32gb usb tries to mount then disappears

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missmoondog
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32gb usb tries to mount then disappears

Post by missmoondog »

i have a 32gb sandisk usb that i was transferring music to one day that all of a sudden just quit transferring and now i can't get it to mount in mint or windows. it was formatted as fat32 and worked perfectly for the longest time. even with what i was transferring it still should have had a couple gb's free space. i can see it trying to mount under disk but then it just disappears. is there anything i can do to get it to work again?

thank you
Last edited by LockBot on Wed Sep 06, 2023 10:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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xenopeek
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Re: 32gb usb tries to mount then disappears

Post by xenopeek »

This can be hard to diagnose.

You saying it also no longer works under Windows makes me think a problem with the device, and not with your OS. 2 things I'd try:

1) Open a terminal and run the command journalctl -f to start following the system log. Things may happen there all the time. Especially when your network is enabled or you have other apps running in the background. Anyway, see if within a few seconds of starting the command it quiets down. Press Enter a few times to mark where you are in the system log with some blank lines. Then plug in your USB drive and watch what happens in the system log. After a few seconds — just a tad longer than it otherwise takes for the USB to show up in disks and then disappear again — press Ctrl+C to abort watching the log. Copy all the lines from the log from below the blank lines you added. Share them here. There may be some error in the log about the USB device that can help figure out what happens. It can also be a dud :|

2) After the USB disappears open the Disks program from your menu. Is the USB still shown there? If so you may want to try if you can do things like check filesystem on the partition or access the SMART data of the device, to see if maybe there is an issue with either.
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missmoondog
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Re: 32gb usb tries to mount then disappears

Post by missmoondog »

thanks for the reply. will try to get at that first part of your suggestion in a few days but as for that second part, no, the device is totally gone from the disk app and anywhere else.
xox101
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Re: 32gb usb tries to mount then disappears

Post by xox101 »

Sounds like the USB drive itself has given up. One thing you could try is the program initdisc from GRC.com. On Windows only though.
missmoondog
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Re: 32gb usb tries to mount then disappears

Post by missmoondog »

dang it! forgot to try what xenopeek suggested last time on that computer. will try both things soon.

thank you
missmoondog
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Re: 32gb usb tries to mount then disappears

Post by missmoondog »

xox101 wrote: Mon Mar 20, 2023 9:07 am Sounds like the USB drive itself has given up. One thing you could try is the program initdisc from GRC.com. On Windows only though.
this is what i get when running that app you suggested. i do believe the drive is toast, huh?

InitDisk Running... Release 5

Please insert the USB drive you wish to erase and reformat with a FAT file
system. If the drive is already plugged in you may remove it, wait for its
removal to be acknowledged, then reinsert it. The drive's properties will
be displayed to allow you to confirm that it's the drive you wish to use...
(Or you may press the ESCape key to terminate)...

Physical drive size: 31,331,450,880 (31.3GB)
Drive shows as: Removable
Device vendor: sandisk
Vendor's product: cruzer_glide
Device revision: 1.00
Physical drive number: 1

No recognizable volumes were found on the physical media that was inserted.
However, the drive might contain valid data formatted in a file system that
is unknown to Windows. Only proceed with reformatting this media if you are
certain that any data this drive might contain can be forever lost.

If you wish to reformat this drive, please enter the command NUKE and press
Enter. Or, just press the ESCape key to terminate this program: NUKE

The chosen device has become inaccessible since it was initially selected.
The device should not be changed or removed after it has been chosen. You
may insert a device to display its properties and characteristics or press
ESCape to terminate...

as usual, it disappears/becomes inaccessible after a minute.
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