problems with ext2 usb reader/writer

[Dapper Dan 0]

When I created a persistent /home directory with the Kanotix live cd on my usb reader/writer stick, it formatted it with ext2 rather than the fat32 it came with. This is great because I much prefer ext2. I also have other files on this device that I wish to access from my installed Fedora Core 1.

 

In Core 1, when the reader/writer was formatted with fat32, and I had it labled as fat32 in /etc/fstab, I could write:

 

mount /mnt/usbstick

 

in my .bash_profile, and it would mount it when I logged in to my desktop environment. Since it is now formatted as ext2, this no longer works. Here is it's respctive line as it presently appears in /etc/fstab..

 

Code:

/dev/sda1               /mnt/usbstick           ext2    user,noauto,umask=0   0 0

 

When I try to mount it using kwikdisk, or from the terminal as regular user with:

 

mount /mnt/usbstick/

 

I get:

 

Code:

mount: wrong fs type, bad option, bad superblock on /dev/sda1,       or too many mounted file systems

 

Although if I do as root:

 

mount/dev/sda1 /mnt/usbstick

 

It gets mounted and I have access to it at /mnt/usbstick, even though I haven't mounted /mnt/usbstick!

 

This has got me confused. Does anyone know whats going on here, and can someone suggest how I can get /mnt/usbstick to again mount automatically like when it was formatted with fat32?

 

Thanks for your help.

 

[danleff 0]

I think I may see the problem.

 

Change;

 

/dev/sda1 /mnt/usbstick ext2 user,noauto,umask=0 0 0

 

to;

 

/dev/sda1 /mnt/usbstick ext2 user,noauto 0 0

 

I believe the unmask option may be for vfat options only.

[Dapper Dan 0]

You're a life saver danleff! That fixed it! Thanks!

[martouf 0]

the good-for-testing manual equivalent of the line you had in your /etc/fstab is:

"mount -t ext2 -o user,noauto,umask=0 /dev/sda1 /mnt/usbstick"

 

So, if "mount -t ext2 /dev/sda1 /mnt/usbstick" works but the above does not, then ...

 

If danleff hadn't spotted the problem, I would have suggested building your way

up from the simplest (least options) manual mount and add options until it stop working.

 

That way you'd be able to zero in on the problem.