new hdd: how do I make it writable?

[mccuisinart]

I just installed a new 500G HDD. It was recognized by the BIOS, and I was able to create a primary fat32 partition and have it mount automatically on startup in /etc/fstab, but the last step of making it writable is stumping me. How do I make it writable?

[bigken]

try gparted

[mccuisinart]

Cool app. I used it to change the partition into an ext3.

I probably should have mentioned this: I'm running ubuntu and its entire file system off of another drive. An 64G SSD. I bought an additional HDD for extra storage and I want to make it writable from my GUI instead of just sudo in the terminal. GParted doesn't seem to do that, (there doesn't seem to be anything in its help manual, anyway).

Thanks

[Miljet]

What options did you use in the fstab entry?

cat /etc/fstab
Copy and paste results here please.

[mccuisinart]

was:


/dev/sdb1 /media/wdcb500g vfat defaults 0 2now:


/dev/sdb1 /media/wdcb500g ext3 defaults 0 2-EDIT: (whoops sorry didn't understand your question hold on)...

-EDITx2: (modified /etc/fstab back to its original state)


xxxx@xxxx:~$ cat /etc/fstab
# /etc/fstab: static file system information.
#
# Use 'blkid -o value -s UUID' to print the universally unique identifier
# for a device; this may be used with UUID= as a more robust way to name
# devices that works even if disks are added and removed. See fstab(5).
#
# <file system> <mount point> <type> <options> <dump> <pass>
proc /proc proc nodev,noexec,nosuid 0 0
# / was on /dev/sda1 during installation
UUID=df1ed6d1-3bd4-4919-bc19-f67edfcfd37a / ext4 errors=remount-ro 0 1
# swap was on /dev/sda5 during installation
UUID=d80b4a94-0999-4ea9-ad1e-0800ebff9c34 none swap sw 0 0There!

[ajgreeny]

First backup the current fstab with terminal command
sudo cp /etc/fstab /etc/fstab-backup You then need to carefully edit the fstab file using the terminal command
gksudo gedit /etc/fstab which will give you root privileges. Now depending on the filesystem that the new disk partition has ended up as, add the appropriate line to fstab, having first made the mountpoint folder with
sudo mkdir /media/newdiskbut use a better name than newdisk if you want.

Automount ext3 partition. Add line to /etc/fstab:-

UUID=66E53AEC54455DB2 /media/newdisk ext3 defaults, relatime 0 1Automount fat32 partition. Add line to /etc/fstab:-

UUID=66E53AEC54455DB2 /media/newdisk vfat defaults,user,dmask=027,fmask=137 0 0You can find the UUID of attached disks with command
sudo blkidso change my UUID figures for yours.

Having edited the fstab file run command
sudo mount -ato execute it. If any errors report back here, if no errors, all should be ready to go.

[mccuisinart]

Here is my new fstab from the command cat /etc/fstab


xxxx@xxxx:~$ cat /etc/fstab
# /etc/fstab: static file system information.
#
# Use 'blkid -o value -s UUID' to print the universally unique identifier
# for a device; this may be used with UUID= as a more robust way to name
# devices that works even if disks are added and removed. See fstab(5).
#
# <file system> <mount point> <type> <options> <dump> <pass>
proc /proc proc nodev,noexec,nosuid 0 0
# / was on /dev/sda1 during installation
UUID=df1ed6d1-3bd4-4919-bc19-f67edfcfd37a / ext4 errors=remount-ro 0 1
# swap was on /dev/sda5 during installation
UUID=d80b4a94-0999-4ea9-ad1e-0800ebff9c34 none swap sw 0 0
UUID=450bed29-58d1-497f-b7fa-d068a8809cb1 /media/wdcb500g ext3 defaults, relatime 0 1I got excited at first because the original instructions I followed from another guide littered my terminal with errors after I saved and exited /etc/fstab, but this time the terminal didn't make a fuss.

But! after saving, sudo mount -a returned the line:

[mntent]: line 13 in /etc/fstab is bad

Which had happened the other times I tried altering /etc/fstab. I'm getting the same error when I try mounting the partition from the GUI now.

Did I have to put both the ext3 & vfat UUID lines in?

EDIT - sudo blkid returns:


xxxx@xxxx:~$ sudo blkid
/dev/sda1: UUID="df1ed6d1-3bd4-4919-bc19-f67edfcfd37a" TYPE="ext4"
/dev/sda5: UUID="d80b4a94-0999-4ea9-ad1e-0800ebff9c34" TYPE="swap"
/dev/sdb1: UUID="450bed29-58d1-497f-b7fa-d068a8809cb1" SEC_TYPE="ext2" TYPE="ext3"Pretty sure sdb1 is my new HDD ID

[ajgreeny]

There is a bit of a mixup in the final line of your blkid output where you have both ext2 and ext3 showing. It is either one or the other, so I think you need to format the partition on your new drive again to ext3.

I have never seen this happen before, so it is a bit baffling as to why this is showing like that this time. Hopefully a reformat will solve it, though you will need to edit fstab again to get the right UUID, which will have changed.

[mccuisinart]

Ajgreeny! Thanks a lot I figured it out all with your help! Much love.

[ajgreeny]

Just out of interest, what was the problem? Did a reformat solve it?

[Miljet]

There is a bit of a mixup in the final line of your blkid output where you have both ext2 and ext3 showing.

That is perfectly normal output for a partition formatted as EXT3. I still have an old EXT3 partition and just checked it.

[sisco311]

That is perfectly normal output for a partition formatted as EXT3. I still have an old EXT3 partition and just checked it.

Indeed it is. ext3 is compatible to ext2 filesystems. You can look at it as an ext2 filesystem with a journal file.

[ajgreeny]

That is perfectly normal output for a partition formatted as EXT3. I still have an old EXT3 partition and just checked it.
Interesting, as I have an external disk formatted to ext3 which does not show that when I run sudo blkid. See in red below. That is why I presumed a problem. Any idea why I don't see it that way on my system?:-

/dev/sda1: LABEL="Lucid" UUID="1a3edc2d-4fe7-49e6-8bcc-179e5d5df49f" TYPE="ext4"
/dev/sda2: LABEL="UbuntuHome" UUID="e2554df2-7e16-4864-97c9-834d8bebecda" TYPE="ext4"
/dev/sda5: UUID="1bfd912d-b6b6-4a68-9aaf-4139513772ec" TYPE="swap"
/dev/sdb1: LABEL="Kubuntu" UUID="414fc828-8f60-4f62-9a8e-2b7293b6e964" TYPE="ext4"
/dev/sdb2: LABEL="Lubuntu" UUID="0a3e01e7-ce77-4397-b72b-4c17c450a872" TYPE="ext4"
/dev/sdb3: LABEL="Mint11" UUID="09df0b0c-4956-42c1-b939-ed8783ab270c" TYPE="ext4"
/dev/sdb4: LABEL="Xubuntu" UUID="32fc1cd4-eebe-4931-acd8-96b622c6e316" TYPE="ext4"
/dev/sdd1: LABEL="Iomega" UUID="f020c7d0-9cef-4142-9269-63d8af2c6b11" TYPE="ext3"

[CharlesA]

Interesting, as I have an external disk formatted to ext3 which does not show that when I run sudo blkid. See in red below. That is why I presumed a problem. Any idea why I don't see it that way on my system?:-

/dev/sda1: LABEL="Lucid" UUID="1a3edc2d-4fe7-49e6-8bcc-179e5d5df49f" TYPE="ext4"
/dev/sda2: LABEL="UbuntuHome" UUID="e2554df2-7e16-4864-97c9-834d8bebecda" TYPE="ext4"
/dev/sda5: UUID="1bfd912d-b6b6-4a68-9aaf-4139513772ec" TYPE="swap"
/dev/sdb1: LABEL="Kubuntu" UUID="414fc828-8f60-4f62-9a8e-2b7293b6e964" TYPE="ext4"
/dev/sdb2: LABEL="Lubuntu" UUID="0a3e01e7-ce77-4397-b72b-4c17c450a872" TYPE="ext4"
/dev/sdb3: LABEL="Mint11" UUID="09df0b0c-4956-42c1-b939-ed8783ab270c" TYPE="ext4"
/dev/sdb4: LABEL="Xubuntu" UUID="32fc1cd4-eebe-4931-acd8-96b622c6e316" TYPE="ext4"
/dev/sdd1: LABEL="Iomega" UUID="f020c7d0-9cef-4142-9269-63d8af2c6b11" TYPE="ext3"

Different version of Ubuntu, maybe? I haven't used ext3 in a while, but from what I remember, my blkid showed the same as you.

[ajgreeny]

Different version of Ubuntu, maybe? I haven't used ext3 in a while, but from what I remember, my blkid showed the same as you.
I'm on 10.04, as you seem to be. But, yes, perhaps you're right. The versions of ubuntu showing these variable outputs may be different. It is only my external backup disk that is ext3, all the rest are ext4, as you can see.

[CharlesA]

I'm on 10.04, as you seem to be. But, yes, perhaps you're right. The versions of ubuntu showing these variable outputs may be different. It is only my external backup disk that is ext3, all the rest are ext4, as you can see.

Yep. I moved everything to ext4 a while ago, so I don't have anything to compare it with - that is, unless I want to boot a VM and play around. :p

[Miljet]

I don't think that it has to do with different versions of Ubuntu. I am running 10.04 also. I read something a good while back explaining why EXT3 also shows up as EXT2, but can't remember where I read it. I have done a little searching around but haven't found it yet. I will post it here if, and when, I find it.

[Miljet]

OK, here are a couple of links:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=914990
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ext3
I don't believe that either of these are what I originally read, but is the best I can come up with on short notice.

[ajgreeny]

I am sorry to keep this thread going, and I am aware that the OP's problem is now sorted out, but I started this confusion about the ext3/ext2 fstab entry, and yet I still can't see any answer to why some show both ext2 and ext3, and others just show ext3.

There must be a reason, surely, and I am just extremely curious.

Anybody???

[Miljet]

Like you, I am somewhat curious too. Actually we are talking about the output of the "blkid" command, not the fstab file.

Anyway, I have searched all my Ubuntu books and can not find an explanation. I am beginning to suspect that it depends on the disk type and what information it reports to the system. In other words, an IDE drive vs a SATA drive, or an external vs internal. But I can find absolutely nothing to support that theory.