SD/USB won't mount

I'm running Linpus Lite (8gb ssd, 512mb system memory), and have recently started getting this error message:

Failed to execute child process "exo-mount" (Permission denied).

when I put an SD card or USB in any slot. I just recently live-updated my system, but I figured that if it was update related, there may be more noise on the message boards. Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm inclined to clean-install the OS but I'm not sure if it's an OS problem, and how to backup my data if I can't put anything on a portable device...

 

From a terminal type:

Code:

 ls -al /usr/bin/exo-mount

results should look something like this:

Code:

-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 27424 2008-10-27 12:43 /usr/bin/exo-mount

indicating that the root user, the root group, and everyone else all have eXecute permission. If this is the case, it's a hal problem; if the permissions are not -rwxr-xr-x, then unplug your usb stick or sd card, type

Code:

 sudo chmod 755 /usr/bin/exo-mount[code] and try mounting your usb stick or sd card again

 

I'm having the same problem as boryhas. And, like him, I'd fiddle around except I have nothing to backup to! Thanks for the advice on checking exo-mount, HD. I ran it and got the following:

Code:

-rwxr-xr-x 1 user user 24300 24300 2008-10-28 18:13 /usr/bin/exo-mount

Which seems to be fine. In that case, you said "If this is the case, it's a hal problem;". I haven't worked with the Hardware Abstraction Layer before. Any idea where to begin? Or perhaps there's a pack of drivers in an easily accessible place that I can use to reinstall usb/ethernet support? (Which may also be tricky as my ethernet connection is only detected at random intervals.) Have a totally isolated machine here, which is a bit frustrating. Any help appreciated.

Kaz Augustin

 

On my AA1 now, so maybe I can be of a bit more help.

The exo-mount file on my AA1 is dated 2008-06-16. One possibility is that an update messed up your version.

Looking at /etc/udev/rules.d, files related to hal and persistent storage might be of interest, but I'm not sure what should be in any of those files.Most of my files in that directory are dated 2007-10-18, and a couple are earlier.. However, 90-hal.rules is dated 2008-05-21, and 50-udev-default.rules is dated 2008-06-13.

Can you mount a usb stick manually?

Code:

 sudo mount /dev/sdb1 /boot

and look inside the /boot directory. To unmount:

Code:

sudo umount /boot

 

For some reason I don't seem to have the exo-mount program in my /usr/bin/ directory anymore. I have mount.posixovl, but I don't know the commands to use it. What the hell happened? Is there anywhere I can get a copy of the exo-mount file and just copy it into my /bin directory or is it going to take more than that?

Update: I just changed the preferred applications (under the Xfce Settings Manager) from Xfce terminal to X terminal, and it recognizes the USB (but still not the SD) drive again.

 

I tried mounting the USB drive manually as root. Seemed to go through, but then when I did a df, it didn't show up. I'm becoming more and more convinced this is a hal corruption issue. I downloaded Puppy Linux, ran it off my USB stick (after changing the BIOS options via F2 on startup) and have no probs automounting sticks or accessing the internet. Actually, the more I've been fiddling with it, the better Puppy looks! Think I will scrap Linpus and install Puppy. If a mere update has the potential to screw my hal, then the software is not rock-solid enough for my liking. But thanks for all your help, Rock Doctor. At least it reassured me that I wasn't going crazy.

boryhas, if you're thinking of taking the plunge to another distro, have a look at this thread in this forum.

Thanks for the company, both of you!

Kaz Augustin

 

i've been having a similar problem i managed to get my usb working after my flatmate done something so to access it i put in the usb in and then i put in the terminal:

sudo mount /devsdb1 /hom/user/Desktop/usb

and to remove it safely i put in

sudo mount /dev/sdb1

although i cant seem to get an sd card to work, does any one know how i can access one

p.s. i am totally new to linux and know sod all

(also i ran some code to get the wireless to work with my universitys wireless system but now it wont work with my wireless at home any help would much appreciated)

aaron

 

If you're placing the SD card in the left slot under Linpus, it's being automatically used as additional disk space (unless your system has been corrupted). Taking it out while in Linpus is likely to cause such corruption. SD cards work normally in the right slot under Linpus.