Thread: Ubuntu 8.04 not detecting my USB drive???

So I've got a ton of USB devices (a 1TB external HD, an mp3 player USB key, etc.) and they all work fine... but then, I just recently got one that I can't get to work. It's a watch with USB storage on it.

When I plug it in, nothing happens. When I tail /var/log/messages, nothing pops up (usually, there's a message about such and such device showing up). Nothing. It works fine on a Windows laptop, so I know the device is not busted. How does one troubleshoot that? Normally, when things don't work and are troubleshootable, it at least notices that something is there that it fails to mount...

What format is the drive in?

Run ls in /dev/disk/by-uuid before plugging the watch in. Then plug it in and wait about ten seconds before running ls again. You should see a new symbolic link that points to the device's location. Try mounting it by hand (`mount /dev/disk/by-uuid/FOOBAR /mnt'). You might have to specify its filesystem's format.

No difference in /dev/disk/by-uuid - just my three regular partitions showing up.

Then I guess the Linux kernel isn't recognizing the hardware? Sorry, I have no clue why it's recognized on Windows but not Linux.

I've read some random reports of certain USB devices not being recognized in 8.04 (but working fine in 7.10), so I'll probably just have to wait it out. Maybe when I install the next long-term support version, it'll be there.