Unable to mount Usb drive

[Kxsleeper]

Hi, I'm kinda new to Linux Mint.

Is it normal to have to go to the terminal and have to enter commands, every time I want to use my usb drive??

I play 7dtd and at the end of every session, I save the saved game file. So incase of any issues, I can reload and not lose my progrss.

Every time I put in the thumb drive, it says unable to mount. I end up watching 5 videos on YouTube, find a command that works and I'm able to mount and save my game.

I take the tumb drive out of my Asus Tuff Gaming A17 Laptop and I shut it off.

Next day, I play my game and at the end of the session, I put the thumb drive in and same problem. Like groundhogs day.

If I leave the thumb drive in, it works for a few days and then eventually, the same problem. Unable to mount the thumb drive. (I really don't want to leave the thumb drive in)...

I tried 2 used thumb drives and 1 brand new one and the same problem, over and over.

I hate windows 11 lately and I'm trying to get use to Linux on my laptop, before I switch to Linux Mint on my main computer. I had other problems, but I'm was able to work through them (the learning curve lol).

But this issues seems to persist.
This could be the deal breaker.

Any suggestions??


PS This is the commands I type in and it works every time. But why do I have to go through this every day??

sudo fdisk - l (that's a lower L)

sudo apt-get install nfs-common

sudo apt-get install cifs-utils

sudo ntfsfix - d /dev/sda1

 

[Kxsleeper]

Hi, I'm kinda new to Linux Mint.

Is it normal to have to go to the terminal and have to enter commands, every time I want to use my usb drive??

I play 7dtd and at the end of every session, I save the saved game file. So incase of any issues, I can reload and not lose my progrss.

Every time I put in the thumb drive, it says unable to mount. I end up watching 5 videos on YouTube, find a command that works and I'm able to mount and save my game.

I take the tumb drive out of my Asus Tuff Gaming A17 Laptop and I shut it off.

Next day, I play my game and at the end of the session, I put the thumb drive in and same problem. Like groundhogs day.

If I leave the thumb drive in, it works for a few days and then eventually, the same problem. Unable to mount the thumb drive. (I really don't want to leave the thumb drive in)...

I tried 2 used thumb drives and 1 brand new one and the same problem, over and over.

I hate windows 11 lately and I'm trying to get use to Linux on my laptop, before I switch to Linux Mint on my main computer. I had other problems, but I'm was able to work through them (the learning curve lol).

But this issues seems to persist.
This could be the deal breaker.

Any suggestions??


PS This is the commands I type in and it works every time. But why do I have to go through this every day??

sudo fdisk - l (that's a lower L)

sudo apt-get install nfs-common

sudo apt-get install cifs-utils

sudo ntfsfix - d /dev/sda1

Testing, someone said thus thread was deleted

 

[Condobloke]

G'day Kxsleeper, Welcome to linux.org


Do you dual boot?


Is the usb stick that 7dtd is written on been used on a windows pc?......is the game written for a windows pc?


I have zero clue what the hell am talking about here. I usually dont get involved with gaming etc etc at all.


I will mention a couple of other members here who will have way better advice to give than me. They will be notified about this thread and will respond when they can.

Make allowance for different time zones, we have members from all over the world.


@f33dm3bits


@osprey


@GatorsFan

 

[Kxsleeper]

I do not duel boot, no. The thumb drive is strickly for saving game progress...

 

[GatorsFan]

You can configure the behavior in nemo: “Edit” –> “Preference” and set the behavior as in the following screenshot as you need.

 

[Kxsleeper]

I will try that tomorrow and let you know how it goes. Out for the night.
Thank you guys, I appreciate the help!!

 

[f33dm3bits]

I play 7dtd and at the end of every session, I save the saved game file. So incase of any issues, I can reload and not lose my progrss.

Steam has cloud saves, you just using this as a backup?

7 Days to Die on Steam

7 Days to Die is an open-world game that is a unique combination of first-person shooter, survival horror, tower defense, and role-playing games. Play the definitive zombie survival sandbox RPG that came first. Navezgane awaits!

store.steampowered.com

If I leave the thumb drive in, it works for a few days and then eventually, the same problem. Unable to mount the thumb drive. (I really don't want to leave the thumb drive in)...

PS This is the commands I type in and it works every time. But why do I have to go through this every day??
sudo fdisk - l (that's a lower L)
sudo apt-get install nfs-common
sudo apt-get install cifs-utils
sudo ntfsfix - d /dev/sda1

The first command only lists the the disks in the system so that doesn't fix anything, the second command installs nfs tools(won't do anything if already installed) and the third command install samba client tools(won't do anything if already installed). Those will do nothing. It's likely the fourth command fixes your problem as you are most likely using an ntfs formatted thumb driver and nfts isn't support isn't great on Linux. It's better to use natively supported file-system on your thumb drive, however I'm guessing your are still dual-booting with Windows so you want to be able to use the same thumb drive on both os's?

 

[MikeWalsh]

@f33dm3bits :-

I don't know about you, Maarten, but if that was me - and I wanted a USB stick that's readable / writeable under both Linux AND Windows - then FAT32 would be the way to go. In fact, exFAT would probably be the better solution.

What would YOU advise the OP to do?


Mike.

 

[f33dm3bits]

I don't know about you, Maarten, but if that was me - and I wanted a USB stick that's readable / writeable under both Linux AND Windows - then FAT32 would be the way to go. In fact, exFAT would probably be the better solution.

What would YOU advise the OP to do?

FAT32 works, if the files aren't larger than 4G since I think that's the limit for file sizes on FAT32.

 

[KGIII]

I think that's the limit for file sizes on FAT32.

It is.

Unless you want to be REALLY pedantic, the maximum size is 4 GB, minus one byte.

But not even I am that much of a pedant. If you search the web, you'll see claims of 4 GB, but it's 4 GB minus 1 byte. (That's 4,294,967,295 bytes, for the curious.)

So, if you ever have this question pop up again and want to show your geek card, you can.

Your guess is as good as mine when it comes to how in the heck I remember things like that. I'll forget what I ate a few days ago, but this pointless trivia is stuck in my brain forever.

I could be convinced that our brains are more like FAT32 than Ext4. Mine needs to be defragged and the recycle bin emptied.

 

[Kxsleeper]

Steam has cloud saves, you just using this as a backup?

7 Days to Die on Steam

7 Days to Die is an open-world game that is a unique combination of first-person shooter, survival horror, tower defense, and role-playing games. Play the definitive zombie survival sandbox RPG that came first. Navezgane awaits!

store.steampowered.com

The first command only lists the the disks in the system so that doesn't fix anything, the second command installs nfs tools(won't do anything if already installed) and the third command install samba client tools(won't do anything if already installed). Those will do nothing. It's likely the fourth command fixes your problem as you are most likely using an ntfs formatted thumb driver and nfts isn't support isn't great on Linux. It's better to use natively supported file-system on your thumb drive, however I'm guessing your are still dual-booting with Windows so you want to be able to use the same thumb drive on both os's?

No, I fully installed Linux Mint on my laptop. I am not duel booting.

The only reason I'm using a thumb drive is to saved game files on 7dtd.

I had this problem on multiple thumb drives, so I bought a new one, formatted with Linux, the new thumb drive never touched or seen anything windows and I continue to have mounting problems, every time I put it in to save my game progress...

 

[Kxsleeper]

Also, the game files I'm saving are on average of about 65mb.

So reformatting to fat32 (what ever that is) may be the solution??

If so, anyone have a link on how to do that??

I appreciate the help everyone, thank you...

 

[Kxsleeper]

Update.....

I used this video to format to fat32 and it appears to have worked.
I will play the game and save it later, let you know if it works.

PS, at the end of the video, he types a command that says eject in it. Do I have to type that every time I want to remove the thumb drive??

Never had to do that in the past...

 

[theLegionWithin]

PS, at the end of the video, he types a command that says eject in it. Do I have to type that every time I want to remove the thumb drive??

Never had to do that in the past...

you can set up auto-mounting on detect or on system boot. I dont use mint but I set it up so all of my external usb drive auto-mount at boot by modifying fstab

 

[deb_user]

But not even I am that much of a pedant. If you search the web, you'll see claims of 4 GB, but it's 4 GB minus 1 byte. (That's 4,294,967,295 bytes, for the curious.)

To be really pedantic, that's 4GiB. 4 GB is 4,000,000,000 bytes. Kibibytes, mebibytes, gibibytes, and on up are based on the powers of 2. Kilobytes, megabytes, etc are based on powers of 10. A gibibyte is 2^30 bytes, a gigabyte is 10^9 bytes. Computation has a strange history.

 

[deb_user]

at the end of the video, he types a command that says eject in it. Do I have to type that every time I want to remove the thumb drive??

It's safer. If data is still being written to the drive when you pull it out, bad things can happen. If a lot of data is being transferred to the drive, it can take awhile, depending on the speed of the USB port, the speed of the flash drive, and the amount of data to be written. Using eject, and waiting until you get a new prompt, insures that everything has been written before removing the drive. You can also use the sync command, and wait for a new prompt, but ejecting is the safer option. You can also use the GUI file manager to eject the drive if you prefer. Using the terminal is entirely optional, and almost everything can be done in a GUI just as in Windows. Many people use the terminal because it's faster and more efficient for them, but it's optional.

 

[f33dm3bits]

I had this problem on multiple thumb drives, so I bought a new one, formatted with Linux, the new thumb drive

What's it formatted as then, because ntfsfix should only be run on drive formatted with ntfs, that's why I thought you had the thumb drive formatted with ntfs.

 

[KGIII]

To be really pedantic, that's 4GiB. 4 GB is 4,000,000,000 bytes. Kibibytes, mebibytes, gibibytes, and on up are based on the powers of 2. Kilobytes, megabytes, etc are based on powers of 10. A gibibyte is 2^30 bytes, a gigabyte is 10^9 bytes. Computation has a strange history.

LOL You're not necessarily wrong. The definition I use is 'correct but discouraged', but I use it for convention's sake because it's what most people (that I communicate with) are expecting. It's considered the 'binary' value. This is largely because we're old and used the definition informally before the GB was actually established.

Also, it's a 'binary' vs 'decimal' counting. There's a handy chart: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gigabyte

If we allow Wikipedia (for expedience, but always verify references if it's important) from that same link:

The term gigabyte has a standard definition of 1000 bytes, as well as a discouraged meaning of 10243 bytes.

So, you're not necessarily wrong; I'm just old. I'm so old that our old definition is accepted as the binary measurement.

While at Wikipedia, I decided to see what they said about FAT32.

The maximal possible size for a file on a FAT32 volume is 4 GB minus 1 byte, or 4,294,967,295 (232 − 1) bytes.

So, they also use the binary values instead of the decimal values.

Storage device makers use the decimal values, though I've noticed a few that advertise using the binary values.

 

[Kxsleeper]

Thank you everyone, I appreciate all your help. I haven't had a problem after switching to fat32. That video above worked for me. I can now remove and insert the thumb drive without errors!!

Special thanks to

Condobloke, GatorsFan, f33dm3bits, MikeWalsh, KGIII, deb_user and theLegionWithin.​

I'm gonna say, my issue is Resolved!!

 

[Brickwizard]

PS, at the end of the video, he types a command that says eject in it. Do I have to type that every time I want to remove the thumb drive??

if using Mint the USB drive should show on the desktop, you can right-click on This and select eject [some distributions it may say safely remove drive]