[SOLVED] cannot detect ext 3TB usb hdd linux mint 11

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mordant23

[SOLVED] cannot detect ext 3TB usb hdd linux mint 11

Post by mordant23 »

I have a problem with my Hitachi Touro Desk Pro, which is a 3TB external usb hard drive. I bought it to back up my data when I transitioned from wubi on a laptop to Linux Mint 11 only on a tower. The problem is that the hard drive is detected with lsusb and with Windows 7 in virtualbox. GParted does not detect the hard drive and Disk Utility detects it but only shows 0K capacity. I cannot use Disk Utility to format the drive. I already backed up the data using a shared disk with Windows 7 as guest in virtual box.

My original goal was to have 3 partitions. 1 320 GB NTFS partition to back up my original Windows laptop which I converted to a dual boot Linux Mint/Windows 7 (not quite successful but that's a topic for another forum post) a 900MB partition to store a copy of the Linux Mint 11 DVD install, and the rest 2.4 TB for Linux Mint Data . I partitioned the hard drive using Windows' disk management utility with the expectation that Linux Mint would be able to read the NTFS partition like it did with the Windows partition on the laptop's hard drive and that I could format the linux partitions once the drive is mounted in Linux Mint.

Thanks for your help.
****
UPDATE Aug 22, 2011: As mentioned in the this thread, the issue was with the kernel. The 2.6.32-5 AMD64 kernel in Linux Mint Xfce recognized the 3TB external usb hdd, but not the usb wifi. The first update in LMDE upgraded kernel 2.6.39-2 AMD64. My system did not recognize the hard drive but did recognize the usb wifi. I compiled the 2.6.39 AMD64 kernel with the configuration used for the 2.6.32-5 kernel and added support for my wifi card . I'm still not sure what settings are responsible for the regression and the configuration still didn't support my wifi out of the box, but I was able to get everything to work. When I figure out which configuration options make the drive work, I'll update here in case this helps anyone else. I initially had some success with the liquorix kernel, but it did not play well with Linux Mint 11 (Ubuntu based) and the newer versions >3.0 do not recognize the hard drive.
****
results of lsusb

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Bus 002 Device 002: ID 046d:c52e Logitech, Inc. 
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 001 Device 004: ID 046d:09c1 Logitech, Inc. QuickCam Deluxe for Notebooks
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 0cf3:9271 Atheros Communications, Inc. AR9271 802.11n
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 4971:1013 SimpleTech 
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
results of sudo fdisk -l

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Disk /dev/sdb: 500.1 GB, 500107862016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 60801 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: 0x0009749f

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sdb1   *           1         131     1049600   83  Linux
Partition 1 does not end on cylinder boundary.
/dev/sdb2             131       55580   445392896    5  Extended
/dev/sdb5             131         393     2099200   83  Linux
/dev/sdb6             393        1699    10487808   83  Linux
/dev/sdb7            1699        3678    15902720   83  Linux
/dev/sdb8            3679        4332     5244928   83  Linux
/dev/sdb9            4332        4985     5244928   83  Linux
/dev/sdb10           4985        5638     5244928   83  Linux
/dev/sdb11           5638        7596    15730688   83  Linux
/dev/sdb12           7596       55106   381620224   83  Linux
/dev/sdb13          55106       55580     3806208   82  Linux swap / Solaris

Disk /dev/dm-0: 3897 MB, 3897556992 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 473 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: 0x733ed379

Disk /dev/dm-0 doesn't contain a valid partition table
results of inxi -o

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Unmounted: ID: /dev/sdb13 size: 3.90G label: N/A uuid: N/A 
results of inxi -F

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System:    Host MordantDesk Kernel 2.6.38-8-generic x86_64 (64 bit) Distro Linux Mint 11 Katya
CPU:       Triple core AMD Athlon II X3 450 (-MCP-) cache 1536 KB flags (lm nx sse sse2 sse3 sse4a svm) bmips 19287.7 
           Clock Speeds: (1) 800.00 MHz (2) 800.00 MHz (3) 3200.00 MHz
Graphics:  Card nVidia C61 [GeForce 7025 / nForce 630a] X.Org 1.10.1 Res: 1600x900@50.0hz 
           GLX Renderer MCP61/PCI/SSE2 GLX Version 2.1.2 NVIDIA 173.14.30 Direct Rendering Yes
Audio:     Card-1 nVidia MCP61 High Definition Audio driver HDA Intel BusID: 00:05.0
           Card-2 Logitech Inc. QuickCam Deluxe for Notebooks  driver snd-usb-audio
           Sound: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture Version 1.0.23
Network:   Card nVidia MCP61 Ethernet driver forcedeth at port e480 BusID: 00:07.0
Disks:     HDD Total Size: 500.1GB (42.2% used) 1: /dev/sdb ST3500413AS 500.1GB 
Partition: ID:/ size: 2.0G used: 370M (20%) fs: ext4 ID:/tmp size: 9.9G used: 150M (2%) fs: ext4 
           ID:/usr size: 15G used: 4.5G (32%) fs: ext4 ID:/var size: 5.0G used: 1.1G (23%) fs: ext4 
           ID:/boot size: 1009M used: 48M (5%) fs: ext3 ID:/home size: 359G used: 190G (56%) fs: ext4 
           ID:swap-1 size: 3.90GB used: 0.15GB (4%) fs: swap 
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 37.0C mobo: 34.0C gpu: 0.0: 
           Fan Speeds (in rpm): cpu: 2163 sys-1: 0 
Info:      Processes 217 Uptime 11:11 Memory 3060.0/3709.8MB Runlevel 2 Client Shell inxi 1.4.23 
screenshot of Disk Utility
Screenshot-Hard Disk (Hitachi Hitachi HDS72303) [-dev-sda] — Disk Utility.png
screenshot of Windows 7 Disk Management
Screenshot.png
Last edited by LockBot on Wed Dec 28, 2022 7:16 am, edited 3 times in total.
Reason: Topic automatically closed 6 months after creation. New replies are no longer allowed.
h2-1
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Re: cannot detect ext 3TB usb hdd linux mint 11

Post by h2-1 »

I have faint memories that multiple partitions on external drives can cause problems.

It would have been better for debugging to have first only one partition on the drive, leave the rest of the space unformatted, then see if Linux kernel and tools can see it.

Also, 3 terrabyte external may be causing issues as well.

I would go back 1 step and remove the 2 extra partitions from the disk now, leaving only one. Then I'd plug it in and see what the linux tools show.

If they show the drive, you know that the linux subsystems can handle a 3 terrabyte drive external but cannot handle multiple partitions. If it does not show it, you know linux cannot currently handle 3 terrabyte, but if that's the case, i strongly recommend installing the latest debian 3.0 kernel, and see if that persists.

On Lenny, 2.6.26 kernel, my Debian system would not recognize or mount a 16 gigabyte drive, and also would not see or mount my dual cards in a sansa, but when I upgraded to squeeze with 2.6.32, it sees those drives fine now.

When you get basically totally bleeding edge hardware, which a 3 terrabyte external certainly is, you probably will need to use the bleeding edge linux kernel as well.
mordant23

Re: cannot detect ext 3TB usb hdd linux mint 11

Post by mordant23 »

Thanks for the advice. I tried:

delete extra 2 partitions (which left only 1 320GB NTFS partition)
delete the only partition left
quick format entire external hard drive to NTFS

In all three scenarios, I get the same results in Linux Mint 11 as described in the original post

GParted does not list the external hard drive as a device
Disk Utility lists the external hard drive as /dev/sda but still says it has only 0kB

I tried to format the drive with Disk Utility but get the following error

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"Error creating partition table: helper exited with exit code 1: cannot open /dev/sda: No such device or address"
I also tried

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sudo gdisk -l /dev/sda
and get

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"Error creating partition table: helper exited with exit code 1: cannot open /dev/sda: No such device or address"
For good measure I rebooted my machine and had the same results.

Before I try to upgrade my kernel 2.6.38-8-generic, I want to make sure I'm not missing anything simple. Should I have anything in fstab? I forget what mount command I tried, but I remember that generated an error. Also, could this have anything to do with GPT vs. MBR?

If I do need to upgrade my kernel, do I need to worry about breaking Linux Mint?

Thanks for your help. I didn't realize I was going for bleeding edge technology with the 3TB drive. My usual strategy is to stay 5 years behind the curve, but I got greedy for data. ;)
h2-1
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Re: cannot detect ext 3TB usb hdd linux mint 11

Post by h2-1 »

3 TB external usb is pretty bleeding edge. Just today I failed to get a proper mount in Squeeze, 2.6.32, on a 16 gigabyte usb flash drive. Worked fine on Sid with 2.6.37.

If you don't have the drive in the system that it can deal with, you can't mount it or work on it, so if it doesn't show up as an option you can't do anything until it does.

If this is Ubuntu Mint, don't change anything and ignore any advice I give, I assume you can install a newer kernel from ppa, if this is LMDE you can install the debian testing/sid kernel without any issues beyond reinstalling video driver if you use a non free one.
mordant23

Re: cannot detect ext 3TB usb hdd linux mint 11

Post by mordant23 »

Thanks for the explanation. I'm using Ubuntu mint although I plan to test Debian Mint soon. I was wondering why I would upgrade to a debian kernel ;) I found a newer kernel in the ppa but it's not that much newer. 2.6.38-8-generic --> 2.6.38-10-generic. It works fine but mint still can't see the external hard drive. I'm currently compiling the 3.0.1 kernel to see if will work and if not I'll search for 2.6.39.
Just today I failed to get a proper mount in Squeeze, 2.6.32, on a 16 gigabyte usb flash drive. Worked fine on Sid with 2.6.37.
Oh boy. A few days ago I ordered a 16 gig flash drive. Now I know what a future forum request will be. My 16 gig sd disk on my phone mounts through the phone's usb cable, so hopefully that won't be a problem.
mordant23

Re: cannot detect ext 3TB usb hdd linux mint 11

Post by mordant23 »

As suspected, compiling and/or installing a new kernel is problematic, although it will be interesting to see if can make it work. Looking at other forum posts such as http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=75738, it seems like Mint 11 should be able to recognize an external hard drive that''s > 2.2 TB . I wonder if Windows' implementation of GPT causes my problem.
h2-1
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Re: cannot detect ext 3TB usb hdd linux mint 11

Post by h2-1 »

To see what happens internally in Linux with your drive, do this. Plug in drive. Wait 30 seconds.

Run this command: dmesg | tail -n 30

This shows the last 30 lines of dmesg, which will show what the system saw when you plugged it in.

Here's a sample when it works:

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usb 1-4: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 4
usb 1-4: New USB device found, idVendor=1005, idProduct=b113
usb 1-4: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
usb 1-4: Product: USB FLASH DRIVE
usb 1-4: Manufacturer:
usb 1-4: SerialNumber: 195819000251
usb 1-4: selecting invalid altsetting 1
usbcore: registered new interface driver uas
Initializing USB Mass Storage driver...
scsi8 : usb-storage 1-4:1.0
usbcore: registered new interface driver usb-storage
USB Mass Storage support registered.
scsi 8:0:0:0: Direct-Access              USB FLASH DRIVE  53CG PQ: 0 ANSI: 0 CCS
sd 8:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg6 type 0
sd 8:0:0:0: [sde] 501760 512-byte logical blocks: (256 MB/245 MiB)
sd 8:0:0:0: [sde] Write Protect is off
sd 8:0:0:0: [sde] Mode Sense: 23 00 00 00
sd 8:0:0:0: [sde] Assuming drive cache: write through
sd 8:0:0:0: [sde] Assuming drive cache: write through
 sde: sde1
sd 8:0:0:0: [sde] Assuming drive cache: write through
sd 8:0:0:0: [sde] Attached SCSI removable disk
sde: sde1 means the kernel detected sde correctly, and then found one partition, sde1 in it. If the device has a partition, and you don't see this, then the kernel will not allow any operations on it, since it can't see it. Google your drive plus the word linux and make sure it doesn't have some type of blocking firmware that works only in windows.

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inxi -o 
Unmounted: ID: /dev/sde1 size: 0.26G label: N/A uuid: 4781-202F fs: FAT (16 bit)
-o will only show data if the device has a partition.

This is assuming the device is a standard type external drive, there are some that have some weird type of firmware that Linux can't deal with, but I don't remember the details there.
mordant23

Re: cannot detect ext 3TB usb hdd linux mint 11

Post by mordant23 »

h2-1 wrote:To see what happens internally in Linux with your drive, do this. Plug in drive. Wait 30 seconds.

Run this command: dmesg | tail -n 30

This shows the last 30 lines of dmesg, which will show what the system saw when you plugged it in.
This has been really useful. When I read this last night, I was in the middle of an experiment to see if Mint Debian in virtualbox would recognize the hard drive. I was able to load the LMDE live dvd and use GParted to format the drive using a GPT partition table. I decided to format three partitions with 50GB unallocated at the beginning in case I want to play with making it bootable, First partition of 160GB with NTFS file system, 350GB ext4 filesystem and about 2.25TB. So far everything works swimmingly inside the LMDE virtualbox. Since I formatted the drive, Disk Utility does not pick up the drive but lsusb still does. Since virtualbox's ability to see the hard drive seems to fail at some points, I haven't tested Windows ability to see the new format yet. I've been using http://www.rodsbooks.com/gdisk/ as a guide to GPT partitions.

As a test to see if the success was due to virtualbox or to the operating system, I also loaded the Linux Mint 11 live dvd to the same virtual machine and it did NOT recognize the hard hard drive after the partition. Interestingly enough during this experiment, I also ran into an issue where I had to turn on virtualization in my bios to use 64bit guests. I was able to boot once into my host Linux Mint 11. After a reboot, I was able to use my wireless keyboard and mouse (which uses a usb dongle) in the bios but was not able to use them at the login screen. After checking the batteries, I turned off virtualization in the bios and used 32bit guests in the virtualbox. I suspect this is more evidence that there is something in Linux Mint 11 that interferes with the way I'm trying to use usb devices.

So it looks like my path forward is to switch to LMDE on my host system. Would you say we've gotten to the point where I should file a bug or feature request regarding Linux Mint 11? Is there anyway to get Linux Mint 11, e.g. recompile the existing kernel to add additional features to recognize the drive?
Google your drive plus the word linux and make sure it doesn't have some type of blocking firmware that works only in windows.
I think I'm safe. I checked Google. The fact that it worked with LMDE in virtualbox is a good sign. I wouldn't be surprised if there's a difference I'm not aware of between the virtualbox machine and my actual machine. I have a way to use it right now with virtualbox and file sharing within virtualbox, but that is such an ugly work around I'd like to come up with something simpler. :)

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inxi -o 
Unmounted: ID: /dev/sde1 size: 0.26G label: N/A uuid: 4781-202F fs: FAT (16 bit)
-o will only show data if the device has a partition.

This is assuming the device is a standard type external drive, there are some that have some weird type of firmware that Linux can't deal with, but I don't remember the details there.
I wouldn't put it past the realm of possibility that I will run into that problem. I've been delightfully surprised with the ease that I've been able to use hardware that is not officially supported for linux. :o

Below are the dmesg logs that I captured in Linux Mint 11 after I formatted the drive.

LINUX MINT 11 HOST - DRIVE PLUGGED IN POST BOOT

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[  128.160119] usb 1-1: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 4
[  128.384431] scsi6 : uas
[  128.384848] usbcore: registered new interface driver uas
[  128.409540] Initializing USB Mass Storage driver...
[  128.409657] usbcore: registered new interface driver usb-storage
[  128.409662] USB Mass Storage support registered.
LINUX MINT 11 HOST - AFTER USING DRIVE IN VIRTUALBOX (PREVIOUS LOG INCLUDED TO SHOW NOTHING ELSE WAS HAPPENING ON SYSTEM)

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[  128.160119] usb 1-1: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 4
[  128.384431] scsi6 : uas
[  128.384848] usbcore: registered new interface driver uas
[  128.409540] Initializing USB Mass Storage driver...
[  128.409657] usbcore: registered new interface driver usb-storage
[  128.409662] USB Mass Storage support registered.
[  807.616584] warning: `VirtualBox' uses 32-bit capabilities (legacy support in use)
[ 1086.720104] usb 1-1: reset high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 4
[ 1086.872169] scsi7 : uas
[ 1086.874294] scsi 7:0:0:0: Direct-Access     Hitachi  Hitachi HDS72303 A580 PQ: 0 ANSI: 4
[ 1093.060090] scsi 7:0:0:0: uas_eh_abort_handler tag 0
[ 1093.060106] scsi 7:0:0:0: uas_eh_device_reset_handler tag 0
[ 1093.060114] scsi 7:0:0:0: uas_eh_target_reset_handler tag 0
[ 1093.060121] scsi 7:0:0:0: uas_eh_bus_reset_handler tag 0
[ 1093.180075] usb 1-1: reset high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 4
[ 1093.331768] scsi 7:0:0:0: Device offlined - not ready after error recovery
[ 1093.331850] scsi 7:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to offline device
[ 1093.331874] scsi 7:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to offline device
[ 1093.333411] scsi 7:0:0:1: Enclosure         Hitachi  SES              A580 PQ: 0 ANSI: 4
[ 1093.334013] scsi 7:0:0:2: uas_eh_device_reset_handler tag -1
[ 1093.334022] scsi 7:0:0:2: uas_eh_target_reset_handler tag -1
[ 1093.334029] scsi 7:0:0:2: uas_eh_bus_reset_handler tag -1
[ 1093.460100] usb 1-1: reset high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 4
[ 1093.611639] scsi 7:0:0:2: Device offlined - not ready after error recovery
[ 1093.612297] sd 7:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg2 type 0
[ 1093.612618] scsi 7:0:0:1: Attached scsi generic sg3 type 13
[ 1124.080075] sd 7:0:0:0: uas_eh_abort_handler tag 0
[ 1124.080093] sd 7:0:0:0: uas_eh_device_reset_handler tag 0
[ 1124.080102] sd 7:0:0:0: uas_eh_target_reset_handler tag 0
[ 1124.080109] sd 7:0:0:0: uas_eh_bus_reset_handler tag 0
[ 1124.200116] usb 1-1: reset high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 4
[ 1124.351668] sd 7:0:0:0: Device offlined - not ready after error recovery
[ 1124.351734] sd 7:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to offline device
[ 1124.351745] sd 7:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to offline device
[ 1124.351750] sd 7:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to offline device
[ 1124.351753] sd 7:0:0:0: [sdb] READ CAPACITY failed
[ 1124.351755] sd 7:0:0:0: [sdb]  Result: hostbyte=DID_NO_CONNECT driverbyte=DRIVER_OK
[ 1124.351759] sd 7:0:0:0: [sdb] Sense not available.
[ 1124.351764] sd 7:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to offline device
[ 1124.351767] sd 7:0:0:0: [sdb] Write Protect is off
[ 1124.351770] sd 7:0:0:0: [sdb] Mode Sense: 00 00 00 00
[ 1124.351773] sd 7:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to offline device
[ 1124.351776] sd 7:0:0:0: [sdb] Asking for cache data failed
[ 1124.351778] sd 7:0:0:0: [sdb] Assuming drive cache: write through
[ 1124.351942] sd 7:0:0:0: [sdb] Attached SCSI disk
[ 1124.378265] ses 7:0:0:1: Attached Enclosure device
[ 1425.120639] usb 1-1: usbfs: usb_submit_urb returned -2
[ 1425.120645] usb 1-1: usbfs: usb_submit_urb returned -2
[ 1425.120648] usb 1-1: usbfs: usb_submit_urb returned -2
[ 1425.120654] usb 1-1: usbfs: usb_submit_urb returned -2
[ 1425.120657] usb 1-1: usbfs: usb_submit_urb returned -2
[ 1425.120659] usb 1-1: usbfs: usb_submit_urb returned -2
[ 1931.540079] usb 1-1: reset high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 4
[ 1946.660105] usb 1-1: device descriptor read/64, error -110
[ 1961.890101] usb 1-1: device descriptor read/64, error -110
[ 1962.120154] usb 1-1: reset high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 4
[ 1977.240142] usb 1-1: device descriptor read/64, error -110
[ 1992.470155] usb 1-1: device descriptor read/64, error -110
[ 1992.700164] usb 1-1: reset high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 4
[ 1998.120082] usb 1-1: device not accepting address 4, error -71
[ 1998.240099] usb 1-1: reset high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 4
[ 2003.660066] usb 1-1: device not accepting address 4, error -71
[ 2003.660229] usb 1-1: USB disconnect, address 4
[ 2003.780155] usb 1-1: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 5
[ 2018.900173] usb 1-1: device descriptor read/64, error -110
[ 2034.130111] usb 1-1: device descriptor read/64, error -110
[ 2034.360103] usb 1-1: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 6
[ 2049.480088] usb 1-1: device descriptor read/64, error -110
[ 2064.710107] usb 1-1: device descriptor read/64, error -110
[ 2064.940085] usb 1-1: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 7
[ 2070.360075] usb 1-1: device not accepting address 7, error -71
[ 2070.480088] usb 1-1: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 8
[ 2075.900062] usb 1-1: device not accepting address 8, error -71
[ 2075.900094] hub 1-0:1.0: unable to enumerate USB device on port 1
[ 2076.440092] usb 2-1: new full speed USB device using ohci_hcd and address 3
[ 2091.620103] usb 2-1: device descriptor read/64, error -110
LINUX MINT DEBIAN 32BIT LIVE DVD VIRTUALBOX (NO GUEST ADDITIONS) AUG 12 2011 6:12PM

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[   43.308072] eth1: no IPv6 routers present
[   96.460473] usb 1-1: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 2
[   96.729616] usb 1-1: New USB device found, idVendor=4971, idProduct=1013
[   96.729629] usb 1-1: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
[   96.729638] usb 1-1: Product: Touro Desk Pro
[   96.729644] usb 1-1: Manufacturer: Hitachi GST
[   96.729649] usb 1-1: SerialNumber: 03100110610000001227
[   96.736800] usb 1-1: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
[   96.935582] Initializing USB Mass Storage driver...
[   96.945734] scsi3 : SCSI emulation for USB Mass Storage devices
[   96.949969] usbcore: registered new interface driver usb-storage
[   96.952816] USB Mass Storage support registered.
[   96.966750] usb-storage: device found at 2
[   96.966758] usb-storage: waiting for device to settle before scanning
[  101.987529] usb-storage: device scan complete
[  102.026690] scsi 3:0:0:0: Direct-Access 	Hitachi  Hitachi HDS72303 A580 PQ: 0 ANSI: 4
[  102.050244] sd 3:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg2 type 0
[  102.083367] sd 3:0:0:0: [sdb] 732566016 4096-byte logical blocks: (3.00 TB/2.72 TiB)
[  102.098130] sd 3:0:0:0: [sdb] Write Protect is off
[  102.098165] sd 3:0:0:0: [sdb] Mode Sense: 4b 00 10 08
[  102.098189] sd 3:0:0:0: [sdb] Assuming drive cache: write through
[  102.118222] sd 3:0:0:0: [sdb] 732566016 4096-byte logical blocks: (3.00 TB/2.72 TiB)
[  102.142000] sd 3:0:0:0: [sdb] Assuming drive cache: write through
[  102.142045]  sdb: sdb1 sdb2 sdb3
[  102.317972] sd 3:0:0:0: [sdb] 732566016 4096-byte logical blocks: (3.00 TB/2.72 TiB)
[  102.331798] sd 3:0:0:0: [sdb] Assuming drive cache: write through
[  102.331811] sd 3:0:0:0: [sdb] Attached SCSI disk
[  106.241162] EXT4-fs (sdb2): mounted filesystem with ordered data mode
[  127.111711] EXT4-fs (sdb3): mounted filesystem with ordered data mode
[  133.636412] gvfsd-metadata[2369]: segfault at 8 ip 0804d2da sp bff38fc0 error 4 in gvfsd-metadata[8048000+c000]
LINUX MINT 11 32 BIT LIVE DVD VIRTUALBOX (NO GUEST ADDITIIONS) AUG 12, 2011 8:15PM

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[  168.161245] usb 1-1: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 2
[  168.665776] scsi3 : uas
[  168.719452] usbcore: registered new interface driver uas
[  168.733559] scsi 3:0:0:0: Direct-Access 	Hitachi  Hitachi HDS72303 A580 PQ: 0 ANSI: 4
[  168.817954] Initializing USB Mass Storage driver...
[  168.829326] usbcore: registered new interface driver usb-storage
[  168.829342] USB Mass Storage support registered.
[  174.832651] scsi 3:0:0:0: uas_eh_abort_handler tag 0
[  174.832697] scsi 3:0:0:0: uas_eh_device_reset_handler tag 0
[  174.832709] scsi 3:0:0:0: uas_eh_target_reset_handler tag 0
[  174.832719] scsi 3:0:0:0: uas_eh_bus_reset_handler tag 0
[  174.944539] usb 1-1: reset high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 2
[  175.163132] scsi 3:0:0:0: Device offlined - not ready after error recovery
[  175.163991] scsi 3:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to offline device
[  175.172602] scsi 3:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to offline device
[  195.872672] scsi 3:0:0:1: uas_eh_abort_handler tag -1
[  195.872706] scsi 3:0:0:1: uas_eh_device_reset_handler tag -1
[  195.872718] scsi 3:0:0:1: uas_eh_target_reset_handler tag -1
[  195.872745] scsi 3:0:0:1: uas_eh_bus_reset_handler tag -1
[  195.984286] usb 1-1: reset high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 2
[  211.100737] usb 1-1: device descriptor read/64, error -110
[  226.321101] usb 1-1: device descriptor read/64, error -110
[  226.536810] usb 1-1: reset high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 2
[  241.648900] usb 1-1: device descriptor read/64, error -110
h2-1
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Re: cannot detect ext 3TB usb hdd linux mint 11

Post by h2-1 »

You're skipping the most important point: what is the lmde default kernel vs the mint (ubuntu) default kernel.

I believe liquorix kernels install on mint, I'm not positive, but I believe they do. Current is still 2.6.39, but 3.0 is coming this weekend. They require gcc 4.5 or maybe 4.6 on 3.0.

As I noted, this is almost certainly a kernel issue, so there's no point in filing bug reports on a frozen pool kernel, like ubuntu's. You have to install the latest current non long term release ubuntu to see how that kernel goes.

Since the host os usb is passing the same exact data to the virtualmachine subsystem as the host kernel gets, that simply means that when the host kernel gets that data, it can't handle it, and when lmde kernel via vm usb gets the same data, it can handle it.

Frozen pool distros require frozen pool hardware, this is a hard point for people to get, and it's one of the major failures/weaknesses of desktop linux, that is, to get full driver support requires installing or compiling a newer kernel, not from the frozen pool. Instead, that is, of simply popping in a driver disk and installing to a relatively stable kernel api. Kernel guys call this a 'feature', I call it failure to have the discipline skill and focus to maintain long term kernel apis.

The plus side of this is the huge number of drivers the kernel does contain, thus removing the need to use external drivers. But the downside has never changed, if the hardware fails to work, you will probably have either a lot of problems getting it to work, with a major loss of your time, or you won't get it working at all.
mordant23

Re: cannot detect ext 3TB usb hdd linux mint 11

Post by mordant23 »

h2-1 wrote:You're skipping the most important point: what is the lmde default kernel vs the mint (ubuntu) default kernel.

I believe liquorix kernels install on mint, I'm not positive, but I believe they do. Current is still 2.6.39, but 3.0 is coming this weekend. They require gcc 4.5 or maybe 4.6 on 3.0.

As I noted, this is almost certainly a kernel issue, so there's no point in filing bug reports on a frozen pool kernel, like ubuntu's. You have to install the latest current non long term release ubuntu to see how that kernel goes.

Since the host os usb is passing the same exact data to the virtualmachine subsystem as the host kernel gets, that simply means that when the host kernel gets that data, it can't handle it, and when lmde kernel via vm usb gets the same data, it can handle it.
Thanks for keeping me on track. I'm still somewhat new to Linux. The last time I used a *nix machine was on a college buddy's server in college years ago. Interestingly enough the kernel on the LMDE live dvd is 2.6.32-5. The kernel I was able to upgrade to on my host machine is 2.6.39 pulled from Ubuntu's oneiric kernel repository. I'm still figuring out exactly how the kernel and the rest of the system hang together. From what I understand, there are also options when compiling the kernel. So far I can use the debian packages to install the kernel but have not figured out how to compile directly from source and choose the correct options. My attempts to install 3.0.1 and 3.0.0 failed although I got better at reading the messages while the packages installed. If I understand what you're saying, I should be able to use the 2.6.32-5 kernel on my current system since that is the kernel used by LMDE live dvd. I should probably test it by actually doing an install on the virtualbox and see if the fully updated system still recognizes the hard drive.

Your tip about dmesg | tail -n 30 helped a lot. I was able to figure out part of my problem with inconsistent recognition of the hard drive by the virtualbox guests after I googled some of the error messages. I rearranged which ports it was plugged into and now I have virtualization turned on in my cpu.
h2-1 wrote:Frozen pool distros require frozen pool hardware, this is a hard point for people to get, and it's one of the major failures/weaknesses of desktop linux, that is, to get full driver support requires installing or compiling a newer kernel, not from the frozen pool. Instead, that is, of simply popping in a driver disk and installing to a relatively stable kernel api. Kernel guys call this a 'feature', I call it failure to have the discipline skill and focus to maintain long term kernel apis.

The plus side of this is the huge number of drivers the kernel does contain, thus removing the need to use external drivers. But the downside has never changed, if the hardware fails to work, you will probably have either a lot of problems getting it to work, with a major loss of your time, or you won't get it working at all.
It's definitely impressive at how well the drivers work for hardware that's not officially supported for linux. I'm still new enough I don't know which is a better design choice. I just wish there was an easier way to understand how to think about the upgrades. Trying to read the kernel changelogs or to google ino about the changes is painful. But hey, I like learning how my machine operates.
h2-1
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Re: cannot detect ext 3TB usb hdd linux mint 11

Post by h2-1 »

If 2.6.32 works and ubuntu 2.6.38 doesn't, then just use a debian kernel, problem solved. That's my guess, unless there's something else going on, but I don't use Ubuntu, just Debian.
mordant23

Re: cannot detect ext 3TB usb hdd linux mint 11

Post by mordant23 »

h2-1 wrote:If 2.6.32 works and ubuntu 2.6.38 doesn't, then just use a debian kernel, problem solved. That's my guess, unless there's something else going on, but I don't use Ubuntu, just Debian.
All right! Problem solved. Achievement unlocked, as the kids say. Woo hoo! Time to mark this thread as solved.

Somehow in my sleep deprived state while testing Linux Mint Debian (the first update takes hours) in my virtualbox, I stumbled upon http://liquorix.net/. Liquorix kernel 2.6.39-4 worked on Linux Mint 11. I had to unplug the hard drive after boot up and plug it back in, but the partitions mounted automagically. :) I haven't used the system fully but everything seems ok at first glance.

Thanks a lot for for your help. You pointed me in the right direction with regards to the kernel. It was just a matter of finding which kernel would work. LMDE 201101 iso would have worked right out of the box too. Now as for -why- the kernel that ships with Linux Mint 11 failed? Maybe I'll figure that out at some point after I learn more about compiling kernels.

EDIT: I reread the thread and saw that you mentioned liquorix too. Wow, I really have been sleep deprived while I worked on this. Time to walk away...slowly and do something else. :)


For those who stumble upon this thread here are some things to read about liquorix and the zen kernel:

Liquorix home page
http://liquorix.net/

Article about Liquorix and the Zen kernel
http://pclinuxos2007.blogspot.com/2010/ ... -your.html

How to install Liquorix on Ubuntu
http://www.webupd8.org/2011/03/how-to-i ... el-in.html
However you may want to make sure that you have at least gcc 4.5 or higher (or whatever the latest liquorix kernel requires per http://techpatterns.com/forums/about1810.html
koshary

Re: [SOLVED] cannot detect ext 3TB usb hdd linux mint 11

Post by koshary »

For reference and to save future reader's time, here is the main problem: kernel module uas!
It looks like there is a problem in this module after kernel 2.6.32 that's why all kernels afterwards didn't work.
A quick workaround is to disable it:
open blacklist.conf in a text editor:
gksudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf
add the following line there, then reboot:
blacklist uas
If you only want to check on the spot without rebooting try removing the module as the follows, but once you reboot it will be loaded again
rmmod uas
It is all here http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1782546
mordant23

Re: [SOLVED] cannot detect ext 3TB usb hdd linux mint 11

Post by mordant23 »

Cool! The last poster even had the same hard drive as me. I'll have to try the blacklist option. Interestingly enough, lsmod lists uas:

Code: Select all

uas                     8317  0 
uvcvideo               62715  0 
nls_utf8                1325  1 
vboxpci                14159  0 
vboxnetadp              5590  0 
vboxnetflt             16481  0 
vboxdrv              1819102  3 vboxpci,vboxnetadp,vboxnetflt
nvidia              11701046  40 
ath9k_htc              55543  0 
mac80211              217343  1 ath9k_htc
ath9k_common            2456  1 ath9k_htc
ath9k_hw              285886  2 ath9k_htc,ath9k_common
ath                    15984  2 ath9k_htc,ath9k_hw
cfg80211              171100  3 ath9k_htc,mac80211,ath
k10temp                 3271  0 
asus_atk0110           10249  0 
btrfs                 628690  0 
libcrc32c               1123  1 btrfs
forcedeth              52647  0
but I've been using LMDE for a while now.
mordant23

Re: [SOLVED] cannot detect ext 3TB usb hdd linux mint 11

Post by mordant23 »

koshary wrote:For reference and to save future reader's time, here is the main problem: kernel module uas!
It looks like there is a problem in this module after kernel 2.6.32 that's why all kernels afterwards didn't work.
A quick workaround is to disable it:
open blacklist.conf in a text editor:
gksudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf
add the following line there, then reboot:
blacklist uas
If you only want to check on the spot without rebooting try removing the module as the follows, but once you reboot it will be loaded again
rmmod uas
It is all here http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1782546
I just tried your solution when I checked out Mint 12. It worked like a charm. Thanks!
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