can someone guide me through formatting and mounting a new external usb drive?

i know i've formatted 100s of drives in the past and i should be able to do this, but i can't lol. this is a brand new HDD in a usb 2 external hdd.

EDIT i think the title should read ...external usb hdd.

this is what tail -f /var/log/messages says when i plug it in.

Code:

Nov 29 21:20:48 ice3 kernel: usb 1-7: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 6
Nov 29 21:20:48 ice3 kernel: usb 1-7: new device found, idVendor=152d, idProduct=2338
Nov 29 21:20:48 ice3 kernel: usb 1-7: new device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=5
Nov 29 21:20:48 ice3 kernel: usb 1-7: Product: USB to ATA/ATAPI Bridge
Nov 29 21:20:48 ice3 kernel: usb 1-7: Manufacturer: JMicron
Nov 29 21:20:48 ice3 kernel: usb 1-7: SerialNumber: 152D203380B6
Nov 29 21:20:48 ice3 kernel: usb 1-7: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
Nov 29 21:20:48 ice3 kernel: scsi4 : SCSI emulation for USB Mass Storage devices
Nov 29 21:20:48 ice3 kernel: usb-storage: device found at 6
Nov 29 21:20:48 ice3 kernel: usb-storage: waiting for device to settle before scanning
Nov 29 21:20:49 ice3 kernel:   Vendor:           Model:                   Rev:     
Nov 29 21:20:49 ice3 kernel:   Type:   Direct-Access                      ANSI SCSI revision: 02
Nov 29 21:20:49 ice3 kernel: sd 4:0:0:0: Attached scsi disk sdc
Nov 29 21:20:49 ice3 kernel: sd 4:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg3 type 0
Nov 29 21:20:49 ice3 kernel: usb-storage: device scan complete

and i think this is the right bit from dmesg

Code:

usb 1-7: new device found, idVendor=152d, idProduct=2338
usb 1-7: new device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=5
usb 1-7: Product: USB to ATA/ATAPI Bridge
usb 1-7: Manufacturer: JMicron
usb 1-7: SerialNumber: 152D203380B6
usb 1-7: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
scsi4 : SCSI emulation for USB Mass Storage devices
usb-storage: device found at 6
usb-storage: waiting for device to settle before scanning
  Vendor:           Model:                   Rev:     
  Type:   Direct-Access                      ANSI SCSI revision: 02
sd 4:0:0:0: Attached scsi disk sdc
sd 4:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg3 type 0
usb-storage: device scan complete

i tired these -

Code:

# mkfs.ext3 /dev/sdc
mke2fs 1.39 (29-May-2006)
/dev/sdc is entire device, not just one partition!
Proceed anyway? (y,n) y
mkfs.ext3: Device size reported to be zero.  Invalid partition specified, or
        partition table wasn't reread after running fdisk, due to
        a modified partition being busy and in use.  You may need to reboot
        to re-read your partition table.

Code:

# fdisk /dev/sdc

Unable to read /dev/sdc

if anyone wants to show me how to put a filesystem on it i'll be able to make a backup and do a reinstall thanks.

 

Ehm, why not first create a partition with fdisk /dev/sdc ?
You are supposed to format with 'mkfs.ext3 /dev/sdc1', for example.

 

you really are going to have to make this as simple as possible because i have no idea how to "create a partition with fdisk /dev/sdc?" i thought when i'd done it in the past you ran fdisk /dev/sdc and it asked you questions, but i must be thinking about something else because when i run it it says Unable to read /dev/sdc

i should have looked it up first, but adding the 1 doesn't work. i just want to be able to get fdisk to work so i can add a filesystem. why doesn't it work?

Code:

# mkfs.ext3 /dev/sdc1
mke2fs 1.39 (29-May-2006)
Could not stat /dev/sdc1 --- No such file or directory

The device apparently does not exist; did you specify it correctly?

 

Why don't you fire up Gparted and do it via GUI?
Create Partition table first, then create a partition and format it ...
Mrk

 

i didn't realise i had gparted. anyway it only sees the drives in the case!!!!!

this is what i'd like to do with my external hdd
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcd5zeO8IxM

i'll try another hdd, i would have tried earlier but i can't remember where they are and i know they are smaller drives. but, i can see if they at least work.

 

you can formate it through gparted or disk-utility

just scroll down right side tab of the hardisk showing above


from ubuntu or fedora live cd you can do that...

 

@Iceni60 -- what distrobution and version are you using?

 

no, it's definitely not being detected.

i'm using suse 10.2 it came out in 2006. i'm not the world's greatest distro hopper lol that's kind of why i'm getting a bit desperate to do a backup and reinstall.

i admit my memory of formatting and partitioning was getting a bit cloudy and i should have done a search before posting this thread, but i'm fairly certain now it's not something i'm doing wrong and it's a hardware problem. i'm going to have a look for another hdd tomorrow.

i took a picture. it should show up there in the right corner, shouldn't it? it just shows the other drive i have.

 

Yeah i think it should
Just cheat, use a LiveCD, format that drive, backup your files and install Debian.

 

well, i definitely need something with a slow release cycle i was thinking of debian or arch.

 

iceni60, I remember these kind of USB struggle just a year ago with a harddisk in enclosure.
I suggest that you get a current kernel, or perhaps current distro with 2.6.30+ and it might be that your USB problem is fixed.
Your distro is severly outdated and it might be that your external drive is just fine.

You seem comfortable with the command line, maybe you find a small iso with that offers just enough features to format the drive and create a backup.

 

iceni60 - try opening a terminal and tail -f /var/log/syslog or messages which ever is in suse10 and plug in your device it will be easier to watch for events that way.

I too thought it could have been an issue with the kernel and the external usb enclosure but I think that was with 2.6.26 or .28 series kernels which ever shipped with ubuntu 8.10 as I had it too.

For slow release you can always use Debian, Centos or an Ubuntu LTS as 10.4 is forth coming (Keep in mind Arch is a rolling release though)

As for trying another hard drive that is a good idea.

 

You may have fried the partition table with the mkfs command. But gparted should still see the drive and allow you to create a new table. I'd definitely try a current distro on a LiveCD and use its gparted to detect the drive. The drive should be shown in gparted as SDC whether it has any valid partitions or not.

 

thanks i did actually download the gparted livecd the other day and it didn't see the drive. my room isn't messy, but i can't find any other hdds anywhere! i might have to go and buy one, they aren't big enough anyway.

lol that's the first thing i put in my first post

thanks for the help. the problem is either the hdd, the enclosure or me. so, i'll let you know what happens when i try another drive.