Mount path for external USB drive

[dave31175]

Linux Mint Cinnamon 17.3

When I log in after a reboot, my external USB automatically mounts at /media/user1/. However if user2 logs in before user1, it mounts at /media/user2/ instead, and unless user2 specifically unmounts the drive and "switch user" is used, user1 cannot access the data on the drive, and any processes (e.g., Plex Media Server, Subsonic) using data on that drive are also unable to access it as it's not at the expected path.

How can I make it mount with the same path every time regardless what user logs in?

Thanks, and let me know if I need to provide any further info.

EDITED for clarity

[WharfRat]

What would be needed is a mount point other than /media/user1 and an entry in /etc/fstab with the nofail option in case the drive is not plugged in when booting.

Paste back

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sudo blkid

[dave31175]

Thanks for your reply.

/dev/sda1: LABEL="System" UUID="8E94DECD94DEB745" TYPE="ntfs"
/dev/sda2: LABEL="TI106348W0B" UUID="4A461D1A461D0879" TYPE="ntfs"
/dev/sda3: LABEL="HDDRECOVERY" UUID="C4AE2C65AE2C51EA" TYPE="ntfs"
/dev/sda5: UUID="718816d2-e77b-4c92-bead-8902f49e1fbb" TYPE="ext4"
/dev/sda6: UUID="11ccfe33-776d-4dc0-8654-5c5c1111b797" TYPE="swap"
/dev/sdb1: UUID="f5552ad3-a58d-4356-88eb-00dc034db7f7" TYPE="ext4"

That last line is my USB drive

[WharfRat]

Make a mount point, call it anything you want, but just make sure it matches the fstab entry. I'll use data for illustration.

Add this to /etc/fstab

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UUID=f5552ad3-a58d-4356-88eb-00dc034db7f7  /media/data	ext4	defaults,nofail,errors=remount-ro,user,noatime	0 0

Create the mount point

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sudo mkdir /media/data

Then

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mount  /media/data

The line in fstab will attempt to mount it at boot, but should not fail if it's not attached.

Good luck

[dave31175]

Thanks so much!! I'll give this a try when I'm back in front of that laptop.

[zaileion]

you can also use gparted

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sudo apt-get install gparted

if its not installed
there is a dropdown in the top right corner allowing you to select different disks. this dropdown will show all the /dev/s.. drives you have.

You can also use disks instead of gparted
all drives are listed on the left click the one you want (your usb drive) and at the very top you will see /dev/s..

then follow WharfRat instructions for mounting.

The reason i suggest using gparted or disks as an alternative to the terminal command sudo blkid for new users is because it makes i a bit easier to decipher which device is which.

[dave31175]

Thanks zaileion, I appreciate the info