Kingston 64 Bit Thumb Drive: Umount Not Installed: Target is Busy SOLVED

Alexzee

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For some reason trying to reformat this Kingston thumb drive isn't working.
I've launched "Disks" three times and get an error:
Disks04.png

I've also tried using the lsof cmd to find the pid and used the kill cmd. The kill cmd terminated it however; the device is still busy.
Code:
lsof: WARNING: can't stat() fuse.gvfsd-fuse file system /run/user/1000/gvfs
      Output information may be incomplete.
lsof: WARNING: can't stat() fuse.portal file system /run/user/1000/doc
      Output information may be incomplete.
COMMAND    PID USER   FD   TYPE DEVICE   SIZE/OFF NODE NAME
xdg-docum 2291 cora   14u   REG   8,33 7088644426   13 /media/cora/5f00bb7e-6dd0-4428-91c2-9d5200951a6d/20230318 Slack.sdb4.img.gz
Alex:  sudo kill -2291 [PID]
Terminated
Alex:  sudo umount /dev/sdc1
umount: /media/cora/5f00bb7e-6dd0-4428-91c2-9d5200951a6d: target is busy.
Alex:  sudo unmount /dev/sdc1
sudo: unmount: command not found
Alex:  dpkg -L unmount
dpkg-query: package 'unmount' is not installed
Use dpkg --contents (= dpkg-deb --contents) to list archive files contents.
Alex:  sudo apt install unmount
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree... Done
Reading state information... Done
E: Unable to locate package unmount
Alex:  umount /dev/sdc1

Umount is not installed and APT can't locate the pkg--
Also, the application that came with my LM 21.1 Cinnamon installation "USB Formatter" returns an error as well and while the GUI of the application glitches, jumps and flickers.
Disks04.png
Launching the Gparted application the device / Kingston drive won't umount and that cmd isn't installed--
Code:
lex:  sudo apt install umount
[sudo] password for alex:      
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree... Done
Reading state information... Done
E: Unable to locate package umount
Alex:

Would a Ubuntu or .deb pkg work to manully download the umount cmd since APT can't find it?
 

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The umount command is built-in to all Linux installations. It is installed by default. There is no apt package. We saw that the umount command is definitely installed in this line here:

Alex: sudo umount /dev/sdc1
umount: /media/cora/5f00bb7e-6dd0-4428-91c2-9d5200951a6d: target is busy.

What happens if you try this command in a terminal window? (IMPORTANT: The man page warns that this command may hang, but I figure you have little to lose at this point.)

Code:
sudo umount -f /dev/sdc1

Reference for umount built-in. Safe to ignore:
The Linux Foundation: File System Hierarchy Standard (FHS) 3.0, Paragraph 3.4.2
 
Alexzee provided output:
Alex: sudo unmount /dev/sdc1
sudo: unmount: command not found
The typo "unmount" for "umount" appears to have created the illusion that umount is not present.

If the suggestion of sphen in post #2 fails, perhaps consider rebooting. On reboots, the kernel usually performs an orderly shutdown unmounting everything if it can. If it can't, there might be a "Failed" expression in red in the shutdown screen output, but the problem may nevertheless disappear with a new boot.
 
The umount command is built-in to all Linux installations. It is installed by default. There is no apt package. We saw that the umount command is definitely installed in this line here:



What happens if you try this command in a terminal window? (IMPORTANT: The man page warns that this command may hang, but I figure you have little to lose at this point.)

Code:
sudo umount -f /dev/sdc1

Reference for umount built-in. Safe to ignore:
The Linux Foundation: File System Hierarchy Standard (FHS) 3.0, Paragraph 3.4.2
Running sudo umount -f /dev/sdc1 doesn't return anything.
Just goes back to the Alex prompt-
 
Shutdown walked away for a while and came back and booted up the desktop.
This time launching the USB Formatter worked and my Kingston drive has been wiped.

Is this some sort of a DBus process error that keeps the drive tied up?
 
Just to clarify
There is no apt package.

umount is part of a collection of utilities contained under

util-linux

which you can check is installed with

Code:
sudo apt policy util-linux

A list of contained commands can be found here

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Util-linux

Alex you said in your OP

...trying to reformat this Kingston thumb drive isn't working.

Did it have any content on the drive previously? I take it it was partitioned, with your reference to /dev/sdc1, were there any other partitions on it?

Is this some sort of a DBus process error that keeps the drive tied up?

Beyond my paygrade.
...walked away for a while and came back...

It may be to do with the way you move your hips and hold your mouth.

May remain one of life's great mysteries.

Cheers

Wizard

Put a solved anyway if it still works, that green looks pretty.
 
walked away for a while
That's what did it !!!!
You put the fear of God into it that you were going to leave it !!!!!
 
Shutdown walked away for a while and came back and booted up the desktop.
This time launching the USB Formatter worked and my Kingston drive has been wiped.

Is this some sort of a DBus process error that keeps the drive tied up?
Good to hear you have succeeded. It's not likely to be dbus which is just responsible for the communications between apps, rather the issue sounds like it was a blip in the process between the usb and the formatting program itself.
 
TBH, even now, with the Linux kernel as reliable as it is, you STILL get occasional 'glitches' and 'blips'. With I don't know how many millions of lines of code, it's not really surprising....is it?


Mike. :oops:
 
I'm coming in late, and may have missed this part. But usually this error means you are "in" this directory.

Example....

mount /dev/sdb1 /mnt

My external drive is mounted to "/mnt"

cd /mnt

Now I am "in" the /mnt directory

umount /mnt

I get the "drive is busy" error.

cd /home

Now I am "out" of the mounted directory.

umount /mnt

Now it works.

A gotcha here... sometime I've had multiple terminals open... I forgot that I went into that directory
in another terminal, so go through any open terminals, and make sure you aren't "in" the mounted
directory in any of them.
 
Many years ago, I used to keep a hammer in my office. No, I didn't maintain anything - I used it to threaten my computer when my computer was not functioning as intended.

If you worked nearby then you'd have heard me threaten my computer with the hammer and colorful language not fit for polite company. I'd sometimes even whack the computer with the hammer, though not hard enough to ruin the hard drive. (Ye olde spinning disks were susceptible to solid whacks that'd cause the head to crash into the platters.)

Here's the thing...

After a while, employees would sometimes stop by my office for the sole reason of borrowing my hammer.

Also, while slow, a hammer was a pretty good device for ruining hard drives prior to sending them off for resale or recycling.
 
That's what did it !!!!

Ahhh... sounds like the 'ole stuck in cache' gotcha.

A lot of times, if you're reading from, or writing to an external device, like a USB thumb drive for example.
Usually this happens when copying a large file to or from the USB drive.

The GUI progress bar or even the CLI prompt will come back, and you'll think good it's finished.
But in reality your computer is lying to you.

I've found that running a 'sync' usually helps speed things up a little.

#> sync; eject

or

#> sync; umount /my/really/long/path/to/some/mount/point/somewhere

that sometimes forces it to "really" finish writing whatever it's doing.
In the GUI some desktops give you the "safe to remove drive" like windows does.
 
Also, while slow, a hammer was a pretty good device for ruining hard drives prior to sending them off for resale or recycling.
Sorry, but I do not trust a hammer for proper data destruction. See below for a hint about bulk drive destruction.

I disassemble the spinning disk drives to recover the neodymium magnets. The magnets have many uses in the garage/shop. The magnets are powerful and can be dangerous. They are strong enough to pinch off skin. Please keep them away from children. Hints for spinning drive magnet recovery and data destruction:
  • You will probably need a set of Torx drivers to unscrew the lid.
    • There are always hidden screws. Look or feel for them under the stickers. I just "punch through" the stickers with the driver.
  • Most of the time, there are two curved neodymium magnets to recover. You will have to pull the drive head or destroy it to get it out of the way.
  • To recover the magnets from their frames:
    • Put on safety glasses.
    • Do NOT try to pry the magnets off their frames with a screwdriver or other tool. The magnets are brittle. They will snap into multiple pieces with sharp edges.
    • Use two pairs of pliers, one in each hand.
    • Grab the ends of the frame with the pliers without touching the magnets.
    • Use the pliers to bend the frame slowly away from the magnet.
    • The magnet should pop off the frame if you are careful.
      • I have about a 95% success rate (vs. 10% with the pry method).
  • Remove and separate the platters to make data recovery very difficult.
  • Next, destroy the platters to make data recovery nearly impossible.
    • 2-1/2 inch (and smaller) spinning laptop drives:
      • Put the glass platters in a plastic bag and arrange the bag so that it will contain all of the exploding glass shards. An ordinary grocery bag is fine as long as it has no holes.
      • They look like metal, but they are glass.
      • With gloved hands or pliers, slowly bend the platter inside the bag until it "pops!"
        • BEWARE: When they break, those glass drive platters shatter into millions of razor-sharp microscopic shards that expand to fill a room. YOU MUST CONTAIN THE BREAKAGE!!
    • 3-1/2 inch spinning drives:
      • Bend each metal disk platter using two sets of pliers until they are well bent and wavy.
        • Let the pliers scratch the surfaces of the platters, too.
  • Finally, dispose of the components properly.
    • Recycle the metal lid, metal frame, etc.
    • Treat the controller card and other circuits as electronic hazardous waste.
DESTROYING A LARGE NUMBER OF SPINNING DRIVES:
When I had a roomful of spinning disk drives to destroy, I used a benchtop drill press and a large "throwaway" drill bit to put four or five holes through each drive, making sure they go through all the platters. Be prepared to contain the broken glass shards that will fall out of the smaller laptop drives. It was quick and easy, and I trust it more than a hammer for true data destruction.

FINAL WORD ON DATA DESTRUCTION - USE FULL DISK ENCRYPTION:
If you use whole disk encryption from the start, then destroying the encryption keys should be sufficient to render the data on the drive unrecoverable. The drive can be encrypted with a new key and reused, which is a huge bonus from my point of view.
 
Sorry, but I do not trust a hammer for proper data destruction.
I heard, C-4, nitro-glycerin, dynamite, and small nuclear bombs all work well :)
 
Just to clarify


umount is part of a collection of utilities contained under

util-linux

which you can check is installed with

Code:
sudo apt policy util-linux

A list of contained commands can be found here

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Util-linux

Alex you said in your OP



Did it have any content on the drive previously? I take it it was partitioned, with your reference to /dev/sdc1, were there any other partitions on it?



Beyond my paygrade.


It may be to do with the way you move your hips and hold your mouth.

May remain one of life's great mysteries.

Cheers

Wizard

Put a solved anyway if it still works, that green looks pretty.

Just to clarify


umount is part of a collection of utilities contained under

util-linux

which you can check is installed with

Code:
sudo apt policy util-linux

A list of contained commands can be found here

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Util-linux

Alex you said in your OP



Did it have any content on the drive previously? I take it it was partitioned, with your reference to /dev/sdc1, were there any other partitions on it?



Beyond my paygrade.


It may be to do with the way you move your hips and hold your mouth.

May remain one of life's great mysteries.

Cheers

Wizard

Put a solved anyway if it still works, that green looks pretty.
Previously I had a Slackware partition on the Kingston that I cloned.
LOL!
 
That's what did it !!!!
You put the fear of God into it that you were going to leave it !!!!!
Needed the laugh from the stress. Thanks!
 
Got word a few days ago that my uncle passed away.*
During the phone call with my cousin I had a hard time keepin it together.
When the paramedics found my uncle he was on the floor unconscious, bleeding from the head. He had fallen.
Once in the hospital he was alert after a week and he than later died.

My uncle and I were close and my cousins and the rest of the family are pretty grieved and shaken. Haven't slept much in the last 3-4 days and the migraine yesterday was pretty bad!

He was retired from the Air Force and was 87 when he passed.
 
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Still very grieved at times however; I have to perform a fresh install of Linux Lite 6 on my Sony Vaio:-
Linux Lite 5 support is up at the end of this month.
 
Got word a few days ago that my uncle passed away.
During the phone call with my cousin I had a hard time keepin it together.
When the paramedics found my uncle he was on the floor unconscious, bleeding from the head. He had fallen.
Once in the hospital he was alert after a week and he than later died.

My uncle and I were close and my cousins and the rest of the family are pretty grieved and shaken. Haven't slept much in the last 3-4 days and the migraine yesterday was pretty bad!

He was retired from the Air Force and was 87 when he passed.
Commiserations, Alex. It is hard losing a family member....particularly hard when they were close as you and your Uncle were.

It has been said that time heals all wounds. I don't agree. The wounds remain. Time — the mind, protecting its sanity — covers them with some scar tissue and the pain lessens, but it is never gone. Rose Kennedy.

Cry, mate.....as much as you like, and need to.
 

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