Can't access USB flash drives

Question

I am having a problem accessing two older usb (2.x) flash drives (a SanDisk 128MB drive and a Verbatim 2GB Store 'n' Go drive) using Kubuntu 20.04.02 LTS kept fully updated through Discover. I have inserted each flash drive into the same USB port then issued the following commands for each drive in turn.

df -h
sudo parted -ls
sudo lsblk -f
sudo lsblk -m
ls -ld /media
ls -l /media
ls -l /media/$USER

The results are shown below.

For the 128 MB drive we have :-

kub@kub-SATELLITE-L870-18V:~$ df -h
Filesystem      Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
udev            3.8G     0  3.8G   0% /dev
tmpfs           785M  1.5M  783M   1% /run
/dev/sda9       152G  3.0G  141G   3% /
/dev/sda10      152G   21G  123G  15% /usr
tmpfs           3.9G  152K  3.9G   1% /dev/shm
tmpfs           5.0M  4.0K  5.0M   1% /run/lock
tmpfs           3.9G     0  3.9G   0% /sys/fs/cgroup
/dev/sda1       446M  309M  103M  76% /boot
/dev/sda6       169M  332K  155M   1% /tmp
/dev/sda7        14G  2.6G   11G  20% /var
/dev/sda5       137G   46G   85G  35% /home
tmpfs           785M   12K  785M   1% /run/user/1000
kub@kub-SATELLITE-L870-18V:~$ sudo parted -ls
[sudo] password for kub: 
Model: ATA ST9500325AS (scsi)
Disk /dev/sda: 500GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: msdos
Disk Flags:
Number  Start   End     Size    Type      File system     Flags
 1      1049kB  500MB   499MB   primary   ext4            boot
 2      501MB   500GB   500GB   extended
 6      501MB   700MB   199MB   logical   ext4
 7      701MB   15.7GB  15.0GB  logical   ext4
 8      15.7GB  17.7GB  2047MB  logical   linux-swap(v1)
 9      17.7GB  184GB   166GB   logical   ext4
10      184GB   350GB   166GB   logical   ext4
 5      350GB   500GB   150GB   logical   ext4
kub@kub-SATELLITE-L870-18V:~$ sudo lsblk -f
NAME    FSTYPE LABEL UUID                                 FSAVAIL FSUSE% MOUNTPOINT
sda

├─sda1  ext4   /boot d12eeea7-3bf7-4bab-874b-307afc53005d  102.9M    69% /boot
├─sda2

├─sda5  ext4   /home 05fc8b81-a330-4c74-91ed-77f37aa16a9c   84.5G    33% /home
├─sda6  ext4   /tmp  f7cd437f-0a1f-4340-bf0f-4b96844b9686  154.4M     0% /tmp
├─sda7  ext4   /var  da489418-829c-4450-84f4-6c878b20f6f2   10.4G    19% /var
├─sda8  swap   swap  7cc86fae-5fec-413c-90df-ca2f9f95491c                [SWAP]
├─sda9  ext4   /     56d7e93d-4217-41c3-82f3-f457af294496  140.6G     2% /
└─sda10 ext4   /usr  fe345b5a-b2a0-47e3-a4b1-89d25492fb3d  122.6G    14% /usr
sr0

kub@kub-SATELLITE-L870-18V:~$ sudo lsblk -m
NAME      SIZE OWNER GROUP MODE
sda     465.8G root  disk  brw-rw----
├─sda1    476M root  disk  brw-rw----
├─sda2      1K root  disk  brw-rw----
├─sda5  139.8G root  disk  brw-rw----
├─sda6    190M root  disk  brw-rw----
├─sda7     14G root  disk  brw-rw----
├─sda8    1.9G root  disk  brw-rw----
├─sda9  154.7G root  disk  brw-rw----
└─sda10 154.7G root  disk  brw-rw----
sr0      1024M root  cdrom brw-rw----
kub@kub-SATELLITE-L870-18V:~$ ls -ld /media
drwxr-xr-x 11 root root 4096 Apr 17 12:32 /media
kub@kub-SATELLITE-L870-18V:~$ ls -l /media
total 36
drwxr-x---+ 2 kub  kub  4096 Aug 19 09:56 kub
lrwxrwxrwx  1 root root    4 Apr 17 12:32 usb -> usb0
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root 4096 Apr 17 12:32 usb0
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root 4096 Apr 17 12:32 usb1
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root 4096 Apr 17 12:32 usb2
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root 4096 Apr 17 12:32 usb3
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root 4096 Apr 17 12:32 usb4
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root 4096 Apr 17 12:32 usb5
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root 4096 Apr 17 12:32 usb6
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root 4096 Apr 17 12:32 usb7
kub@kub-SATELLITE-L870-18V:~$ ls -l /media/$USER
total 0
kub@kub-SATELLITE-L870

For the 2 GB drive we have :-

kub@kub-SATELLITE-L870-18V:~$ df -h
Filesystem      Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
udev            3.8G     0  3.8G   0% /dev
tmpfs           785M  1.5M  783M   1% /run
/dev/sda9       152G  3.0G  141G   3% /
/dev/sda10      152G   21G  123G  15% /usr
tmpfs           3.9G  152K  3.9G   1% /dev/shm
tmpfs           5.0M  4.0K  5.0M   1% /run/lock
tmpfs           3.9G     0  3.9G   0% /sys/fs/cgroup
/dev/sda1       446M  309M  103M  76% /boot
/dev/sda6       169M  332K  155M   1% /tmp
/dev/sda7        14G  2.6G   11G  20% /var
/dev/sda5       137G   46G   85G  35% /home
tmpfs           785M   12K  785M   1% /run/user/1000
kub@kub-SATELLITE-L870-18V:~$ sudo parted -ls
Model: ATA ST9500325AS (scsi)
Disk /dev/sda: 500GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: msdos
Disk Flags:
Number  Start   End     Size    Type      File system     Flags
 1      1049kB  500MB   499MB   primary   ext4            boot
 2      501MB   500GB   500GB   extended
 6      501MB   700MB   199MB   logical   ext4
 7      701MB   15.7GB  15.0GB  logical   ext4
 8      15.7GB  17.7GB  2047MB  logical   linux-swap(v1)
 9      17.7GB  184GB   166GB   logical   ext4
10      184GB   350GB   166GB   logical   ext4
 5      350GB   500GB   150GB   logical   ext4
Error: /dev/sdc: unrecognised disk label
Model: Verbatim Store 'n' Go (scsi)
Disk /dev/sdc: 1011MB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: unknown
Disk Flags:
kub@kub-SATELLITE-L870-18V:~$ sudo lsblk -f
NAME    FSTYPE LABEL UUID                                 FSAVAIL FSUSE% MOUNTPOINT
sda

├─sda1  ext4   /boot d12eeea7-3bf7-4bab-874b-307afc53005d  102.9M    69% /boot
├─sda2

├─sda5  ext4   /home 05fc8b81-a330-4c74-91ed-77f37aa16a9c   84.5G    33% /home
├─sda6  ext4   /tmp  f7cd437f-0a1f-4340-bf0f-4b96844b9686  154.4M     0% /tmp
├─sda7  ext4   /var  da489418-829c-4450-84f4-6c878b20f6f2   10.4G    19% /var
├─sda8  swap   swap  7cc86fae-5fec-413c-90df-ca2f9f95491c                [SWAP]
├─sda9  ext4   /     56d7e93d-4217-41c3-82f3-f457af294496  140.6G     2% /
└─sda10 ext4   /usr  fe345b5a-b2a0-47e3-a4b1-89d25492fb3d  122.6G    14% /usr
sdc

sr0

kub@kub-SATELLITE-L870-18V:~$ sudo lsblk -m
NAME      SIZE OWNER GROUP MODE
sda     465.8G root  disk  brw-rw----
├─sda1    476M root  disk  brw-rw----
├─sda2      1K root  disk  brw-rw----
├─sda5  139.8G root  disk  brw-rw----
├─sda6    190M root  disk  brw-rw----
├─sda7     14G root  disk  brw-rw----
├─sda8    1.9G root  disk  brw-rw----
├─sda9  154.7G root  disk  brw-rw----
└─sda10 154.7G root  disk  brw-rw----
sdc       964M root  disk  brw-rw----
sr0      1024M root  cdrom brw-rw----
kub@kub-SATELLITE-L870-18V:~$ ls -ld /media
drwxr-xr-x 11 root root 4096 Apr 17 12:32 /media
kub@kub-SATELLITE-L870-18V:~$ ls -l /media
total 36
drwxr-x---+ 2 kub  kub  4096 Aug 19 09:56 kub
lrwxrwxrwx  1 root root    4 Apr 17 12:32 usb -> usb0
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root 4096 Apr 17 12:32 usb0
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root 4096 Apr 17 12:32 usb1
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root 4096 Apr 17 12:32 usb2
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root 4096 Apr 17 12:32 usb3
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root 4096 Apr 17 12:32 usb4
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root 4096 Apr 17 12:32 usb5
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root 4096 Apr 17 12:32 usb6
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root 4096 Apr 17 12:32 usb7
kub@kub-SATELLITE-L870-18V:~$ ls -l /media/$USER
total 0
kub@kub-SATELLITE-L870-18V:~$

Neither device automounts or shows up in Dolphin.

I have been to the websites for both Ours Technology Inc and Trek2000 (previously known as Trek Technology PTE LTD, according to Wikipedia) and found no support for either of these old devices.

ASIDE: i have tried two other USB flash drives in the same USB port and both of those devices do automount and show up in Dolphin.

Is there some way that I can once again access these devices ?

Best regards,

Stuart

Do they show up in Disks (gnome-disk-utility)? Do they work on any other computer? — Nmath, Aug 19 '21 at 18:03
How about lsusb ? Your df -h is only going to show mounted filesystems. We can see that neither device is being mounted, so try to find the devices themselves first, and then mount manually. — James S., Aug 19 '21 at 18:22
You can analyze the problems with the two USB drives (connect only one each time) according to this link and if you are lucky, maybe you can make at least one of them work. — sudodus, Aug 19 '21 at 18:58

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered Aug 19 '21 at 18:28

We can see that neither device is mounted in your output.

This means that first, we must try to detect the devices manually. Unplug them both from the host, then follow these steps:

run lsusb and make notes of the current list of devices.
plug in one device, and run lsusb again to see what has changed.
manually mount the detected device: sudo mount /dev/whatever /wherever/you/want
plug in the next device, and run lsusb again, noting this new device also.
manually mount the second device: sudo mount /dev/whatever2 /wherever2

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Aug 24 '21 at 08:22

Thank you all so much for your responses.

@Nmath: I used a Windows 10 PC in my local library where Windows Explorer was able to access both flash drives, but only in a very restricted sense. With the 128 MB drive, the drive was recognised and displayed as a drive and I was able thereby to find out that only 27 MB has been used although neither folders nor individual files were displayed when the drive icon was clicked. With the 1 GB drive, again this showed as an icon within Windows Explorer. In this case.the drive icon did not show how much of the drive capacity had been used nor were icons displayed for the folders and files on the drive when the drive icon was clicked.

I have now installed Gnome Disk Utility which reports the following.

When the 128 MB drive is connected into the USB port, the utility :-

a) recognises when the drive is connected;
b) places an icon for it in its left hand pane labelled Drive, sub-labelled USB Flash Disk;
c) correctly reports the Model as USB Flash Disk (2.00);
d) Media and Size are blank, just two "-"s for each entry;
e) the serial number is reported as USB Flash Disk (2.00);
f) Volumes is just a single blue block labelled No Media;
g) again Size is listed as ust two "-"s;
h) Device is reported as /dev/sdc;
i) Contents is again listed as ust two "-"s.

This old flash drive does not(!) have an "I am on" LED. When the flash drive is disconnected, the utility removes the icon for it from its left hand pane.

When the 1 GB drive is connected into the same USB port, the utility :-

a) recognises when the drive is connected;
b) places an icon for it in its left hand pane labelled 1.0 GB Drive, sub-labeeled Verbatim Store 'n' Go;
c) correctly reports the Model as Verbatim Store 'n' Go (1.00);
d) Size is reported as 1.0 GB (1,010,826,752 bytes);
e) the field labeeled Media does not appear;
f) an alphanumeric serial number is reported;
g) Volumes is just a single blue block labelled 1.0 GB Unknown;
h) Size is again reported as 1.0 GB (1,010,826,752 bytes);
h) Device is reported as /dev/sdc;
i) Contents is reported as Unknown.

This old flash drive does(!) have an "I am on" LED which flashes twice immediately after insertion and then remains unblinkingly lit. When the flash drive is disconnected, the utility removes the icon for it from its left hand pane.

@James S: Using the lsusb command we have, for the 128 MB drive :-

kub@kub-SATELLITE-L870-18V:~$ lsusb
Bus 002 Device 002: ID 8087:0024 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 004: ID 04f3:0103 Elan Microelectronics Corp. ActiveJet K-2024 Multimedia Keyboard
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 0bda:0138 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. RTS5138 Card Reader Controller
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 8087:0024 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
Bus 003 Device 005: ID 0930:0219 Toshiba Corp. Bluetooth USB Host Controller
Bus 003 Device 002: ID 89e5:1001   USB OPTICAL MOUSE
Bus 003 Device 013: ID 0ea0:2168 Ours Technology, Inc. Transcend JetFlash 2.0 / Astone USB Drive / Intellegent Stick 2.0
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
kub@kub-SATELLITE-L870-18V:~$

and for the 1 GB dive :-

kub@kub-SATELLITE-L870-18V:~$ lsusb
Bus 002 Device 002: ID 8087:0024 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 004: ID 04f3:0103 Elan Microelectronics Corp. ActiveJet K-2024 Multimedia Keyboard
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 0bda:0138 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. RTS5138 Card Reader Controller
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 8087:0024 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
Bus 003 Device 005: ID 0930:0219 Toshiba Corp. Bluetooth USB Host Controller
Bus 003 Device 002: ID 89e5:1001   USB OPTICAL MOUSE
Bus 003 Device 014: ID 0a16:2004 Trek Technology (S) PTE, Ltd Store 'n' Go
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
kub@kub-SATELLITE-L870-18V:~$

ASIDE: I have been reporting the 1 GB drive as being 2 GB. Please accept my apologies for this confusion on my part.

@sudodus: I tried manually mounting each flash drive in turn to the same USB port on my PC and received the following system responses.

For the 128 MB drive :-

kub@kub-SATELLITE-L870-18V:~$ sudo mount /dev/sdc /media/usb
mount: /media/usb0: no medium found on /dev/sdc.
kub@kub-SATELLITE-L870-18V:~$

For the 1GB drive :-

kub@kub-SATELLITE-L870-18V:~$ sudo mount /dev/sdc /media/usb
mount: /media/usb0: wrong fs type, bad option, bad superblock on /dev/sdc, missing codepage or helper program, or other error.
kub@kub-SATELLITE-L870-18V:~$

I think I also read that a command or recovery utility would delete/reformat the first 1 MB if recovery were attempted. That is a lot of (small) files to lose.

From the foregoing it would seem that both drives just might be recoverable but at a cost of lost files.

I am now going to continue my investigations using the info at the link supplied by sudodus. I will post again after this, unless what I have just supplied tells you that the drives are in fact unrecoverable.

Best regards,

Stuart

Can't access USB flash drives

2 Answers2