Mounting an external HDD

[Kent Frazier]

> I'm trying to mount an external USB HDD (a USB enclosure with a HDD
> with Win partitions on it, which I need to get some data off).  I know
> that I need to do something along the lines of:
>
> $ mount -t vfat /dev/sd** /mnt/usbhd
>
> but I can't figure out how to tell which /dev/sd** my device connects to.
>
> Ubuntu is recognizing the device because dmesg gives me this:
>
> <blockquote>USB Mass Storage device found at 4
> usbcore: registered new driver usb-storage
> USB Mass Storage support registered.</blockquote>
>
> $ lshal also shows me that it has detected a Maxtor HDD via USB:

<snip>
> I apologize for my ignorance, but with all of this info I still can't
> figure out where to mount the drive.
>
> I tried $ mount -t usbfs /proc/bus/usb /mnt/usbhd
>
> I read in the wiki about sending in bugs to the hotplug system, but I
> don't know if this is a bug or just my ignorance.
>
> With HAL, aren't USB devices supposed to automagically mount/appear on
> desktop when plugged in?

Try looking in the Disks dialog under Computer>System Settings (under
Warty, System>System Settings under Hoary).  It should list all the
disks connected to the system, and you can then click the partitions
tab to see what the device name is.  Thats how I got mine working.  My
situation was a little different, as the hard drives I was using were
completely blank, but I think it should pop something onto your
desktop if there is data.  If it doesn't, you may be able to mount it
through the Disks dialog (didn't work for me, cause I had to fdisk it
first and make partitions) or use the command you first mentioned
(mount -t vfat /dev/sd** /mnt/usbhd) which should work.

Good luck.

Kent