[SOLVED] How to mount USB storage devices in 18.04?

[jpc2769]

Before I upgraded to 18.04, when I plugged in a USB storage device, I would get a prompt asking to open it in Dolphin, if I did that the device would mount. I could also open a Dolphin window and click on the unmounted USB storage in the list of disk drives (yes I know this is an anachronism) on the right.

Now, I get the same prompt, but when I click, it tells me "not authorized to mount this device."

I was planning to try running 18.04 from a USB image to see if a "clean" install would fix my problems, as some on the sister Ubuntu forum have suggested, but this is not actually possible if I cannot create a bootable USB stick with the image in the first place…

[GreyGeek]

Running 18.04, when I plug in a USB stick a opup in the system tray displays some options, one of which is to open with Dolphin. I click that and Dolphin does it thing, no passwords necessary.

Your installation of 18.04 is backfiring in so many ways it causes me to wonder just exactly what you did to install it AND what you did AFTER you installed it to make it so unpredictable. It is telling you that the device is owned by root, not you. How did you format that stick to begin with?

You can open a Konsole and "su -i" to root. Then, plug it in and use "fdisk -l" to list the devices and examine the list to see which /dev/sdX it is. Then you can change the ownership of the USB stick to yourname:yourname , exit root and close the Konsole. Then run Etcher (or what ever your burn software you are using)

[jpc2769]

I just upgraded with the upgrade tool, and accepted all the default options. Not sure where I went wrong. Somebody else told me that no one should do it that way, that for years now the only way to get a functioning update is to do a "clean" install. Which makes me wonder why upgrading is still even a thing…

I will try what you said a little later and let you know what happens, thank you!

[GreyGeek]

You're welcome!
FYI, who ever said that using the upgrade tool was a bad choice is spot on. About the only systems it works correctly on are vanilla ones, i.e., no special configs, apps, tools, compression, security blankets, etc. A clean install is ALWAYS better than an upgrade.

[jpc2769]

So on my f-ed up system, "-i" is not a valid option for "su". So I just typed "su" and my password, then plugged in the USB stick, tried to mount it, and "Computer says no."

[jpc2769]

I am wondering if this is what is causing my problem with the Yubikey as well, since it goes in the USB port…

[Snowhog]

So on my f-ed up system, "-i" is not a valid option for "su". So I just typed "su" and my password, then plugged in the USB stick, tried to mount it, and "Computer says no."

The command should be: sudo su -i

[jpc2769]

The command should be: sudo su -i

Thanks! Unfortunately, it still says that "-i" is not a valid option.

[Qqmike]

I'm also getting "not a valid option." man su. Maybe you mean -l (the lower case letter "ell")?

[GreyGeek]

sudo -i
is a valid option for sudo. I use it 100% of the time when I maintain my Btrfs.

From the sudo man pages:

   -i, --login
                 Run the shell specified by the target user's password database entry as a login shell.  This means that login-
                 specific resource files such as .profile or .login will be read by the shell.  If a command is specified, it is
                 passed to the shell for execution via the shell's -c option.  If no command is specified, an interactive shell
                 is executed.  sudo attempts to change to that user's home directory before running the shell.  The command is
                 run with an environment similar to the one a user would receive at log in.  The Command environment section in
                 the sudoers(5) manual documents how the -i option affects the environment in which a command is run when the
                 sudoers policy is in use.

:~$ sudo -i
[sudo] password for jerry:
root@jerry-Aspire-V3-771:~#

IF you can't do a simple "sudo -i" in a Konsole then your system is screwed up six ways to Sunday!

It appears to me that your system is so screwed up that attempting to repair it would not be worth the time or effort. Since you should not have to use root to access a USB stick and there doesn't appear to be a way to burn a fresh ISO (THAT YOU SHOULD CHECKSUM) if you can't burn one as a user and you can't su or sudo to root, then your only option is to borrow someone else's computer to download and burn a fresh ISO. IF you do that don't get tricky when you try to install it.

[Qqmike]

IF you can't do a simple "sudo -i" in a Konsole then your system is screwed up six ways to Sunday!

He was following Post #7:

The command should be:  sudo [B][COLOR=#ff0000]su[/COLOR][/B] -i

[jglen490]

sudo su -i doesn't work on mine. However sudo -i does work, as does sudo -s. I don't believe you can sudo an su command.

So if sudo -i does not work on the OP's machine, that's another indicator of a really bad upgrade.

[jglen490]

Just saw where GreyGeek gave you some good info on fixing wifi, in the other trhead. Hopefully that will fix that issue, but it remains to be seen what else still needs to be fixed. Keep a re-install in mind ...

[Qqmike]

I don't believe you can sudo an su command.

You sure can ... the very popular
sudo su
command!

[jglen490]

Oops, my bad, it just doesn't like an empty argument.