# Can't mount external USB drive [SOLVED]

## Robert S

I have an external USB drive (WD) which I use for backups.  It has been working well till recently.  Now when I try to mount it I get *Quote:*   

>  # mount /mnt/onetouch/
> 
> mount: wrong fs type, bad option, bad superblock on /dev/sdb,
> 
>        missing codepage or helper program, or other error
> ...

 

dmesg | tail gives me  *Quote:*   

> FAT: invalid media value (0xb9)
> 
> VFS: Can't find a valid FAT filesystem on dev sdb.
> 
> 

 

fsck gives me this: *Quote:*   

>  # fsck  /dev/sdb1
> 
> fsck from util-linux-ng 2.16.2
> 
> dosfsck 3.0.2, 28 Feb 2009, FAT32, LFN
> ...

 

If I unplug the drive and plug it in again it works again (for a day or so).

Any suggestions?  Should I answer 1) or 2) to the above, or is it not relevant?  I still get the fsck message if I unplug the drive and plug it in again.

Would I be better off using NTFS-3G?  I need Windows compatability.Last edited by Robert S on Mon Jun 21, 2010 9:34 pm; edited 1 time in total

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## BradN

Your /etc/fstab appears set wrong - you're trying to use the whole device instead of a partition (sdb vs sdb1)

According to wikipedia, the field that differs in your backup boot sector is the volume serial number, so it's not important (answer 1 or 2 should make it go away).

You might consider NTFS if you have a need to store files over 4GB.

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## Robert S

Duh!  It wasn't /etc/fstab - it was a problem with udev.  The device was mounted using a symbolic link to /dev/sdb1.  I started using a different removeable drive.  It worked initially but it seems to mysteriously flip randomly over to /dev/sdb and won't mount.  I've changed the udev rule and hopefully the problem will go away.

The "error" reported by fsck.vfat didn't make the problem go away:

 *Quote:*   

> mypc robert # fsck /dev/sdb1
> 
> fsck from util-linux-ng 2.16.2
> 
> dosfsck 3.0.2, 28 Feb 2009, FAT32, LFN
> ...

 

This looks like a trivial issue . . .

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## BradN

Maybe try -r option, the default may be to make no changes (seems strange it would ask though).

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## Robert S

That seems to have fixed it.

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