USB hard drive read only access..

[mewkiss]

WipeOut wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I have just got a 500GB USB hard drive to do my backups to.. I was able 
> to partition and format the drive (ext3)..
>
> When re-plugging it in it auto mounted to /media/disk but it appears to 
> be read only.. I am unable to copy files to it or create directories on it..
>
> I have used USB flash drives in the past and have not had this problem...
>
> Anyone know why the drive is read only and how to fix it?
>
> Thanks..
>   
Can you write to your drive when you first mount it? I've seen this
problem discussed here and elsewhere but have yet to see a satisfactory
explanation or resolution. I have the same thing going on with a 320GB
external Seagate USB drive I recently picked up. What happens with mine
is that it is fine when first mounted but after a short period of
inactivity, it automatically becomes read-only again. And yes, I've made
myself the owner and have read-write permissions. Umounting and
remounting the drive makes it right again temporarily but it _always_
sets itself back to read-only after a short time. I could live with this
except that I would like to setup auto backups to occur while I'm
sleeping at night which is impossible now. The answer I'm seeking is...
what process is doing this, making the drive read-only after a period of
inactivity and how to tell it to cut it out?