External HD seen but not accesible after install

English Install/Boot/Login
#1

I hope I am posting in the right place for this. After installing Suse 11, 32 bit, KDE 3.+ it shows my external USB HD but when I try to open it it says I do not have access. I right clicked in the My Computer area on the drive and selected mount and it gave another error. This drive is formatted ntfs, I would also like to be able to save items from Suse on it if possible. Could someone give me info to correct one or both of these items? Any help would be appreciated, thanks in advance.

#2

I just setup mine yesterday. I got it working but i dont like how the permissions work.

Anything i put on the external drive is chmod 777 by default and if i try and change it it changes right back.

Anyways, you can auto mount the drive at system startup with fstab. I mount mine to /media/storage.


# Removable media
/dev/sdb1  /media/storage  ntfs-3g auto   0 0
#3

u can both use this excellent tool called ntfs-config
as root run


ntfs-config

U can set the read/write permitions safely from this tool and automount to ntfs partitions as well

#4

Thank you for the help. Will I be able to use the external drive to save & access files from both Winders & Suse?

#5

thanks for info. But by looks of it needs gui. I need command line

#6

Here are two potential problems I see in what’s been said so far:

  1. Using an entry in fstab to mount an external drive can be tricky. If you have such a line and you boot Suse without the drive attached, Suse will not start.
  2. The permissions problem comes because the developers have set the automount for USB NTFS drives to read-only.

I suggest that you take any permanent mounts for external drives out of fstab. That will remove the first problem I listed above. And that you adjust the automount for external NTFS drives to cause them to be automounted as read-write when you attach them to the usb plug. You can do that with this command in a console:

sudo ln -s /sbin/mount.ntfs-3g /sbin/mount.ntfs

That command puts a redirection link into the system so the system calls to mount.ntfs (which gives read-only mounts) are redirected to mount.ntfs-3g (which gives read-write mounts).

IMO that’s neater, by a country mile.

#7

Thanks Swerdna, when I paste what you said I get:

We trust you have received the usual lecture from the local System
Administrator. It usually boils down to these three things:

#1) Respect the privacy of others.
#2) Think before you type.
#3) With great power comes great responsibility.

Is that what I was supposed to get after that, doesn’t seem to have anything to do with the HD. Thanks for the help.

#8

Never mind, guess it all works now like it is intended. Thank you very much. :slight_smile:

#9

I think that’s a once-only reminder that you’re invoking rootly super powers. I suppose it’s there in case a user types sudo by mistake.

#10

“” Quote:
sudo ln -s /sbin/mount.ntfs-3g /sbin/mount.ntfs “”

Thanx swerdna, I’ve been reading and trying different things off and on for a couple days and what you posted works GREAT!

#11

Thats why swerdna is a global moderator and we are only juniors :wink:

#12

Here are two potential problems I see in what’s been said so far:

  1. Using an entry in fstab to mount an external drive can be tricky. If you have such a line and you boot Suse without the drive attached, Suse will not start.
  2. The permissions problem comes because the developers have set the automount for USB NTFS drives to read-only.

I suggest that you take any permanent mounts for external drives out of fstab. That will remove the first problem I listed above. And that you adjust the automount for external NTFS drives to cause them to be automounted as read-write when you attach them to the usb plug. You can do that with this command in a console:
Quote:
sudo ln -s /sbin/mount.ntfs-3g /sbin/mount.ntfs
That command puts a redirection link into the system so the system calls to mount.ntfs (which gives read-only mounts) are redirected to mount.ntfs-3g (which gives read-write mounts).

IMO that’s neater, by a country mile.

Ok im lost. After i run the command where does the drive auto mount to?

#13

What command is that? Getting a bit lost here http://www.swerdna.net.au/forumpics/smiley/wacko.gif

#14

sudo ln -s /sbin/mount.ntfs-3g /sbin/mount.ntfs

#15

Same link as I was using with openSUSE 10.2 system to get rw access. :slight_smile:

#16

You should find it in KDE’s “My Computer”, and more generally at media:/ and in /media at something like /media/disk or /media/sdxy

Edit: or in Gnome on the desktop or in Nautilus under “Computer” icon or at address /media

#17

And we hear now the voice of deano_ferrari who iirc originally told me to use it in the old forums.

#18

I don’t understand why it’s not default!

I mean who actually wants to plug in a USB drive and not use it?

#19

The devs for ntfs-3g described it as experimental until February 2007. Now they describe it as stable and reliable. That changed view will take a year or so to seep around the broader Linux community. So maybe the read-only default reflects and outdated caution more than anything else, IMHO an unwarranted caution.

#20

sorry for the delay in replies. I have been taking a break from the server. I have been at it now for a bit.

Anyways, i ran the command

sudo ln -s /sbin/mount.ntfs-3g /sbin/mount.ntfs

but when i plug the drive in it does not auto mount. Also please be advised i am using a server enviroment so i have no access to any gnome or kde options

thanks again