[Arch] can´t mount external hdd

[dx00]

Excuse me for my poor english!

Hi, I have just installed Arch and I´am having problem to open my external hdd formated under ntfs. I have added current user to the optical and storage groups...
Here´s what I get when trying to open the partition by simply double-clicking on it.

Unable to mount "Storage"

org.freedesktop.hal.storage.mount-
removable no <-- (action, result)
any help is appreciated;)

[longblock454]

do:

[root@localhost ~]# su -c "dmesg|tail && tail -20 /var/log/messages"


and post the results, you will be asked to enter your root password.

[dx00]

sd 9:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg7 type 0
usb-storage: device scan complete
sd 9:0:0:0: [sdg] 976773168 512-byte logical blocks: (500 GB/465 GiB)
sd 9:0:0:0: [sdg] Write Protect is off
sd 9:0:0:0: [sdg] Mode Sense: 34 00 00 00
sd 9:0:0:0: [sdg] Assuming drive cache: write through
sd 9:0:0:0: [sdg] Assuming drive cache: write through
sdg: sdg1 < sdg5 >
sd 9:0:0:0: [sdg] Assuming drive cache: write through
sd 9:0:0:0: [sdg] Attached SCSI disk
tail: cannot open `/var/log/messages' for reading: No such file or directory

[longblock454]

Not sure where Arch leaves the messages file then, it is the most important one. What does:

[root@localhost ~]# ls -a /var/log/

Give you?

[dx00]

. Xorg.0.log.old daemon.log faillog old user.log
.. auth.log dmesg.log kernel.log pacman.log wtmp
ConsoleKit btmp errors.log lastlog slim.log
Xorg.0.log crond everything.log messages.log syslog.log

...var/log/messeges.log gives me
sd 9:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg7 type 0
usb-storage: device scan complete
sd 9:0:0:0: [sdg] 976773168 512-byte logical blocks: (500 GB/465 GiB)
sd 9:0:0:0: [sdg] Write Protect is off
sd 9:0:0:0: [sdg] Mode Sense: 34 00 00 00
sd 9:0:0:0: [sdg] Assuming drive cache: write through
sd 9:0:0:0: [sdg] Assuming drive cache: write through
sdg: sdg1 < sdg5 >
sd 9:0:0:0: [sdg] Assuming drive cache: write through
sd 9:0:0:0: [sdg] Attached SCSI disk
Oct 26 22:55:08 arch kernel: scsi 8:0:0:0: Direct-Access ST350082 0AS PQ: 0 ANSI: 2 CCS
Oct 26 22:55:08 arch kernel: sd 8:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg7 type 0
Oct 26 22:55:08 arch kernel: sd 8:0:0:0: [sdg] 976773168 512-byte logical blocks: (500 GB/465 GiB)
Oct 26 22:55:08 arch kernel: sd 8:0:0:0: [sdg] Write Protect is off
Oct 26 22:55:08 arch kernel: sdg: sdg1 < sdg5 >
Oct 26 22:55:08 arch kernel: sd 8:0:0:0: [sdg] Attached SCSI disk
Oct 26 22:55:37 arch kernel: usb 1-1: USB disconnect, address 5
Oct 26 23:06:35 arch kernel: NTFS driver 2.1.29 [Flags: R/W MODULE].
Oct 26 23:06:35 arch kernel: NTFS volume version 3.1.
Oct 26 23:07:05 arch kernel: usb 1-1: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 6
Oct 26 23:07:05 arch kernel: usb 1-1: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
Oct 26 23:07:05 arch kernel: scsi9 : SCSI emulation for USB Mass Storage devices
Oct 26 23:07:10 arch kernel: scsi 9:0:0:0: Direct-Access ST350082 0AS PQ: 0 ANSI: 2 CCS
Oct 26 23:07:10 arch kernel: sd 9:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg7 type 0
Oct 26 23:07:10 arch kernel: sd 9:0:0:0: [sdg] 976773168 512-byte logical blocks: (500 GB/465 GiB)
Oct 26 23:07:10 arch kernel: sd 9:0:0:0: [sdg] Write Protect is off
Oct 26 23:07:10 arch kernel: sdg: sdg1 < sdg5 >
Oct 26 23:07:10 arch kernel: sd 9:0:0:0: [sdg] Attached SCSI disk
Oct 26 23:14:26 arch console-kit-daemon[1809]: WARNING: no sender
Oct 26 23:18:12 arch dbus-daemon: Reloaded configuration

[longblock454]

Ah, looks like it is called messages.log

Lets see:

[root@localhost ~]# tail -20 /var/log/messages.log

Right before you do the above unplug the external HD and plug it back in.

[dx00]

unplugen and pluged back in
Oct 26 23:07:05 arch kernel: usb 1-1: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
Oct 26 23:07:05 arch kernel: scsi9 : SCSI emulation for USB Mass Storage devices
Oct 26 23:07:10 arch kernel: scsi 9:0:0:0: Direct-Access ST350082 0AS PQ: 0 ANSI: 2 CCS
Oct 26 23:07:10 arch kernel: sd 9:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg7 type 0
Oct 26 23:07:10 arch kernel: sd 9:0:0:0: [sdg] 976773168 512-byte logical blocks: (500 GB/465 GiB)
Oct 26 23:07:10 arch kernel: sd 9:0:0:0: [sdg] Write Protect is off
Oct 26 23:07:10 arch kernel: sdg: sdg1 < sdg5 >
Oct 26 23:07:10 arch kernel: sd 9:0:0:0: [sdg] Attached SCSI disk
Oct 26 23:14:26 arch console-kit-daemon[1809]: WARNING: no sender
Oct 26 23:18:12 arch dbus-daemon: Reloaded configuration
Oct 27 00:07:55 arch kernel: usb 1-1: USB disconnect, address 6
Oct 27 00:08:04 arch kernel: usb 1-1: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 7
Oct 27 00:08:04 arch kernel: usb 1-1: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
Oct 27 00:08:04 arch kernel: scsi10 : SCSI emulation for USB Mass Storage devices
Oct 27 00:08:09 arch kernel: scsi 10:0:0:0: Direct-Access ST350082 0AS PQ: 0 ANSI: 2 CCS
Oct 27 00:08:09 arch kernel: sd 10:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg7 type 0
Oct 27 00:08:09 arch kernel: sd 10:0:0:0: [sdg] 976773168 512-byte logical blocks: (500 GB/465 GiB)
Oct 27 00:08:09 arch kernel: sd 10:0:0:0: [sdg] Write Protect is off
Oct 27 00:08:16 arch kernel: sdg: sdg1 < sdg5 >
Oct 27 00:08:16 arch kernel: sd 10:0:0:0: [sdg] Attached SCSI disk

[longblock454]

I see no kernel error, must be an automount error/problem on however Arch does automount.

Try mounting /dev/sdg1 or /dev/sdg5 with the mount command.

[longblock454]

Forgot this part:

mount -t ntfs-3g /dev/sdg1 /mnt/test

Make sure to create the /mnt/test location.

[dx00]

mkdir /mnt/usb
mount -t ntfs /dev/sdg5 /mnt/usb
seemd to work but I get permission denied...

[longblock454]

You did it as root? Please post the error message.

[dx00]

it doesn´t work anymore... I´ll keep trying
and yes I did that as root

[longblock454]

Did you try and cd into /mnt/usb, maybe it is there?

[dx00]

i did cd into /mnt/test
and then ls to display all files it worked just fine.
[root@arch damian]# cd /mnt/test
[root@arch test]# ls
Bilder Downloads Musik new file~ to use on thursday~
Dokument Filmer new file to use on thursday
However when I try to open the device i get
Failed to open directory "test"
permission denied.

[longblock454]

From post 10 didn't you name the mount point /mnt/usb?

[dx00]

yes i did but it stopped working so I changed the location to /mnt/test

[longblock454]

Maybe this is what you mean. You can cd into the mount point /mnt/usb and it shows all of the files but when you try it from the desktop menu you get the permission error? If I am understanding this is because your X session user is not root, try this:

[root@localhost ~]# chmod -R 777 /mnt/usb

or /mnt/test

Then try to reopen the device.

[dx00]

permissions changed sucesfully but I still get Permission denied... I just don´t get it

[longblock454]

Very strange, I'm out of ideas!

[dx00]

I must have done something wrong. I need to get some sleep;) I´ll keep trying tommorow. Thank You for trying to help me.

[longblock454]

No problem! I don't know anything about Arch, but make sure your up-to-date, I think the correct command is:

[root@localhost ~]# pacman -Syu

[dx00]

lol, I had no ntfs-3g installed on my system.
Your cmd was correct! I should have used ntfs-3g instead of ntfs:D
Thank You!
What I dislike is that I need to mount the device every time I reboot.
Why can´t it just mount automatically on startup like it does on fedora or ubuntu?!
I tried to add the entry to /etc/fstab but when the system starts I get "only root can mount /dev/sdc5 on /mnt/usb

[Anonymo]

http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/HAL

This file here is the culprit: /etc/PolicyKit/PolicyKit.conf

Basically you need to edit this file to look as such
<match user="$USER">
<!-- replace with your login or delete the line if you want to allow all users to manipulate devices (keep security issues in mind though) -->
<match action="org.freedesktop.hal.storage.*">
<return result="yes"/>
</match>
<match action="hal-storage-mount-fixed-extra-options">
<!-- for internal devices mounted with extra options like a wished mount point -->
<return result="yes" />
</match>
<match action="hal-storage-mount-removable-extra-options">
<!-- for external devices mounted with extra options like a wished mount point -->
<return result="yes" />
</match>
</match> <!-- don't forget to delete this line if you deleted the first one -->


or

to allow everything:
<match user="yourusername">
<return result="yes"/>
</match>


Restart hal

# /etc/rc.d/hal restart
# /etc/rc.d/dbus restart

Make sure hal is installed, which I assume it is, since you can move your mouse and keyboard :)

You might also need to edit your .xinitrc file inside the home folder or whichever you use
exec ck-launch-session window-manager window-manager = gnome, kde etc

More info here: http://hal.freedesktop.org/docs/PolicyKit/PolicyKit.conf.5.html

[Kaos]

lol, I had no ntfs-3g installed on my system.
Your cmd was correct! I should have used ntfs-3g instead of ntfs:D
Thank You!
What I dislike is that I need to mount the device every time I reboot.
Why can´t it just mount automatically on startup like it does on fedora or ubuntu?!
I tried to add the entry to /etc/fstab but when the system starts I get "only root can mount /dev/sdc5 on /mnt/usb

You can always add a line to your /etc/fstab so that the device will mount when the system is booted. I could write something long winded about what to do, but there's plenty of documentation out on the net on how to edit it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fstab

depending on what text editor you're comfortable with the cli command would be something like


sudo vim /etc/fstab


Ping back here if you run into trouble.

[dx00]

Thank You all! Right now, I´m using Windows and running multiple machines in Virtualbox to choose the best distro and GUI for me. I had to many problems making my printer and external devices to work. I just don´t have the time to browse trought thousands of post looking for solutions to make everything work.

[longblock454]

I just don´t have the time to browse trought thousands of post looking for solutions to make everything work.

As you mentioned earlier, just move back to Fedora or Ubuntu where everything just works!