2nd External HDD No Longer Working-Mint-Cinnamon
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There are no such things as "stupid" questions. However if you think your question is a bit stupid, then this is the right place for you to post it. Stick to easy to-the-point questions that you feel people can answer fast. For long and complicated questions use the other forums in the support section.
Before you post read how to get help. Topics in this forum are automatically closed 6 months after creation.
2nd External HDD No Longer Working-Mint-Cinnamon
So. Noob with Linux Mint Cinnamon. Refugee from Win7. I have two external Toshiba HDDs. Both working great with Linux. Then one day, problems.
Both are still recognized. But I can't open one. I thought there was something wrong with the drive. Maybe because I am dualing with Windows still. But it turns out, depending on which loads first, it cancels the second one out. So then I cannot access those files. It will show the drive as completely empty.
I have tried switching USB ports, restarting, switching cables, mount, unmount, Terminal commands, everything.
Every time I do an internet search, the results I get are "installing Linux on an external drive". That is NOT what I am doing. I just want access to both drives' files.
Thank you.
Both are still recognized. But I can't open one. I thought there was something wrong with the drive. Maybe because I am dualing with Windows still. But it turns out, depending on which loads first, it cancels the second one out. So then I cannot access those files. It will show the drive as completely empty.
I have tried switching USB ports, restarting, switching cables, mount, unmount, Terminal commands, everything.
Every time I do an internet search, the results I get are "installing Linux on an external drive". That is NOT what I am doing. I just want access to both drives' files.
Thank you.
Last edited by LockBot on Wed Dec 28, 2022 7:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Topic automatically closed 6 months after creation. New replies are no longer allowed.
Reason: Topic automatically closed 6 months after creation. New replies are no longer allowed.
Re: 2nd External HDD No Longer Working-Mint-Cinnamon
What tells terminal-commands
Code: Select all
sudo parted -l
inxi -po
Re: 2nd External HDD No Longer Working-Mint-Cinnamon
Should I post it all here?
Code: Select all
all_spice ~ $ sudo parted -l
[sudo] password for balut:
Model: ATA ST1000LM048-2E71 (scsi)
Disk /dev/sda: 1000GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/4096B
Partition Table: msdos
Disk Flags:
Number Start End Size Type File system Flags
1 1049kB 106MB 105MB primary ntfs boot
2 106MB 108GB 108GB primary ntfs
3 108GB 983GB 875GB primary ext4
4 983GB 1000GB 16.8GB extended lba
5 983GB 1000GB 16.8GB logical linux-swap(v1)
Model: TOSHIBA External USB 3.0 (scsi)
Disk /dev/sdb: 3001GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 4096B/4096B
Partition Table: msdos
Disk Flags:
Number Start End Size Type File system Flags
1 1049kB 3001GB 3001GB primary ntfs boot
Model: TOSHIBA External USB 3.0 (scsi)
Disk /dev/sdc: 1000GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: msdos
Disk Flags:
Number Start End Size Type File system Flags
1 106MB 1000GB 1000GB primary ntfs
Model: Linux device-mapper (crypt) (dm)
Disk /dev/mapper/cryptswap1: 16.8GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/4096B
Partition Table: loop
Disk Flags:
Number Start End Size File system Flags
1 0.00B 16.8GB 16.8GB linux-swap(v1)
all_spice ~ $ inxi -po
Partition: ID-1: / size: 803G used: 716G (94%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda3
ID-2: /home/balut size: 803G used: 716G (94%) fs: ecryptfs dev: N/A
ID-3: /media/balut/TOSHIBA EXT size: 932G used: 26G (3%) fs: fuseblk dev: /dev/sdc1
ID-4: /media/balut/TOSHIBA EXT1 size: 2.8T used: 2.7T (97%) fs: fuseblk dev: /dev/sdb1
ID-5: swap-1 size: 16.78GB used: 0.00GB (0%) fs: swap dev: /dev/dm-0
Unmounted: ID-1: /dev/sda1 size: 0.10G
fs: NTFS label: System Reserved uuid: 98BE3C6DBE3C45D2
ID-2: /dev/sda2 size: 108.02G
fs: NTFS label: N/A uuid: 8E3441043440F0AF
ID-3: /dev/sda5 size: 16.78G
fs: swap label: N/A uuid: 2845341d-0d2a-416f-9639-984f74176104
Last edited by all_spice on Tue May 22, 2018 7:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: 2nd External HDD No Longer Working-Mint-Cinnamon
I'd post in in <code> tags, or upload a text file, to prevent the text from being searched by Google.
In terms of basic troubleshooting, can you access either drive when it is the only one connected to the system? If yes, this rules-out a defect with either of the drives and puts focus on the problem being an issue of not recognizing and using more than one drive at a time.
Also pay attention to where you are plugging these drives into, as USB ports do go bad, and if you aren't aware of this, you might assume a drive works intermittently (drive problem) instead of failing to work when connected to a particular USB port(s) (USB port problem).
Also remove all other USB devices from the system during troubleshooting, on the chance that some 3rd device (not the HD's and not the computer) is causing the problem).
Re: 2nd External HDD No Longer Working-Mint-Cinnamon
Thank you. Yeah, when they are plugged in, they are both recognized. Wait, it wants me to manually mount one now, via right click in Computer. And I can open both. But one will have no files listed. I currently have had them plugged in the same way for days, and they take turns on who is going to work. My ancient USB ports are pretty sensitive. I just tightened they prongs on them and that fixed 2/3 of them. The 3rd I only use for the mouse. So when I sneeze or put down my coffee, only my mouse goes out. Ha ha. The other 2 are good as new now.Unsaturated wrote: ⤴Tue May 22, 2018 7:19 pmI'd post in in <code> tags, or upload a text file, to prevent the text from being searched by Google.
In terms of basic troubleshooting, can you access either drive when it is the only one connected to the system? If yes, this rules-out a defect with either of the drives and puts focus on the problem being an issue of not recognizing and using more than one drive at a time.
Also pay attention to where you are plugging these drives into, as USB ports do go bad, and if you aren't aware of this, you might assume a drive works intermittently (drive problem) instead of failing to work when connected to a particular USB port(s) (USB port problem).
Also remove all other USB devices from the system during troubleshooting, on the chance that some 3rd device (not the HD's and not the computer) is causing the problem).
I should also point out, when I am in Win7, which is currently allowed to live at the moment, for games, the drives work 100%.
And the HDDs USED to work on Mint, and only recently started acting up.
Maybe I installed something I should not have?
Re: 2nd External HDD No Longer Working-Mint-Cinnamon
You are missing my point regarding troubleshooting.
It does not give us any useful information to know that both HD's when booted together have problems.
The first step is to determine if "the problem" is with either one, or the other HD, or with the computer itself.
In order to determine this, you boot the system with just one HD attached and see if it behaves normally.
Then boot the system, with just the other HD attached, behaves normally.
If it works with one, but not the other, you've found where your problem is.
If it doesn't work with either, that implies the computer, and not the HD's, are the problem.
If it works with either, then it's safe to assume that it's a software problem with the computer, and that both HD's are good.
It does not give us any useful information to know that both HD's when booted together have problems.
The first step is to determine if "the problem" is with either one, or the other HD, or with the computer itself.
In order to determine this, you boot the system with just one HD attached and see if it behaves normally.
Then boot the system, with just the other HD attached, behaves normally.
If it works with one, but not the other, you've found where your problem is.
If it doesn't work with either, that implies the computer, and not the HD's, are the problem.
If it works with either, then it's safe to assume that it's a software problem with the computer, and that both HD's are good.
Re: 2nd External HDD No Longer Working-Mint-Cinnamon
Also, in addition to the possibility that the USB port(s) on the computer may be bad, power to the HD's, and the USB cords, could also be the problem.
Re: 2nd External HDD No Longer Working-Mint-Cinnamon
Hmmm... not sure I know what you mean.Unsaturated wrote: ⤴Wed May 23, 2018 2:11 am You are missing my point regarding troubleshooting.
It does not give us any useful information to know that both HD's when booted together have problems.
The first step is to determine if "the problem" is with either one, or the other HD, or with the computer itself.
In order to determine this, you boot the system with just one HD attached and see if it behaves normally.
Then boot the system, with just the other HD attached, behaves normally.
If it works with one, but not the other, you've found where your problem is.
If it doesn't work with either, that implies the computer, and not the HD's, are the problem.
If it works with either, then it's safe to assume that it's a software problem with the computer, and that both HD's are good.
Re: 2nd External HDD No Longer Working-Mint-Cinnamon
I don't get it?Unsaturated wrote: ⤴Wed May 23, 2018 11:49 am Also, in addition to the possibility that the USB port(s) on the computer may be bad, power to the HD's, and the USB cords, could also be the problem.
Re: 2nd External HDD No Longer Working-Mint-Cinnamon
If it helps at all, when I try to mount it in the Terminal, I get the following:
Code: Select all
Mount is denied because the NTFS volume is already exclusively opened.
The volume may be already mounted, or another software may use it which
could be identified for example by the help of the 'fuser' command.
Re: 2nd External HDD No Longer Working-Mint-Cinnamon
I don't know how much more clear I can make it. From what I understand, you are saying that you boot with two external hard drives to a linux o/s, they both used to work and now they don't. I got the idea you think that something needs to be done with Linux. I'm asserting the possibility that the problem is with the hardware, as in it's broke somehow.all_spice wrote: ⤴Wed May 23, 2018 12:16 pmI don't get it?Unsaturated wrote: ⤴Wed May 23, 2018 11:49 am Also, in addition to the possibility that the USB port(s) on the computer may be bad, power to the HD's, and the USB cords, could also be the problem.
One bad HD can "sort of" work, and that broken hard drive can make the other one malfunction. Any bad hardware on any system can cause problems that aren't necessarily specific to that hard drive. There could be an open, or a short, in the USB cord. The power to the external drive can be bad (low power, no power, intermittent power, bad (open, or short) power cord).
Before going on a big hunt in the Linux software, it's a basic troubleshooting step to make certain that all the hardware is good. Meaning you verify that each hard drive works, all by itself, without anything else connected to the system. If one hard drives works by itself, and the other one does not, and both hard drives have problems, it's not a Linux problem, it's a "broken hard drive problem", with "broken hard drive" including the drive itself, the power cord to the broken hard drive, the USB cable to the hard drive, and the USB port the broken hard drive is connected to. USB ports (the socket the USB cable connects to) can go bad. I've seen problems like this, where the solution is to simply connect the hard drive to a different USB port.
If you have a hardware problem, no amount of tweaking Linux is going to fix it. Before messing with Linux, I'd verify that both hard drives are good, along with all the associated hardware mentioned (cables, power supply, USB ports, whatever).
Last edited by Unsaturated on Wed May 23, 2018 9:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: 2nd External HDD No Longer Working-Mint-Cinnamon
If you were experiencing these problems "live" while making this post, where it worked and suddenly stopped, that sounds like an intermittent problem to me. Could be anything, but a bad cable, bad power or bad hard drive would be the first things to look at, and check. It's very doubtful that Linux can see two hard drives, then suddenly it can't, and have the problem be with the Linux operation system. That sounds more like hardware to me.
Re: 2nd External HDD No Longer Working-Mint-Cinnamon
Well a hardware issue should already be well ruled-out.Unsaturated wrote: ⤴Wed May 23, 2018 2:53 pmI don't know how much more clear I can make it. From what I understand, you are saying that you boot with two external hard drives to a linux o/s, they both used to work and now they don't. I got the idea you think that something needs to be done with Linux. I'm asserting the possibility that the problem is with the hardware, as in it's broke somehow.all_spice wrote: ⤴Wed May 23, 2018 12:16 pmI don't get it?Unsaturated wrote: ⤴Wed May 23, 2018 11:49 am Also, in addition to the possibility that the USB port(s) on the computer may be bad, power to the HD's, and the USB cords, could also be the problem.
One bad HD can "sort of" work, and that broken hard drive can make the other one malfunction. Any bad hardware on any bad system can cause problems that aren't necessarily specific to that hard drive. There could be an open, or a short, in the USB cord. The power to the external drive can be bad (low power, no power, intermittent power, bad (open, or short) power cord).
Before going on a big hunt in the Linux software, it's a basic troubleshooting step to make certain that all the hardware is good. Meaning you verify that each hard drive works, all by itself, without anything else connected to the system. If one hard drives works by itself, and the other one does not, and both hard drives have problems, it's not a Linux problem, it's a "broken hard drive problem", with "broken hard drive" including the drive itself, the power cord to the broken hard drive, the USB cable to the hard drive, and the USB port the broken hard drive is connected to. USB ports (the socket the USB cable connects to) can go bad. I've seen problems like this, where the solution is to simply connect the hard drive to a different USB port.
If you have a hardware problem, no amount of tweaking Linux is going to fix it. Before messing with Linux, I'd verify that both hard drives are good, along with all the associated hardware mentioned (cables, power supply, USB ports, whatever).
Re: 2nd External HDD No Longer Working-Mint-Cinnamon
I don't see how it could be a hardware issue at all.Unsaturated wrote: ⤴Wed May 23, 2018 2:56 pmIf you were experiencing these problems "live" while making this post, where it worked and suddenly stopped, that sounds like an intermittent problem to me. Could be anything, but a bad cable, bad power or bad hard drive would be the first things to look at, and check. It's very doubtful that Linux can see two hard drives, then suddenly it can't, and have the problem be with the Linux operation system. That sounds more like hardware to me.
Re: 2nd External HDD No Longer Working-Mint-Cinnamon
Not sure what they were...Unsaturated wrote: ⤴Wed May 23, 2018 9:36 pmDid you follow the instructions I gave you on how to know for certain that one, the other, or both hard drives are either good or bad?
But how can all my hardware be broke only on Linux?
Re: 2nd External HDD No Longer Working-Mint-Cinnamon
OK. So I THINK I fixed it. After searching thousands of web pages, fruitlessly, trying line after line of code, probably making things worse, getting even more confused trying to decipher the kind advice here, I modified something, I probably should not have.
My 3TB external was somehow flagged as "Boot". I did not think that was right, so I unflagged it. After a restart, both drives are working perfectly fine, the Linux is lightening fast, I can see thumbnails and file sizes, and my CPU is at 57c, which is normal for an old i3.
So... Did I really fix it? Or was it just coincidence?
I am still confused about the whole Linux can't use a 3TB HDD on an old computer thing... Anyway, it is working now like it was.
Oh, but now the restart function is gone! I have to completely shutdown and then reboot.
My 3TB external was somehow flagged as "Boot". I did not think that was right, so I unflagged it. After a restart, both drives are working perfectly fine, the Linux is lightening fast, I can see thumbnails and file sizes, and my CPU is at 57c, which is normal for an old i3.
So... Did I really fix it? Or was it just coincidence?
I am still confused about the whole Linux can't use a 3TB HDD on an old computer thing... Anyway, it is working now like it was.
Oh, but now the restart function is gone! I have to completely shutdown and then reboot.
Re: 2nd External HDD No Longer Working-Mint-Cinnamon
No? Maybe I did on the other thread? Or maybe I thought it and forgot to type it...
Either way, got it working.
Anyone have any idea how my external was flagged as "Boot" and how unflagging fixed everything?