Member Avatar for Datamech

How do I view the contents of my flash drive (a Lexar 128MB JumpDrive) in Gnome (RedHat 9)?

I plug in the JumpDrive, and when I go to SYSTEM TOOLS > HARDWARE BROWSER it shows up just fine. Keep in mind, I'm a newbie to Linux. :o

I created the following directory: /mnt/usb
then, in the bash shell, I typed: mount /mnt/usb
and got this reply: mount: can't find /mnt/usb in /etc/fstab or /etc/mtab

When I type the mount command with no parameters, one of the returned lines reads:
usbdevfs on /proc/bus/usb type usbdevfs (rw)
How do I do this right?

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by 0915reg

Dani AI

Generated

— seeing the JumpDrive in the Hardware Browser shows the kernel noticed the device, but using the mount command with only a directory will fail unless that directory has an entry in /etc/fstab. and were on the right track: you need the device node the kernel created, then mount that partition (do NOT reformat unless you mean to erase the drive).

Helpful, safe checklist (do these in order):

  • Identify the kernel-assigned device and filesystem type; look for recent kernel messages and current block-device info. Example commands that reveal the device name and FS:

    sudo dmesg | tail -n 50
sudo lsblk -f
sudo blkid

  • Mount the correct partition (replace sdX1 with the actual device you found). Many USB sticks use FAT/FAT32, so specify the filesystem and options that give normal file ownership under a desktop account:

    sudo mount -t vfat /dev/sdX1 /media/jumpdrive -o uid=1000,gid=1000,utf8

  • If GNOME should handle it automatically, ensure the automounter/daemon for removable media is running (older RH9 setups used HAL/gnome-volume-manager). On modern systems udisks/udisksctl or a file-manager automount will do it for you.

Quick troubleshooting notes and cautions:

  • Do not run any filesystem-creation command unless you want to wipe the stick; mkfs is destructive.
  • If the device never shows a block node, load the USB mass-storage driver:
    sudo modprobe usb-storage
  • Device names can change (sda, sdb, etc.). Always confirm the correct node from kernel output before mounting to avoid touching the wrong disk.

Credit to and for the original diagnostic direction; the above fills in safe, practical steps for finding the device node, mounting with the right FS options, and avoiding accidental data loss.

Member Avatar for rizla115

This worked on when I tried it on RedHat 8.0, so it should work in RH 9:

Linux 2.4 and above -

  • First plug the device into the USB port of your computer
  • Execute: cd /etc/sysconfig/ ( cat /etc/sysconfig/hwconf | more )
  • Check the device information in hwconf and write down the mount point.
  • Make a directory in /mnt (ex: mkdir /mnt/usbHD )
  • Then execute: mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/usbHD (if mount point was .dev/sda)


How do I view the contents of my flash drive (a Lexar 128MB JumpDrive) in Gnome (RedHat 9)?

I plug in the JumpDrive, and when I go to SYSTEM TOOLS > HARDWARE BROWSER it shows up just fine. Keep in mind, I'm a newbie to Linux. :o

I created the following directory: /mnt/usb
then, in the bash shell, I typed: mount /mnt/usb
and got this reply: mount: can't find /mnt/usb in /etc/fstab or /etc/mtab

When I type the mount command with no parameters, one of the returned lines reads:
usbdevfs on /proc/bus/usb type usbdevfs (rw)
How do I do this right?

Member Avatar for 0915reg

Hi all,

I agree to rizla115.

I always take these steps below to check out whether a flash disk has attached:
1. dmesg
2. fdisk /dev/sda
3. mkfs
4. mkdir /mnt/MyFlash
5. mount /dev/sda(1 or something else) /mnt/MyFlash

This worked on when I tried it on RedHat 8.0, so it should work in RH 9:

Linux 2.4 and above -

  • First plug the device into the USB port of your computer
  • Execute: cd /etc/sysconfig/ ( cat /etc/sysconfig/hwconf | more )
  • Check the device information in hwconf and write down the mount point.
  • Make a directory in /mnt (ex: mkdir /mnt/usbHD )
  • Then execute: mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/usbHD (if mount point was .dev/sda)
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