usb external hard drive no longer found. SOLVED bad hard drive.

[sneckert]

hi. I installed an usb external IDE hard drive last month and formatted it in MSDOS with 2 partitions. It worked after some trials and I managed to copy file to and from the drive. Since I had several desktops loaded on my main internal drive that I no longer wanted I decided to reinstall the OS for a clean system. Now I can no longer find the usb external hard drive. I can install a usb memory stick and it shows up with no trouble. I can read and write to the memory sticks too. But I can't find the external hard drive no matter what I do. Can anyone help me find my lost drive?
Thank you, Steve

[muungwana]

1. Open the terminal and log in as root by typing "su" then press enter and then enter root's password followed by pressing enter again.

2. Run this command to make sure system log service is running: "service syslog restart"

3. Unplug the usb drive and then wait for 5 seconds, plug it back it and then wait for another five seconds.

4. Run the following command and paste its output here: "tail -n 20 /var/log/syslog"

[sneckert]

muungwana;
Thanks for reply; I did as you instructed and here's the results;

[root@localhost stephen]# service syslog restart
Shutting down kernel logger:                                   [  OK  ]
Shutting down system logger:                                   [  OK  ]
Starting system logger:                                        [  OK  ]
Starting kernel logger:                                        [  OK  ]

[root@localhost stephen]# tail -n 20 /var/log/syslog
Jun  7 07:32:10 localhost bpalogin[2126]: Listening on port 5050
Jun  7 07:32:10 localhost bpalogin[2126]: Cant connect to auth server - Network is unreachable
Jun  7 07:32:10 localhost bpalogin[2126]: Sleeping for 60 seconds
Jun  7 07:33:10 localhost bpalogin[2126]: Auth host = sm-server:5050
Jun  7 07:33:10 localhost bpalogin[2126]: Listening on port 5050
Jun  7 07:33:10 localhost bpalogin[2126]: Cant connect to auth server - Network is unreachable
Jun  7 07:33:10 localhost bpalogin[2126]: Sleeping for 60 seconds
Jun  7 07:34:10 localhost bpalogin[2126]: Auth host = sm-server:5050
Jun  7 07:34:10 localhost bpalogin[2126]: Listening on port 5050
Jun  7 07:34:10 localhost bpalogin[2126]: Cant connect to auth server - Network is unreachable
Jun  7 07:34:10 localhost bpalogin[2126]: Sleeping for 60 seconds
Jun  7 07:34:52 localhost klogd: Kernel logging (proc) stopped.
Jun  7 07:34:52 localhost klogd: Kernel log daemon terminating.
Jun  7 07:34:53 localhost exiting on signal 15
Jun  7 07:34:53 localhost syslogd 1.5.0: restart.
Jun  7 07:34:53 localhost klogd: klogd 1.5.0, log source = /proc/kmsg started.
Jun  7 07:35:10 localhost bpalogin[2126]: Auth host = sm-server:5050
Jun  7 07:35:10 localhost bpalogin[2126]: Listening on port 5050
Jun  7 07:35:10 localhost bpalogin[2126]: Cant connect to auth server - Network is unreachable
Jun  7 07:35:10 localhost bpalogin[2126]: Sleeping for 60 seconds
[root@localhost stephen]#

I don't see anything related to usb here.

Steve

[rubentje1991]

Try the following:

Open a terminal window;
plug in the usb external drive
and then run following command in terminal:

Code:

dmesg

Copy the output into a post here (not the full output please, choose e.g. the last 30 lines)
=> this should contain information about your external usb-drive...

[muungwana]

It is a usb device, a log entry should have been created when you unplug it and when you plug it in. If you are did as i asked, then your system is simply unaware of it and this is strange to say the least.

try to use a different usb port, maybe the one currently in use is faulty.

How does the hard drive get its power? If it is from the electric outlet, check to see if it is properly plugged in and it is getting power and it is on.

[rubentje1991]

It is a usb device, a log entry should have been created when you unplug it and when you plug it in. If you are did as i asked, then your system is simply unaware of it and this is strange to say the least.

try to use a different usb port, maybe the one currently in use is faulty.

How does the hard drive get its power? If it is from the electric outlet, check to see if it is properly plugged in and it is getting power and it is on.

I never used syslog for that, but maybe it works....
If nothing appears when looking at the output of dmesg, your system indeed even don't recognize that there IS a device plugged in...

[muungwana]

rubentje1991,
dmesg reports only what drivers report when they are managing hardware, syslog reports more or less the same info dmesg does and bit more, mostly from system services that may or may not manage hardware.

both dmesg and syslog should have contain an entry for the usb stick unplugged and plugged in

I just plugged in a usb device and this is the output of last 30 msgs of dmesg and syslog

dmesg

Code:

usb 1-1: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 8
usb 1-1: New USB device found, idVendor=0781, idProduct=5406
usb 1-1: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
usb 1-1: Product: U3 Cruzer Micro
usb 1-1: Manufacturer: SanDisk Corporation
usb 1-1: SerialNumber: 00001873CB60EA6F
Initializing USB Mass Storage driver...
scsi2 : usb-storage 1-1:1.0
usbcore: registered new interface driver usb-storage
USB Mass Storage support registered.
usbcore: registered new interface driver uas
scsi 2:0:0:0: Direct-Access     SanDisk  U3 Cruzer Micro  3.21 PQ: 0 ANSI: 2
sd 2:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg4 type 0
scsi 2:0:0:1: CD-ROM            SanDisk  U3 Cruzer Micro  3.21 PQ: 0 ANSI: 2
sd 2:0:0:0: [sdc] 1989632 512-byte logical blocks: (1.01 GB/971 MiB)
sd 2:0:0:0: [sdc] Write Protect is off
sd 2:0:0:0: [sdc] Mode Sense: 03 00 00 00
sr2: scsi3-mmc drive: 8x/40x writer xa/form2 cdda tray
sr 2:0:0:1: Attached scsi CD-ROM sr2
sr 2:0:0:1: Attached scsi generic sg5 type 5
sd 2:0:0:0: [sdc] No Caching mode page present
sd 2:0:0:0: [sdc] Assuming drive cache: write through
sd 2:0:0:0: [sdc] No Caching mode page present
sd 2:0:0:0: [sdc] Assuming drive cache: write through
 sdc: sdc1
sd 2:0:0:0: [sdc] No Caching mode page present
sd 2:0:0:0: [sdc] Assuming drive cache: write through
sd 2:0:0:0: [sdc] Attached SCSI removable disk

syslog

Code:

Jun  7 12:27:36 mtz klogd: usb 1-1: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 8
Jun  7 12:27:36 mtz klogd: usb 1-1: New USB device found, idVendor=0781, idProduct=5406
Jun  7 12:27:36 mtz klogd: usb 1-1: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
Jun  7 12:27:36 mtz klogd: usb 1-1: Product: U3 Cruzer Micro
Jun  7 12:27:36 mtz klogd: usb 1-1: Manufacturer: SanDisk Corporation
Jun  7 12:27:36 mtz klogd: usb 1-1: SerialNumber: 00001873CB60EA6F
Jun  7 12:27:37 mtz klogd: Initializing USB Mass Storage driver...
Jun  7 12:27:37 mtz klogd: scsi2 : usb-storage 1-1:1.0
Jun  7 12:27:37 mtz klogd: usbcore: registered new interface driver usb-storage
Jun  7 12:27:37 mtz klogd: USB Mass Storage support registered.
Jun  7 12:27:37 mtz klogd: usbcore: registered new interface driver uas
Jun  7 12:27:38 mtz klogd: scsi 2:0:0:0: Direct-Access     SanDisk  U3 Cruzer Micro  3.21 PQ: 0 ANSI: 2
Jun  7 12:27:38 mtz klogd: sd 2:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg4 type 0
Jun  7 12:27:38 mtz klogd: scsi 2:0:0:1: CD-ROM            SanDisk  U3 Cruzer Micro  3.21 PQ: 0 ANSI: 2
Jun  7 12:27:38 mtz klogd: sd 2:0:0:0: [sdc] 1989632 512-byte logical blocks: (1.01 GB/971 MiB)
Jun  7 12:27:38 mtz klogd: sd 2:0:0:0: [sdc] Write Protect is off
Jun  7 12:27:38 mtz klogd: sd 2:0:0:0: [sdc] Mode Sense: 03 00 00 00
Jun  7 12:27:38 mtz klogd: sr2: scsi3-mmc drive: 8x/40x writer xa/form2 cdda tray
Jun  7 12:27:38 mtz klogd: sr 2:0:0:1: Attached scsi CD-ROM sr2
Jun  7 12:27:38 mtz klogd: sr 2:0:0:1: Attached scsi generic sg5 type 5
Jun  7 12:27:38 mtz klogd: sd 2:0:0:0: [sdc] No Caching mode page present
Jun  7 12:27:38 mtz klogd: sd 2:0:0:0: [sdc] Assuming drive cache: write through
Jun  7 12:27:38 mtz klogd: sd 2:0:0:0: [sdc] No Caching mode page present
Jun  7 12:27:38 mtz klogd: sd 2:0:0:0: [sdc] Assuming drive cache: write through
Jun  7 12:27:38 mtz klogd:  sdc: sdc1
Jun  7 12:27:38 mtz klogd: sd 2:0:0:0: [sdc] No Caching mode page present
Jun  7 12:27:38 mtz klogd: sd 2:0:0:0: [sdc] Assuming drive cache: write through
Jun  7 12:27:38 mtz klogd: sd 2:0:0:0: [sdc] Attached SCSI removable disk

[sneckert]

rubentje1991;

Here's a copy of the last 30 lines of the 'dmesg';

NVRM: loading NVIDIA UNIX x86 Kernel Module  270.41.19  Mon May 16 23:31:36 PDT 2011
Adding 4088504k swap on /dev/sda5.  Priority:-1 extents:1 across:4088504k
SP5100 TCO timer: SP5100 TCO WatchDog Timer Driver v0.01
SP5100 TCO timer: mmio address 0xb8fe00 already in use
sd 0:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg0 type 0
scsi 12:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg1 type 5
ACPI: resource piix4_smbus [io  0x0b00-0x0b07] conflicts with ACPI region SOR1 [io 0xb00-0xb0f]
ACPI: If an ACPI driver is available for this device, you should use it instead of the native driver
r8169 Gigabit Ethernet driver 2.3LK-NAPI loaded
r8169 0000:06:00.0: PCI INT A -> GSI 17 (level, low) -> IRQ 17
r8169 0000:06:00.0: setting latency timer to 64
r8169 0000:06:00.0: (unregistered net_device): unknown MAC, using family default
r8169 0000:06:00.0: irq 48 for MSI/MSI-X
r8169 0000:06:00.0: eth0: RTL8168b/8111b at 0xf7e7e000, 1c:6f:65:ac:12:7f, XID 0c200000 IRQ 48
sr0: scsi3-mmc drive: 48x/48x writer dvd-ram cd/rw xa/form2 cdda tray
cdrom: Uniform CD-ROM driver Revision: 3.20
sr 12:0:0:0: Attached scsi CD-ROM sr0
HDA Intel 0000:00:14.2: PCI INT A -> GSI 16 (level, low) -> IRQ 16
hda_codec: ALC889: BIOS auto-probing.
input: HDA ATI SB Headphone as /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.2/sound/card0/input4
r8169 0000:06:00.0: eth0: link down
r8169 0000:06:00.0: eth0: link down
ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): eth0: link is not ready
r8169 0000:06:00.0: eth0: link up
ADDRCONF(NETDEV_CHANGE): eth0: link becomes ready
martian source 255.255.255.255 from 96.67.228.1, on dev eth0
ll header: ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:00:1f:ca:1f:9f:e2:08:00
NET: Registered protocol family 17
usbcore: registered new interface driver snd-usb-audio
eth0: no IPv6 routers present


Is there anything in there that helps?

Steve

[sneckert]

muungwana;

I have tried several ports they all have the same results, can't see it. USB memory sticks work fine in all ports.

External usb hard drive has it's own power supply and it's working okay.

I was able to get to the drive before reinstalling the OS.

Steve

[muungwana]

Jun  7 12:27:36 mtz klogd: usb 1-1: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 8

when a usb device is plugged in, a line like above in both dmesg output and syslog entry will be added. This line is added by the usb subsystem when a newly plugged usb device is detected.

You do not have this line and this suggests your computer does not detect your usb hard drive.

Plug in the usb hard drive that works and check last messages of dmesg or of syslog file to see what your system produce to have an idea of what to expect when a drive works properly.

Do you have another computer? Try the hard drive on another computer and see if it works there.

[sneckert]

muungwana;

That's the problem my computer won't detect the usb hard drive anymore. I don't have another working computer to try it on, so that limits me in testing it. Usb memory sticks work find when pugged into computer.

Is there anyway to find the usb hard drive so I can reformat it or set it up to work once again?

Steve

[muungwana]

The computer must be able to detect its presence before you can do anything with it. We are at this stage, your computer is simply not detecting its existence at a hardware level. You will have to pass this level before you can do anything with it like formatting it.

what kind of an external hard drive is it? Can you post a link to its picture?

Just to be certain, unplug all cables and then plug them back in making sure they are properly fitted and then plug it in the computer and see if it will work.

[AS]

muungwana;

That's the problem my computer won't detect the usb hard drive anymore. I don't have another working computer to try it on, so that limits me in testing it. Usb memory sticks work find when pugged into computer.

Is there anyway to find the usb hard drive so I can reformat it or set it up to work once again?

Steve

there is a great probability the issue is the external USB HD, and not in the computer.

my 2 cents. 
AS

[rubentje1991]

Thanks, muungwana for the explanation about syslog (every day something new to learn...)

And indeed, the system doesn't even recognize that any hardware is plugged in into the pc...
(when you plug in one of the sticks that do work, you'll see the needed output)...

So, system not recognizing the usb-HD being plugged in => that means the pc can't do anything with it....
And as the others said, probably the problem is at the external HD...
(maybe you have a neighbor or a friend where you can test the Hard Disk???)

[sneckert]

muungwana;

Here is the link to the external usb hard drive enclosure;

http://www.sabrent.com/category/hard-drive-enclosures/ECS-U35K/

Stephen