[SOLVED] Can't figure out how to mount external hard drive with udisksctl

AKM512 · 05-15-2022, 03:10 PM

From my old Debian system, I had backed up my home directory files on an external hard drive. I want to move them onto my Arch system, but the problem is I can't figure out how to mount the external hard drive. I read the ArchWiki page, and this related man page, but I can't find where my external hard drive is from the terminal; I don't know what the filepath would be to get to it, and since I can't figure out how to search for it, it feels like a Catch-22 of sorts. In Debian, I always used the GUI interface, but that isn't possible in Arch installation with the i3-wm apparently. If someone could explain this I'd be really swell.

michaelk · 05-15-2022, 04:20 PM

Welcome to LinuxQuestions.

Look at the output of the command:
lsblk

That should show you the device ids and you should be able to see the external hard drive. The mount the filesystem
i.e

mount /dev/sdxy /mnt/my_drive

Be sure /mnt/my_drive directory exists.

AKM512 · 05-15-2022, 05:58 PM

Okay, I ran

Code:

lsblk

, and I don't see it:

Code:

[austin@archlinux ~]$ lsblk
NAME        MAJ:MIN RM   SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINTS
sda           8:0    0 931.5G  0 disk 
└─sda1        8:1    0 931.5G  0 part 
zram0       254:0    0     4G  0 disk [SWAP]
nvme0n1     259:0    0 931.5G  0 disk 
├─nvme0n1p1 259:1    0   511M  0 part /boot
└─nvme0n1p2 259:2    0   931G  0 part /

I don't see anything with /dev or anything similar. Could it be that the device I use isn't recognized by Arch? I tend to doubt it, since it worked on Debian and the manufacturer (Feishuo) specifically said it supports Linux.

michaelk · 05-15-2022, 06:03 PM

It looks like what you want to want to mount is /dev/sda1

AKM512 · 05-15-2022, 06:17 PM

It didn't; I tried the following commands too:

Code:

[austin@archlinux ~]$ lsdlk
bash: lsdlk: command not found
[austin@archlinux ~]$ lsblk
NAME        MAJ:MIN RM   SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINTS
sda           8:0    0 931.5G  0 disk 
└─sda1        8:1    0 931.5G  0 part 
zram0       254:0    0     4G  0 disk [SWAP]
nvme0n1     259:0    0 931.5G  0 disk 
├─nvme0n1p1 259:1    0   511M  0 part /boot
└─nvme0n1p2 259:2    0   931G  0 part /
[austin@archlinux ~]$ mount /dev/sda1
mount: /dev/sda1: can't find in /etc/fstab.
[austin@archlinux ~]$ cd /dev
[austin@archlinux dev]$ cd /sda1
bash: cd: /sda1: No such file or directory
[austin@archlinux dev]$ mount /sda1
mount: /sda1: can't find in /etc/fstab.
[austin@archlinux dev]$

michaelk · 05-15-2022, 06:48 PM

You have to specify a mount point i.e. a directory.

mkdir /mnt/my_drive (or whatever)

mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/my_drive

AKM512 · 05-15-2022, 06:50 PM

Update: I think I've figured out the drive, and it seems to indeed be sda1; before it was plugged in:

Code:

[austin@archlinux ~]$ lsblk
NAME        MAJ:MIN RM   SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINTS
zram0       254:0    0     4G  0 disk [SWAP]
nvme0n1     259:0    0 931.5G  0 disk 
├─nvme0n1p1 259:1    0   511M  0 part /boot
└─nvme0n1p2 259:2    0   931G  0 part /

and after

Code:

[austin@archlinux ~]$ lsblk
NAME        MAJ:MIN RM   SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINTS
sda           8:0    0 931.5G  0 disk 
└─sda1        8:1    0 931.5G  0 part 
zram0       254:0    0     4G  0 disk [SWAP]
nvme0n1     259:0    0 931.5G  0 disk 
├─nvme0n1p1 259:1    0   511M  0 part /boot
└─nvme0n1p2 259:2    0   931G  0 part /

(bolded for emphasis)
But when I tried to mount it:

Code:

[austin@archlinux ~]$ mount dev/sda/sda1
mount: dev/sda/sda1: can't find in /etc/fstab.
[austin@archlinux ~]$ mount dev/sda1
mount: dev/sda1: can't find in /etc/fstab.
[austin@archlinux ~]$ mount dev/sda1
mount: dev/sda1: can't find in /etc/fstab.
[austin@archlinux ~]$ mount sda1
mount: sda1: can't find in /etc/fstab.
[austin@archlinux ~]$ cd dev
bash: cd: dev: No such file or directory
[austin@archlinux ~]$ cd /dev
[austin@archlinux dev]$ mount /sda1
mount: /sda1: can't find in /etc/fstab.
[austin@archlinux dev]$ mount /sda1/
mount: /sda1/: can't find in /etc/fstab.
[austin@archlinux dev]$

As you can see, I've tried several different filepaths, but I'm still having no luck.

michaelk · 05-15-2022, 07:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by michaelk

You have to specify a mount point i.e. a directory.

mkdir /mnt/my_drive (or whatever)

mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/my_drive

You might not of seen my other post but this is the exact command(s).

AKM512 · 05-15-2022, 07:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by michaelk

You have to specify a mount point i.e. a directory.

mkdir /mnt/my_drive (or whatever)

mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/my_drive

Wow, that works! Sorry I missed your response; ignore my last post, I figured it out, and I'm now moving my files to my laptop with rsync. Thanks!

michaelk · 05-15-2022, 07:26 PM

To unmount make sure the current working directory of the terminal is not /mnt/my_drive (or whatever) and run the command

Code:

umount /dev/sda1

ondoho · 05-16-2022, 01:59 AM

Please mark your thread SOLVED (see my signature). Others will benefit.