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#1 2021-11-16 12:49:28

Ron
Member
Registered: 2018-04-22
Posts: 474  

[SOLVED] Problems with a Seagate portable drive

Okay, this is a noobish question. I just installed Miyo Linux and I'm having problems with a Seagate portable drive. I can plug it in but it's read only. It has worked before I installed Miyo, so I'm thinking it is a permission problem, although the drive is old and it's possible it's failing. FTR, I can write to my flash drive. How to check the permission? When I right click the drive's icon and select properties, then select the permissions tab, it says there "The permissions of "Seagate Backup" could not be determined."

Last edited by Ron (2021-11-21 00:41:51)

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#2 2021-11-16 15:10:36

Head_on_a_Stick
Member
From: London
Registered: 2019-03-24
Posts: 3,125  
Website

Re: [SOLVED] Problems with a Seagate portable drive

Before you plug the drive open up a terminal and run this command (as root):

udevadm monitor

Then plug the drive in and post any new output that appears. Thanks.

Can we also see

# hdparm -r /dev/sdX

Replace X with the letter assigned to the drive.

Note that permissions are defined by the mountpoint. There are no permissions until the drive is mounted.


Brianna Ghey — Rest In Power

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#3 2021-11-16 21:12:39

Ron
Member
Registered: 2018-04-22
Posts: 474  

Re: [SOLVED] Problems with a Seagate portable drive

monitor will print the received events for:
UDEV - the event which udev sends out after rule processing
KERNEL - the kernel uevent

KERNEL[162.006144] add      /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5 (usb)
KERNEL[162.007127] add      /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0 (usb)
KERNEL[162.007160] bind     /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5 (usb)
UDEV  [162.011054] add      /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5 (usb)
KERNEL[162.019548] add      /devices/virtual/workqueue/scsi_tmf_6 (workqueue)
KERNEL[162.020203] add      /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0/host6 (scsi)
KERNEL[162.020351] add      /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0/host6/scsi_host/host6 (scsi_host)
UDEV  [162.020393] add      /devices/virtual/workqueue/scsi_tmf_6 (workqueue)
KERNEL[162.020484] bind     /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0 (usb)
KERNEL[162.020531] add      /bus/usb/drivers/usb-storage (drivers)
KERNEL[162.020573] add      /module/usb_storage (module)
UDEV  [162.020831] add      /bus/usb/drivers/usb-storage (drivers)
UDEV  [162.021138] add      /module/usb_storage (module)
KERNEL[162.022923] add      /bus/usb/drivers/uas (drivers)
KERNEL[162.023104] add      /module/uas (module)
UDEV  [162.023114] add      /bus/usb/drivers/uas (drivers)
UDEV  [162.023127] add      /module/uas (module)
UDEV  [162.023235] add      /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0 (usb)
UDEV  [162.025726] bind     /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5 (usb)
UDEV  [162.026196] add      /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0/host6 (scsi)
UDEV  [162.026588] add      /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0/host6/scsi_host/host6 (scsi_host)
UDEV  [162.026907] bind     /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0 (usb)
KERNEL[163.041331] add      /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0/host6/target6:0:0 (scsi)
KERNEL[163.041387] add      /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0/host6/target6:0:0/6:0:0:0 (scsi)
KERNEL[163.041413] add      /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0/host6/target6:0:0/6:0:0:0/scsi_device/6:0:0:0 (scsi_device)
KERNEL[163.041960] add      /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0/host6/target6:0:0/6:0:0:0/scsi_disk/6:0:0:0 (scsi_disk)
KERNEL[163.041991] add      /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0/host6/target6:0:0/6:0:0:0/scsi_generic/sg3 (scsi_generic)
UDEV  [163.042104] add      /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0/host6/target6:0:0 (scsi)
KERNEL[163.042333] add      /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0/host6/target6:0:0/6:0:0:0/bsg/6:0:0:0 (bsg)
UDEV  [163.042815] add      /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0/host6/target6:0:0/6:0:0:0 (scsi)
UDEV  [163.043656] add      /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0/host6/target6:0:0/6:0:0:0/scsi_device/6:0:0:0 (scsi_device)
UDEV  [163.043668] add      /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0/host6/target6:0:0/6:0:0:0/scsi_disk/6:0:0:0 (scsi_disk)
UDEV  [163.043873] add      /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0/host6/target6:0:0/6:0:0:0/scsi_generic/sg3 (scsi_generic)
UDEV  [163.044464] add      /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0/host6/target6:0:0/6:0:0:0/bsg/6:0:0:0 (bsg)
KERNEL[163.064113] add      /devices/virtual/bdi/8:32 (bdi)
UDEV  [163.064386] add      /devices/virtual/bdi/8:32 (bdi)
KERNEL[163.114499] add      /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0/host6/target6:0:0/6:0:0:0/block/sdc (block)
KERNEL[163.114521] add      /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0/host6/target6:0:0/6:0:0:0/block/sdc/sdc1 (block)
KERNEL[163.115830] bind     /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0/host6/target6:0:0/6:0:0:0 (scsi)
UDEV  [163.291568] add      /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0/host6/target6:0:0/6:0:0:0/block/sdc (block)
UDEV  [163.497124] add      /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0/host6/target6:0:0/6:0:0:0/block/sdc/sdc1 (block)
UDEV  [163.497928] bind     /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0/host6/target6:0:0/6:0:0:0 (scsi)
KERNEL[163.683472] change   /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0/host6/target6:0:0/6:0:0:0/block/sdc/sdc1 (block)
UDEV  [163.735045] change   /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0/host6/target6:0:0/6:0:0:0/block/sdc/sdc1 (block)

I feel really dumb saying this, but regarding your second instruction, I don't know what you mean by "the letter assigned to the drive."

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#4 2021-11-16 21:54:40

golinux
Administrator
Registered: 2016-11-25
Posts: 3,137  

Re: [SOLVED] Problems with a Seagate portable drive

Ron wrote:

. . . I don't know what you mean by "the letter assigned to the drive."

A drive is named sda - sdb - sdc etc.  sd(x) is the generic rendering of the location that needs to be adjusted to fit the specs of your system.  IOW, replace the (x) with the letter appropriate to your needs.

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#5 2021-11-17 01:21:08

Ron
Member
Registered: 2018-04-22
Posts: 474  

Re: [SOLVED] Problems with a Seagate portable drive

Starting over:

monitor will print the received events for:
UDEV - the event which udev sends out after rule processing
KERNEL - the kernel uevent

KERNEL[1389.547030] add      /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5 (usb)
KERNEL[1389.548485] add      /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0 (usb)
KERNEL[1389.548702] add      /devices/virtual/workqueue/scsi_tmf_6 (workqueue)
KERNEL[1389.548969] add      /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0/host6 (scsi)
KERNEL[1389.549028] add      /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0/host6/scsi_host/host6 (scsi_host)
KERNEL[1389.549037] bind     /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0 (usb)
KERNEL[1389.549048] bind     /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5 (usb)
UDEV  [1389.549695] add      /devices/virtual/workqueue/scsi_tmf_6 (workqueue)
UDEV  [1389.551244] add      /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5 (usb)
UDEV  [1389.552097] add      /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0 (usb)
UDEV  [1389.552475] add      /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0/host6 (scsi)
UDEV  [1389.552832] add      /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0/host6/scsi_host/host6 (scsi_host)
UDEV  [1389.553134] bind     /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0 (usb)
UDEV  [1389.555279] bind     /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5 (usb)
KERNEL[1390.558442] add      /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0/host6/target6:0:0 (scsi)
KERNEL[1390.558491] add      /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0/host6/target6:0:0/6:0:0:0 (scsi)
KERNEL[1390.558514] add      /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0/host6/target6:0:0/6:0:0:0/scsi_device/6:0:0:0 (scsi_device)
KERNEL[1390.558682] add      /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0/host6/target6:0:0/6:0:0:0/scsi_disk/6:0:0:0 (scsi_disk)
KERNEL[1390.558758] add      /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0/host6/target6:0:0/6:0:0:0/scsi_generic/sg3 (scsi_generic)
KERNEL[1390.558803] add      /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0/host6/target6:0:0/6:0:0:0/bsg/6:0:0:0 (bsg)
UDEV  [1390.559216] add      /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0/host6/target6:0:0 (scsi)
UDEV  [1390.559618] add      /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0/host6/target6:0:0/6:0:0:0 (scsi)
UDEV  [1390.560264] add      /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0/host6/target6:0:0/6:0:0:0/scsi_disk/6:0:0:0 (scsi_disk)
UDEV  [1390.560583] add      /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0/host6/target6:0:0/6:0:0:0/scsi_generic/sg3 (scsi_generic)
UDEV  [1390.560877] add      /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0/host6/target6:0:0/6:0:0:0/scsi_device/6:0:0:0 (scsi_device)
UDEV  [1390.561434] add      /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0/host6/target6:0:0/6:0:0:0/bsg/6:0:0:0 (bsg)
KERNEL[1390.573484] add      /devices/virtual/bdi/8:32 (bdi)
UDEV  [1390.573697] add      /devices/virtual/bdi/8:32 (bdi)
KERNEL[1390.625690] add      /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0/host6/target6:0:0/6:0:0:0/block/sdc (block)
KERNEL[1390.625768] add      /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0/host6/target6:0:0/6:0:0:0/block/sdc/sdc1 (block)
KERNEL[1390.627859] bind     /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0/host6/target6:0:0/6:0:0:0 (scsi)
UDEV  [1390.812088] add      /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0/host6/target6:0:0/6:0:0:0/block/sdc (block)
UDEV  [1391.023795] add      /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0/host6/target6:0:0/6:0:0:0/block/sdc/sdc1 (block)
UDEV  [1391.024599] bind     /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0/host6/target6:0:0/6:0:0:0 (scsi)
KERNEL[1391.169704] change   /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0/host6/target6:0:0/6:0:0:0/block/sdc/sdc1 (block)
UDEV  [1391.234629] change   /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0/host6/target6:0:0/6:0:0:0/block/sdc/sdc1 (block)

sda, sdb, etc., etc. Boy I feel real dumb, I know this. Anyway nothing happened until I put sudo before the command, then the following came up:

usage: sudo -h | -K | -k | -V
usage: sudo -v [-AknS] [-g group] [-h host] [-p prompt] [-u user]
usage: sudo -l [-AknS] [-g group] [-h host] [-p prompt] [-U user] [-u user]
            [command]
usage: sudo [-AbEHknPS] [-r role] [-t type] [-C num] [-D directory] [-g group]
            [-h host] [-p prompt] [-R directory] [-T timeout] [-u user]
            [VAR=value] [-i|-s] [<command>]
usage: sudo -e [-AknS] [-r role] [-t type] [-C num] [-D directory] [-g group]
            [-h host] [-p prompt] [-R directory] [-T timeout] [-u user] file ...

Last edited by Ron (2021-11-17 01:36:00)

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#6 2021-11-17 04:35:07

MiyoLinux
Member
Registered: 2016-12-05
Posts: 1,323  

Re: [SOLVED] Problems with a Seagate portable drive

Ron wrote:

I feel really dumb saying this,

Ron, you've corrected me on some of my mistakes. There's never a dumb question, and no one knows it all...well...except maybe HoaS....

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!  tongue

...well, he does know a lot.  smile

Anywho...we all feel dumb at some point. We all have our strengths and weaknesses.

...except for HoaS.  tongue


I have been Devuanated, and my practice in the art of Devuanism shall continue until my Devuanization is complete. Until then, I will strive to continue in my understanding of Devuanchology, Devuanprocity, and Devuanivity.

Veni, vidi, vici vdevuaned. I came, I saw, I Devuaned. wink

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#7 2021-11-17 16:42:26

Head_on_a_Stick
Member
From: London
Registered: 2019-03-24
Posts: 3,125  
Website

Re: [SOLVED] Problems with a Seagate portable drive

Ron wrote:
KERNEL[1390.625690] add      /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0/host6/target6:0:0/6:0:0:0/block/sdc (block)
KERNEL[1390.625768] add      /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0/host6/target6:0:0/6:0:0:0/block/sdc/sdc1 (block)
KERNEL[1390.627859] bind     /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0/host6/target6:0:0/6:0:0:0 (scsi)
UDEV  [1390.812088] add      /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0/host6/target6:0:0/6:0:0:0/block/sdc (block)
UDEV  [1391.023795] add      /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0/host6/target6:0:0/6:0:0:0/block/sdc/sdc1 (block)
UDEV  [1391.024599] bind     /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0/host6/target6:0:0/6:0:0:0 (scsi)
KERNEL[1391.169704] change   /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0/host6/target6:0:0/6:0:0:0/block/sdc/sdc1 (block)
UDEV  [1391.234629] change   /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0/host6/target6:0:0/6:0:0:0/block/sdc/sdc1 (block)

So this shows that the drive has been detected as a storage device and assigned to /dev/sdc; it has one partition. Any read errors would show up there so I think it's functional.

Ron wrote:

nothing happened until I put sudo before the command, then the following came up

Sorry Ron, that's my fault. I put the # symbol in front of the command to indicate it should be run as root (a habit I've picked up from the Arch forums) but you shouldn't enter the # symbol when you type it in because it acts as a comment and stops the shell from reading the rest of the command.

So you should type

sudo hdparm -r /dev/sdc

And remember: nobody was born knowing this stuff and we're all learning. The only reason I'm comfortable with the command line is because I started out on a Sinclair ZX-81 and that didn't have any GUIs.


Brianna Ghey — Rest In Power

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#8 2021-11-17 19:56:36

MiyoLinux
Member
Registered: 2016-12-05
Posts: 1,323  

Re: [SOLVED] Problems with a Seagate portable drive

HoaS,

I hope that you know that while I was joking, I was also being serious. You always give good advice here.

smile

Now...back to topic.  tongue


I have been Devuanated, and my practice in the art of Devuanism shall continue until my Devuanization is complete. Until then, I will strive to continue in my understanding of Devuanchology, Devuanprocity, and Devuanivity.

Veni, vidi, vici vdevuaned. I came, I saw, I Devuaned. wink

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#9 2021-11-18 01:26:27

Ron
Member
Registered: 2018-04-22
Posts: 474  

Re: [SOLVED] Problems with a Seagate portable drive

ron@ron:~$ sudo hdparm -r /dev/sdc

/dev/sdc:
 readonly      =  0 (off)

So how do I go about getting it to be read and write?

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#10 2021-11-18 07:14:35

Head_on_a_Stick
Member
From: London
Registered: 2019-03-24
Posts: 3,125  
Website

Re: [SOLVED] Problems with a Seagate portable drive

It is already "read and write".

Confirm this for yourself with this sequence of commands:

sudo -i
mount /dev/sdc1 /mnt
touch /mnt/test
ls /mnt

The last command should show the test file created on the device.

Clean up afterwards:

umount /mnt
exit

So presuming that worked (if it didn't please post the full, verbatim error messages here) then the question now is what exactly do you want to do with the drive? What have you tried to do and how did it fail, exactly? Again, please post the full, verbatim command(s) used along with any error messages. Thanks.


Brianna Ghey — Rest In Power

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#11 2021-11-18 12:05:50

Ron
Member
Registered: 2018-04-22
Posts: 474  

Re: [SOLVED] Problems with a Seagate portable drive

Here's the output:

ron@ron:~$ sudo -i
[sudo] password for ron: 
root@ron:~# mount /dev/sdc1 /mnt
mount: /mnt: WARNING: source write-protected, mounted read-only.
root@ron:~# touch /mnt/test
touch: cannot touch '/mnt/test': Read-only file system

Apparently when it is first plugged in, it appears to be read and write, but when I try to do something, it switches to read only. Two examples:

1) After plugging it in, if I right click in it (after browsing to it), the Create Folder and Create File options are not greyed out. But when I click either one of them, I get an error message that says it is read only and after that those two options are greyed out.

2) After plugging it in, if I open a simple text file on it (with Pluma), the file appears to be editable, but once I make the first change, it becomes read only (I notice this in the title bar of Pluma).

After doing one of the above two, I get the following from the sudo hdparm -r /dev/sdc command (which is weird because I can still see it and open files on it):

$ sudo hdparm -r /dev/sdc
[sudo] password for ron: 
/dev/sdc: No such file or directory

Does this suggest the drive is going bad?

Last edited by Ron (2021-11-18 12:13:47)

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#12 2021-11-18 14:36:43

Altoid
Member
Registered: 2017-05-07
Posts: 1,415  

Re: [SOLVED] Problems with a Seagate portable drive

Hello:

Ron wrote:

--- snip ---
mount: /mnt: WARNING: source write-protected, mounted read-only.
--- snip ---

For some reason the hardware was write-protected and mounted read-only.
It may be that the firmware did it because it detected a physical problem.
Or not ...  8^|

Check this Seagate link:
https://www.seagate.com/gb/en/support/k … -220091en/

If I were you and the files stored on the drive are safe/backed up, I'd clear it completely and reformat it.
Then check it to see it's health.

A.

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#13 2021-11-18 16:40:12

Head_on_a_Stick
Member
From: London
Registered: 2019-03-24
Posts: 3,125  
Website

Re: [SOLVED] Problems with a Seagate portable drive

I agree with Altoid. I think the drive may be dying.

You can try a SMART test but perhaps ddrescue would be better to just recover any data.


Brianna Ghey — Rest In Power

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#14 2021-11-18 20:20:48

Ron
Member
Registered: 2018-04-22
Posts: 474  

Re: [SOLVED] Problems with a Seagate portable drive

I'll try reformatting it later when I have some free time and see what happens.

Last edited by Ron (2021-11-18 20:21:26)

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#15 2021-11-19 01:02:42

Ron
Member
Registered: 2018-04-22
Posts: 474  

Re: [SOLVED] Problems with a Seagate portable drive

So I deleted the partition, created a new one, and then formatted it. Still can't write to it. Tomorrow I'm taking a hammer to it, so if it isn't dead yet, it sure will be tomorrow.

Also, after a semi-long search I found my wife's portable drive. It is one year younger, and much less used than mine (also a WD brand). I can read and write to that one, so I'm pretty sure mine is dead.

Thanks for your help HoaS (and also Altoid).

Last edited by Ron (2021-11-19 01:05:51)

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#16 2021-11-19 01:43:29

golinux
Administrator
Registered: 2016-11-25
Posts: 3,137  

Re: [SOLVED] Problems with a Seagate portable drive

Just curious if you ran a SMART test on it.

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#17 2021-11-19 01:51:19

Altoid
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Registered: 2017-05-07
Posts: 1,415  

Re: [SOLVED] Problems with a Seagate portable drive

Hello:

Ron wrote:

... deleted the partition, created a new one, and then formatted it. Still can't write to it.
... taking a hammer to it ...

Hmm ...

What's the hurry?  8^D

Don't let an opportunity to experiment (and learn something new) pass you by.
You'll have time to dissect it later on.

One of the things you can do is try to clear the drive completely.

With gparted:

1. select the drive - make sure it is the one you want to nuke.
2. do: partition -> format to -> cleared

That should leave the drive in a 'virgin state' so to speak.

Exit gparted, unplug the drive, plug it in again, restart gparted and select the drive again, making sure it is the one you want to nuke:

1. do: device -> create partition table and then create a single partition, format it to FAT32 and then run a check to see what's up.

Try a couple of cycles of clear -> format -> clear.

There's also a command line tool called TestDisk which I have used only a couple of times to recover a partition but it worked.
I believe there's a command to completely clear a drive.

Ron wrote:

Thanks ...

You're welcome.

Best,

A.

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#18 2021-11-19 02:35:23

ralph.ronnquist
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From: Clifton Hill, Victoria, AUS
Registered: 2016-11-30
Posts: 1,106  

Re: [SOLVED] Problems with a Seagate portable drive

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#19 2021-11-19 10:28:39

hevidevi
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Registered: 2021-09-17
Posts: 230  

Re: [SOLVED] Problems with a Seagate portable drive

So its likely this drive had its own proprietary NTFS file system only usable on windows and mac os?

First thing i do when i buy external drives in wipe the filesystem and put something more unix friendly like ext4 or fat32

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#20 2021-11-19 14:48:07

Ron
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Registered: 2018-04-22
Posts: 474  

Re: [SOLVED] Problems with a Seagate portable drive

Okay, here is some new info. I don't think my portable drive is dead after all. I was backing up my files last night to my wife's portable drive that was working when I remembered I wanted the drive to be formatted as ext4, just like my portable drive was. So this morning I did that, and lo and behold, the drive was no longer writable. So then I formatted it again, back to ntfs, and then it was writable again. How can I make these drives writable as ext4? I did this with ascii no problem (at least on my portable drive). Why isn't it working with Miyo/Devuan 5?

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#21 2021-11-19 15:16:04

hevidevi
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Registered: 2021-09-17
Posts: 230  

Re: [SOLVED] Problems with a Seagate portable drive

Possibly you have ownership problems if you are using ext4.

from the command line do.

sudo chown -R ron:ron /mnt/seagate

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#22 2021-11-19 18:56:39

Ron
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Registered: 2018-04-22
Posts: 474  

Re: [SOLVED] Problems with a Seagate portable drive

That seems to have fixed it. Thanks hevidevi.

I'm going to wait a day or two before marking it as solved.

Last edited by Ron (2021-11-21 00:46:42)

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#23 2021-11-21 00:46:53

Ron
Member
Registered: 2018-04-22
Posts: 474  

Re: [SOLVED] Problems with a Seagate portable drive

Marked as solved. Thanks to everyone who responded, especially hevidevi and HoaS.

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#24 2021-11-23 13:58:25

Head_on_a_Stick
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From: London
Registered: 2019-03-24
Posts: 3,125  
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Re: [SOLVED] Problems with a Seagate portable drive

I would strongly recommend a SMART test on that device.


Brianna Ghey — Rest In Power

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#25 2021-11-23 14:04:50

Ron
Member
Registered: 2018-04-22
Posts: 474  

Re: [SOLVED] Problems with a Seagate portable drive

Head_on_a_Stick wrote:

I would strongly recommend a SMART test on that device.

Noted. I would need to download smart-notifier for that, right? I'm guessing its use would be self-explanatory.

Thanks for all your help.

Last edited by Ron (2021-11-23 14:11:46)

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