external USB backup drive randomly will not show

[elmarts]

Good morning

I have an external USB backup drive that is usually powered down save for when I want to run backup software. Mostly it's fine, i.e. when I power it up, it shows up on my desktop within a minute. But sometimes it doesn't, no matter how often I cycle the drive's power. It WILL show up if I power it up and reboot the computer. Any ideas what's going on? (spec's in the signature block).

[gostal]

I have had similar issues with USB drives without external power. In my experience the device is always detected by the system. You can see that by entering for instance the command: dmesg or something similar that shows system activity messages. It is the auto mounting process that for some reason doesn't do it right. I have never bothered to investigate as the device usually shows up if I unplug it and replug it. It's quite safe to do if the device has not been mounted. To verify that it has not been mounted do: cat /etc/mtab in a terminal window. If the device doesn't show there it's not mounted.

[elmarts]

Thank you for confirming that I am not hallucinating. Is there any way to "poke" the usb subsystem to get it to wake up to the fact that a usb drive has been added to the system?

[gostal]

I'm sure there is but to tell requires knowledge about the auto mounting process at a level I have not reached. Let's hope that a Mint system's technician dignifies this thread with an answer. I'm all ears and eyes.

[Arch_Enemy]

I'm sure there is but to tell requires knowledge about the auto mounting process at a level I have not reached. Let's hope that a Mint system's technician dignifies this thread with an answer. I'm all ears and eyes.

Well, good luck with a Mint system's tech, they're all too busy working.

First of all, try updating the kernel. Some of them had issues with USB, esp USB 3. And, if it's plugged into a USB 3 port, move it to a USB 2 port. Some drives have issues with Linux's handling of USB. I have one that works fine in a USB 3, and one that disconnects when I try writing to it on a USB 3 port.

[phd21]

Hi elmarts,

Make sure you have the drive connected, then read the post below.

NTFS Partition does not activate even with automount, until clicking drive in file manager - Linux Mint Forums
viewtopic.php?f=208&t=278971&hilit=drive

Hope this helps ...