
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-07-15 15:30 gnome-app-install
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-04-23 03:48 groff
-rw-r--r--  1 root root       855 2008-07-21 21:22 group
-rw-------  1 root root       834 2008-07-17 14:20 group-
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-04-23 03:49 grub.d
-rw-r-----  1 root shadow     713 2008-07-21 21:22 gshadow
-rw-------  1 root root       695 2008-07-17 14:09 gshadow-
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-07-15 15:30 gtk-2.0
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-07-16 12:51 gxine
drwxr-xr-x  3 root root      4096 2008-04-23 03:44 hal
-rw-r--r--  1 root root      4793 2008-03-29 07:27 hdparm.conf
-rw-r--r--  1 root root        92 2007-10-20 20:51 host.conf
-rw-r--r--  1 root root        16 2008-07-16 00:06 hostname
-rw-r--r--  1 root     999    251 2008-07-16 00:06 hosts
-rw-r--r--  1 root root       579 2008-04-23 03:39 hosts.allow
-rw-r--r--  1 root root       878 2008-04-23 03:39 hosts.deny
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-04-23 03:46 hp
-rw-r--r--  1 root root         0 2008-10-17 07:58 inetd.conf
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-10-18 10:04 init.d
drwxr-xr-x  5 root root      4096 2008-08-12 18:18 initramfs-tools
-rw-r--r--  1 root root      1723 2007-10-02 23:35 inputrc
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-08-03 13:03 iproute2
-rw-r--r--  1 root root        21 2008-06-14 05:40 issue
-rw-r--r--  1 root root        14 2008-06-14 05:40 issue.net
drwxr-xr-x  3 root root      4096 2008-07-16 12:44 java
drwxr-xr-x  5 root root      4096 2008-08-14 14:03 java-6-openjdk
-rw-r--r--  1 root root       294 2006-05-08 19:56 jvm
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-04-01 23:45 jvm.d
drwxr-xr-x  5 root root      4096 2008-10-18 10:04 kde3
-rw-r--r--  1 root root        89 2008-04-19 14:27 kde4rc
-rw-r--r--  1 root root       144 2008-04-19 14:27 kderc
-rw-r--r--  1 root root        18 2008-04-19 14:27 kde-user-profile
-rw-r--r--  1 root root       167 2008-07-16 00:08 kernel-img.conf
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-04-23 03:44 keys
-rw-r--r--  1 root root       848 2005-09-10 17:26 ksysguarddrc
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-04-23 03:50 kubuntu-default-settings
drwxr-xr-x 10 root root      4096 2008-04-23 03:49 laptop-mode
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-08-03 13:04 ldap
-rw-r--r--  1 root root     89199 2008-10-18 10:04 ld.so.cache
-rw-r--r--  1 root root        34 2008-04-23 03:38 ld.so.conf
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-09-27 18:58 ld.so.conf.d
-rw-r--r--  1 root root      3578 2007-11-16 03:16 lftp.conf
-rw-r--r--  1 root root        20 2007-10-24 12:47 libao.conf
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2007-11-14 20:52 libpaper.d
-rw-r--r--  1 root root      2586 2008-03-11 20:02 locale.alias
-rw-r--r--  1 root root       331 2008-10-09 08:33 localtime
drwxr-xr-x  3 root root      4096 2008-04-23 03:39 logcheck
-rw-r--r--  1 root root      9681 2008-04-03 10:07 login.defs
-rw-r--r--  1 root root       599 2006-06-20 04:14 logrotate.conf
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-10-18 10:04 logrotate.d
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-03-27 03:23 lsb-base
-rw-r--r--  1 root root      3820 2008-03-11 04:00 lsb-base-logging.sh
-rw-r--r--  1 root root        98 2008-06-13 05:29 lsb-release
-rw-r--r--  1 root root     13144 2007-11-16 21:12 ltrace.conf
-rw-r--r--  1 root root       111 2007-10-24 08:43 magic
-rw-r--r--  1 root root       111 2007-10-24 08:43 magic.mime
-rw-r--r--  1 root root     17254 2008-10-18 10:04 mailcap
-rw-r--r--  1 root root       449 2008-04-02 03:11 mailcap.order
-rw-r--r--  1 root root      4624 2008-03-12 22:28 manpath.config
-rw-r--r--  1 root root     11742 2007-03-06 01:23 mediaprm
-rw-r--r--  1 root root     20891 2008-04-02 03:11 mime.types
-rw-r--r--  1 root root       417 2008-03-28 02:25 mke2fs.conf
drwxr-xr-x  3 root root      4096 2008-10-16 09:57 modprobe.d
-rw-r--r--  1 root root       212 2008-07-16 00:07 modules
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-04-23 03:51 modutils
lrwxrwxrwx  1 root root        13 2008-07-15 23:55 motd -> /var/run/motd
-rw-r--r--  1 root root       346 2008-04-23 03:39 motd.tail
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-07-16 12:51 mplayer
-rw-r--r--  1 root root       547 2008-10-20 19:32 mtab
drwxr-xr-x  3 root root      4096 2008-07-15 15:30 mysql
-rw-r--r--  1 root root      7672 2008-04-08 18:15 nanorc
-rw-r--r--  1 root root      2064 2006-11-24 04:33 netscsid.conf
drwxr-xr-x  6 root root      4096 2008-04-23 03:39 network
drwxr-xr-x  3 root root      4096 2008-04-23 03:46 NetworkManager
-rw-r--r--  1 root root        91 2007-05-16 01:07 networks
-rw-r--r--  1 root root       513 2008-04-23 03:52 nsswitch.conf
-rw-r--r--  1 root root        60 2007-12-04 08:32 openalrc
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-07-15 15:32 openoffice
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-04-23 03:38 opt
-rw-r--r--  1 root root       552 2008-04-10 05:22 pam.conf
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-10-18 10:04 pam.d
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-04-23 03:47 pango
-rw-r--r--  1 root     999      7 2008-07-16 00:08 papersize
-rw-r--r--  1 root root      1402 2008-07-17 14:20 passwd
-rw-------  1 root root      1385 2008-07-16 16:07 passwd-
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-04-23 03:40 pcmcia
drwxr-xr-x  4 root root      4096 2008-04-23 03:40 perl
drwxr-xr-x  5 root root      4096 2008-04-23 03:44 pm
-rw-r--r--  1 root root      7649 2008-04-23 03:50 pnm2ppa.conf
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-04-23 03:52 PolicyKit
-rw-r--r--  1 root     999    342 2008-07-16 00:08 popularity-contest.conf
drwxr-xr-x  4 root root      4096 2008-04-23 03:43 power
drwxr-xr-x  8 root dip       4096 2008-04-23 03:49 ppp
-rw-r--r--  1 root root       497 2008-07-15 15:28 profile
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-04-15 14:53 profile.d
-rw-r--r--  1 root root      2510 2007-12-04 07:04 protocols
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-04-23 03:49 pulse
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-04-23 03:39 python
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-08-03 13:03 python2.5
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-07-15 15:30 qt3
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-07-21 21:22 rc0.d
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-07-21 21:22 rc1.d
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-07-21 21:22 rc2.d
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-07-21 21:22 rc3.d
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-07-21 21:22 rc4.d
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-07-21 21:22 rc5.d
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-07-21 21:22 rc6.d
-rwxr-xr-x  1 root root       306 2008-04-23 03:39 rc.local
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-07-15 15:28 rcS.d
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-04-23 03:50 readahead
drwxr-xr-x  3 root root      4096 2008-04-23 03:44 resolvconf
-rw-r--r--  1 root root       153 2008-10-20 19:32 resolv.conf
-rwxr-xr-x  1 root root       268 2008-04-04 20:06 rmt
-rw-r--r--  1 root root       887 2007-12-04 07:04 rpc
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-09-08 11:34 samba
drwxr-xr-x  3 root root      4096 2008-04-23 03:46 sane.d
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-07-23 10:17 scim
-rw-r--r--  1 root root      3663 2007-10-24 01:04 screenrc
-rw-r--r--  1 root root        23 2007-12-06 23:06 scrollkeeper.conf
-rw-r--r--  1 root root      1024 2008-04-03 10:07 securetty
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-07-15 15:28 security
-rw-r--r--  1 root root     18274 2007-12-04 07:04 services
drwxr-xr-x  3 root root      4096 2008-07-16 12:34 sgml
-rw-r-----  1 root shadow     855 2008-07-17 14:20 shadow
-rw-------  1 root root       855 2008-07-16 16:07 shadow-
-rw-r--r--  1 root root       181 2008-07-15 15:28 shells
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-07-15 15:28 skel
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-07-15 15:30 ssh
drwxr-xr-x  4 root root      4096 2008-07-15 15:30 ssl
-r--r-----  1 root root       470 2008-07-16 00:06 sudoers
-rw-r--r--  1 root root      2405 2008-03-14 08:02 sysctl.conf
-rw-r--r--  1 root root      1614 2007-11-23 18:02 syslog.conf
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-04-23 03:38 terminfo
drwxr-xr-x  4 root root      4096 2008-07-17 10:13 thunderbird
-rw-r--r--  1 root root        11 2008-10-09 08:33 timezone
-rw-r--r--  1 root root      1260 2008-02-21 16:22 ucf.conf
drwxr-xr-x  3 root root      4096 2008-10-18 10:04 udev
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-08-01 09:02 ufw
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-07-16 15:12 uim
-rw-r--r--  1 root root       142 2008-01-25 01:56 uniconf.conf
-rw-r--r--  1 root root       214 2008-03-09 03:23 updatedb.conf
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-08-12 18:18 update-manager
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-04-05 06:34 update-notifier
-rw-r--r--  1 root root       117 2008-07-16 00:08 usplash.conf
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-06-01 03:58 vbox
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-07-23 10:15 vfont
-rw-r--r--  1 root root     40550 2008-07-23 10:24 vfontcap
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-07-16 12:51 vga
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-04-23 03:39 vim
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-04-23 03:49 w3m
-rw-r--r--  1 root root      4221 2007-06-18 18:55 wgetrc
-rw-------  1 root root       129 2008-07-20 12:16 wifi-radar.conf
-rw-r--r--  1 root root      1343 2007-01-10 03:39 wodim.conf
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-04-23 03:39 wpa_supplicant
-rw-r-----  1 root dialout     66 2008-04-23 03:52 wvdial.conf
drwxr-xr-x 10 root root      4096 2008-07-15 15:29 X11
drwxr-xr-x  4 root root      4096 2008-04-23 03:49 xdg
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root      4096 2008-07-16 12:34 xml
-rw-r--r--  1 root root       461 2008-04-04 04:33 zsh_command_not_found

root@example.com:~# ls -l /root
total 4
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 2970 2008-10-06 21:42 gparted_details.htm

> > You should type "man mount" for list of filesystems that mount supports.
> > Here we mount
> > mount -t vfat /dev/sdb1 /etc

root@example.com:~# mount -t vfat /dev/sdb1 /etc
can't link lock file /etc/mtab~: Operation not permitted (use -n flag to
override)
root@example.com:~# mount -t vfat /dev/sdb1 /etc -n
mount: /dev/sdb1 already mounted or /etc busy

> > One thing I don't know is that how and why Hardy mounts your /dev/sdb1,
> > whose filesystem is vfat to /etc. I never seen this before. Most of
the time,
> > ext2 or ext3 are good enough for /, /etc, /boot .

External USB hard disks off the shelf frequently come in FAT32 format.

Hardy had no trouble mounting the disk prior to the upgrade last week.
What broke in the upgrade? Anybody know?