Solved-Cannot Access Data Storage Drives

[jdm79]

Are these two sata disks internal disks?

yes, they are. they are two identical WD 80 gb hard drives that are installed in quick change drive bays which make them easily removable from the front of the PC.

If they are and they were present when you installed the system, then they should have been included in "/etc/fstab". They were not so you have to do so manually.
You can simply take their entries from your debian system and add them to your pclinuxos system.

OK, i will try that.

You will also have to create mount points at where they are to be mounted too.

ok, call me "dumb" or "spoiled by Debian" but how & where do i create the mount points?
 

I googled a bit about the error you were getting and somebody managed to solve the problem by changing a setting somewhere so it should be possible to make it work in pclinuxos simply by changing a setting. I am a bit pressed for time so will look that info up later.

i appreciate that. thanks.

[jdm79]

I would initially comment out or delete the /dev/sda2  Swap partition entry in fstab.
If only to keep things separate.

i just did that, thanks, i did not notice it before.

Please provide the output from

fdisk -l    (lower case L)

ok, here goes:

Code: [Select]

Disk /dev/sda: 64.0 GB, 64023257088 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 7783 cylinders, total 125045424 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x1f8feae7
[root@localhost jon]# fdisk -l

Disk /dev/sda: 64.0 GB, 64023257088 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 7783 cylinders, total 125045424 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes[root@localhost jon]# fdisk -l

Disk /dev/sda: 64.0 GB, 64023257088 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 7783 cylinders, total 125045424 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x1f8feae7

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sda1              63    22089374    11044656   83  Linux
/dev/sda2        22089375    27969164     2939895   82  Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sda3        27969165   125033894    48532365   83  Linux

Disk /dev/sdb: 64.0 GB, 64023257088 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 7783 cylinders, total 125045424 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xd8e3a384

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sdb1              63    42009974    21004956   83  Linux
/dev/sdb2        42009975    44500049     1245037+  82  Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sdb3        44500050   125033894    40266922+  83  Linux

Disk /dev/sdc: 74.4 GB, 74355769344 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 9039 cylinders, total 145226112 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes[root@localhost jon]# fdisk -l

Disk /dev/sda: 64.0 GB, 64023257088 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 7783 cylinders, total 125045424 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x1f8feae7

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sda1              63    22089374    11044656   83  Linux
/dev/sda2        22089375    27969164     2939895   82  Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sda3        27969165   125033894    48532365   83  Linux

Disk /dev/sdb: 64.0 GB, 64023257088 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 7783 cylinders, total 125045424 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xd8e3a384

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sdb1              63    42009974    21004956   83  Linux
/dev/sdb2        42009975    44500049     1245037+  82  Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sdb3        44500050   125033894    40266922+  83  Linux

Disk /dev/sdc: 74.4 GB, 74355769344 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 9039 cylinders, total 145226112 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x18981898

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sdc1              63   145211534    72605736   83  Linux

Disk /dev/sdd: 74.4 GB, 74355769344 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 9039 cylinders, total 145226112 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes[root@localhost jon]# fdisk -l

Disk /dev/sda: 64.0 GB, 64023257088 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 7783 cylinders, total 125045424 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x1f8feae7

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sda1              63    22089374    11044656   83  Linux
/dev/sda2        22089375    27969164     2939895   82  Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sda3        27969165   125033894    48532365   83  Linux

Disk /dev/sdb: 64.0 GB, 64023257088 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 7783 cylinders, total 125045424 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xd8e3a384

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sdb1              63    42009974    21004956   83  Linux
/dev/sdb2        42009975    44500049     1245037+  82  Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sdb3        44500050   125033894    40266922+  83  Linux

Disk /dev/sdc: 74.4 GB, 74355769344 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 9039 cylinders, total 145226112 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x18981898

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sdc1              63   145211534    72605736   83  Linux

Disk /dev/sdd: 74.4 GB, 74355769344 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 9039 cylinders, total 145226112 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xa72601ba

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sdd1              63   145211534    72605736   83  Linux

however, there is more, but these are some strange entries. like Disk /dev/dm-o
147gb. that drive does not exist on this system.

this forum will not let me post the entire output of fdisk -l even when i use the "code" brackets.

[jdm79]

here is the rest of the fdisk -i output from post 16.

Code: [Select]

Disk /dev/dm-0: 148.7 GB, 148711407616 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 18079 cylinders, total 290451968 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 65536 bytes / 131072 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xa72601ba

     Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/dm-0p1              63   145211534    72605736   83  Linux
Partition 1 does not start on physical sector boundary.

Disk /dev/dm-1: 74.3 GB, 74348273664 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 9038 cylinders, total 145211472 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 65536 bytes / 131072 bytes
Alignment offset: 33280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00000000

Disk /dev/dm-1 doesn't contain a valid partition table

Disk /dev/sdj: 1020 MB, 1020075008 bytes
32 heads, 63 sectors/track, 988 cylinders, total 1992334 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xd22ee930

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sdj1             247     1991807      995780+   6  FAT16

I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xa72601ba

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sdd1              63   145211534    72605736   83  Linux

Disk /dev/dm-0: 148.7 GB, 148711407616 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 18079 cylinders, total 290451968 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 65536 bytes / 131072 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xa72601ba

     Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/dm-0p1              63   145211534    72605736   83  Linux
Partition 1 does not start on physical sector boundary.

Disk /dev/dm-1: 74.3 GB, 74348273664 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 9038 cylinders, total 145211472 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 65536 bytes / 131072 bytes
Alignment offset: 33280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00000000

Disk /dev/dm-1 doesn't contain a valid partition table

Disk /dev/sdj: 1020 MB, 1020075008 bytes
32 heads, 63 sectors/track, 988 cylinders, total 1992334 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xd22ee930

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sdj1             247     1991807      995780+   6  FAT16

Disk identifier: 0x18981898

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sdc1              63   145211534    72605736   83  Linux

Disk /dev/sdd: 74.4 GB, 74355769344 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 9039 cylinders, total 145226112 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xa72601ba

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sdd1              63   145211534    72605736   83  Linux

Disk /dev/dm-0: 148.7 GB, 148711407616 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 18079 cylinders, total 290451968 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 65536 bytes / 131072 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xa72601ba


     Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/dm-0p1              63   145211534    72605736   83  Linux
Partition 1 does not start on physical sector boundary.

Disk /dev/dm-1: 74.3 GB, 74348273664 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 9038 cylinders, total 145211472 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 65536 bytes / 131072 bytes
Alignment offset: 33280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00000000

Disk /dev/dm-1 doesn't contain a valid partition table

Disk /dev/sdj: 1020 MB, 1020075008 bytes
32 heads, 63 sectors/track, 988 cylinders, total 1992334 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xd22ee930

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sdj1             247     1991807      995780+   6  FAT16

I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x1f8feae7


[Just17]

Looking at what you have posted, it appears that you entered the command several times.

It also seems likely that you did not wait for the command to finish .... it probably hung for a while as some of the output did not list sdd, whereas the end of the output does list it.

For clarity, all I can suggest is that you enter the command in a new terminal, and wait for it to return to the prompt {  [root@localhost jon]  }.

Doing that there should be only four drives listed ......  sda, sdb, sdc & sdd  ......  if I am reading things correctly.


/dev/dm-o ......  that is odd .......  try this command as root to see if it provides info about what is behind it ....

dmsetup ls

[Just17]

Do you have some form of RAID  setup in that PC?

[jdm79]

Do you have some form of RAID  setup in that PC?

the motherboard is RAID capable, but it is disabled in the BIOS. it is a ASUS M2N-E motherboard.

[Just17]

........  unless Mepis has set up something on those HDDs .......  RAID, LVM ......  ?

[jdm79]

Looking at what you have posted, it appears that you entered the command several times.

nope, only once

It also seems likely that you did not wait for the command to finish .... it probably hung for a while as some of the output did not list sdd, whereas the end of the output does list it.

i believe what happened was when i used my mouse's scroll wheel to scroll the page, it caused this misbehavior. after i saw that, i closed konsole & started over. after the command finished, i just saved it as a txt file instead of scrolling it.

For clarity, all I can suggest is that you enter the command in a new terminal, and wait for it to return to the prompt {  [root@localhost jon]  }.
Doing that there should be only four drives listed ......  sda, sdb, sdc & sdd  ......  if I am reading things correctly.

here is a new copy of fdisk -l output:

Code: [Select]

Disk /dev/sda: 64.0 GB, 64023257088 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 7783 cylinders, total 125045424 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x1f8feae7

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sda1              63    22089374    11044656   83  Linux
/dev/sda2        22089375    27969164     2939895   82  Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sda3        27969165   125033894    48532365   83  Linux

Disk /dev/sdb: 64.0 GB, 64023257088 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 7783 cylinders, total 125045424 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xd8e3a384

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sdb1              63    42009974    21004956   83  Linux
/dev/sdb2        42009975    44500049     1245037+  82  Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sdb3        44500050   125033894    40266922+  83  Linux

Disk /dev/sdc: 74.4 GB, 74355769344 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 9039 cylinders, total 145226112 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x18981898

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sdc1              63   145211534    72605736   83  Linux

Disk /dev/sdd: 74.4 GB, 74355769344 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 9039 cylinders, total 145226112 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xa72601ba

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sdd1              63   145211534    72605736   83  Linux

Disk /dev/dm-0: 148.7 GB, 148711407616 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 18079 cylinders, total 290451968 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 65536 bytes / 131072 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xa72601ba

     Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/dm-0p1              63   145211534    72605736   83  Linux
Partition 1 does not start on physical sector boundary.

Disk /dev/dm-1: 74.3 GB, 74348273664 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 9038 cylinders, total 145211472 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 65536 bytes / 131072 bytes
Alignment offset: 33280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00000000

Disk /dev/dm-1 doesn't contain a valid partition table


/dev/dm-o ......  that is odd .......  try this command as root to see if it provides info about what is behind it ....

dmsetup ls

heres the output of dmsetup ls:

nvidia_eeefeeedp1   (253, 1)
nvidia_eeefeeed  (253, 0)

[muungwana]

Are these two sata disks internal disks?

yes, they are. they are two identical WD 80 gb hard drives that are installed in quick change drive bays which make them easily removable from the front of the PC.

If they are and they were present when you installed the system, then they should have been included in "/etc/fstab". They were not so you have to do so manually.
You can simply take their entries from your debian system and add them to your pclinuxos system.

OK, i will try that.

You will also have to create mount points at where they are to be mounted too.

ok, call me "dumb" or "spoiled by Debian" but how & where do i create the mount points?
 

I googled a bit about the error you were getting and somebody managed to solve the problem by changing a setting somewhere so it should be possible to make it work in pclinuxos simply by changing a setting. I am a bit pressed for time so will look that info up later.

i appreciate that. thanks.

The follow is how you can add "/dev/sdc1" to "/etc/fstab"

1. start pcc( pclinuxos control center)
2. click local disk
3. click manage disk partitions
4. click "sdc" tab at the top
5. click patition bar( below the tab )
6. click mount point
7. at the field presented, add "/media/XYZ" and then press enter. ps,enter full path of where you want your partition to be mounted
8. click expert mode
9. click options
10. tick "user" and click ok.
11. You will be back at the main page at this section.
12. click "done" and say yes when asked to save to fstab

you should now be able to mount the partition using kdiskfree.I tried it and it worked here.

[Just17]

I know little of LVM or RAID and such, but it appears to me that you have the two SATA drives set up to 'look like' one large drive  2 x 74.4GB ......  148.7GB  Disk /dev/dm-0

So I advise caution with using them as single devices.

Was this set up in Mepis?

[jdm79]

The follow is how you can add "/dev/sdc1" to "/etc/fstab"

1. start pcc( pclinuxos control center)
2. click local disk
3. click manage disk partitions
4. click "sdc" tab at the top
5. click patition bar( below the tab )
6. click mount point
7. at the field presented, add "/media/XYZ" and then press enter. ps,enter full path of where you want your partition to be mounted
8. click expert mode
9. click options
10. tick "user" and click ok.
11. You will be back at the main page at this section.
12. click "done" and say yes when asked to save to fstab

you should now be able to mount the partition using kdiskfree.I tried it and it worked here.

Ok, followed steps 1 to 3. looking at the tabs pm the "manage disk partitions" module, i am looking at three tabs. the first tab from the left is sda, the second is sdb & the third tab is named "mapper/nvidia_eeefeeed.
directly under the tabs are what appears to be representions of two partitions of equal size but with one on the left showing "storage2" which is the label i gave that partition when i created it with Gparted. the one on the right does not show any text at all. b.t.w. "storage2" is the name of the second storage drive and it is sdd1 in pclos.

apparently, pclos is looking at this drive setup as a RAID configuration even though i have RAID disabled in BIOS. this is NOT what i want.

[jdm79]

I know little of LVM or RAID and such, but it appears to me that you have the two SATA drives set up to 'look like' one large drive  2 x 74.4GB ......  148.7GB  Disk /dev/dm-0
So I advise caution with using them as single devices.

Mepis, Just like Debian, uses LVM. i did not, nor Mepis did not setup the drives to look like one. by default, in most Debian based installs, additional drives & partitions are set up individually. i don't think Mepis supports software RAID configuration out of the box.

Was this set up in Mepis?

Mepis was the first OS installed on sda1. i always use bootable distributions like Gparted, or parted magic e..t.c to setup up partitions before installing any distro

[Just17]

check that you have

lvm2

installed

[jdm79]

check that you have

lvm2

installed

i checked & i found that it was not installed, so installed it using synaptic. after installation, i shut down rebooted, & opened "manage Disk Partitions" again. this time sdc tab was there instead of "mapper/nvidia_eeefeeed", so i followed the rest of the steps you gave me & then rebooted. there were no error warnings. i thought this would at least give me one drive to work with.
however, after the reboot, i went to check on the sidebar in Dolphin to see if the drive was listed...it was not. so i opened up "manage Disk Partitions again but this time, it did not show "sdc", it reverted back to "mapper/nvidia_eeefeeed". no sign of sdc. apparently, something did not stick.

i am almost about ready to give up on this. i already had a hard time on the installation of plcosFM a few days ago because it not only trashed the grub menu.lst in the Mepis install to the point where even the boot repair tool on the Mepis live DVD could not fix it * end up having to re-install Mepis, also, the pclinuxos installation screwed up it's own menu.lst. i had to use the mepis live DVD to fix the wrong drive designations in the pclosFM menu.lst. i had to change all the "hd2,0" to "hd1,0" so i could get pclosFM to boot.

[jdm79]

i ended up physically removing the offending drive (sdd) & rebooting. after rebooting, the "sdc" tab in the disk manager returned. also, the configurations that i made earlier were still in effect. there were entries in the /media directory as well. all i had to do was change the user permmissions.

thanks for the help y'all. i guess hdd was bad enough to cause this problem