mounting external HDD

lazylew

The newbee again.. Coming from Linux Mint Debian Edition.
I inserted a usb with an external HDD. All my data. I do see two parts in the file manager.
The first is the one with Timeshift (sort of back up for LMDE) that is clickable and all files open up.
The second one is called Elements and it says: Device Elements already mounted.
But, it´s not visible anywhere in the file manager..?

vimanuelt

lazylew

The message “Device Elements already mounted” means the system believes the drive is already mounted, but if you don’t see it in the file manager, it might be mounted in a non-standard location or there may be a permissions issue.

Let’s troubleshoot:

1. Check Where It's Mounted

Open a terminal and type:

mount

Look for a line mentioning Elements. It may show something like:

/dev/da1s2 on /media/Elements (msdosfs, local, nosuid, mounted by yourusername)

This tells you the exact mount point.

If it's not under /media/ or /mnt/, try:

ls /media
ls /mnt

2. Manually Open the Location

If it's mounted in /media/Elements, for example, but not visible in the file manager:

Open the file manager.
Press Ctrl+L to type in the location.
Enter: /media/Elements and press Enter.

3. Check Permissions

Sometimes the mount point is owned by root and your user can’t see the files. You can check with:

ls -ld /media/Elements

If it's owned by root, you might need to use sudo to access it, or adjust the permissions.

lazylew

vimanuelt mount shows a host of things, but none containing Elements.
ls /media does show Elements/, and
ls -id /media/Elements shows 361296 /media/Elements

I guess I have to do something with sudo chmod or so?

vimanuelt

lazylew
The fact that ls -id /media/Elements shows an inode means the mount point exists, and it might even be mounted correctly; but permissions are likely blocking your access.

Run this:ls -ld /media/Elements

If the permissions are drwx------, that means only root can access it.

lazylew

vimanuelt ls -ld /media/Elements gives drwxrwxr-x

vimanuelt

lazylew
Let’s make sure your user owns the folder or is in the correct group: ls -ld /media/Elements

Example output might look like: drwxrwxr-x 1 root operator 512 Apr 11 09:00 /media/Elements

If the owner is root, and the group is something like operator, then check your groups: groups

If you're not in the operator group, that could be why you can’t access the folder even with r-x permissions.

To add yourself to the group: sudo pw groupmod operator -m yourusername

Then log out and back in, or reboot, to apply group changes.

lazylew

vimanuelt In my case it says:
drwxrwxr-x 2 ludo wheel 2 Apr 10 22:55 /media/Elements/ which means I, Ludo, am the owner.
Nevertheless I did:

vimanuelt sudo pw groupmod wheel -m ludo

but rebooting still shows Unable to mount Elements Mount: device Elements already mounted

vimanuelt

By the way, this is not just a one-off bug, it reveals a gap between Unix roots and desktop expectations. The root of problems like inaccessible USB drives often stems from the multi-user server heritage of UNIX, which isn't always aligned with expectations of modern single-user desktops.

What UNIX was originally built for:

Multi-user time-sharing systems
Controlled environments with strict permissions
Mounting and device access handled by root
Security over convenience

What it wasn't designed for:
A user plugging in a USB stick and expecting it to “just work”
Graphical file managers needing transparent device access
Automatic filesystem detection and mounting with correct permissions
Decentralized hardware access without elevated privileges
So what happens on GhostBSD/FreeBSD?
Mounting still requires root unless vfs.usermount=1 is set.
Devices mount under /media with root ownership, unless explicitly handled.
There's no gvfs/udisks2 stack like on Linux desktops that mediates mount actions securely on behalf of users.

Linux solves this with a workaround:

udev + udisks2 + gvfs/gnome-mount/kde solid
Policies in /etc/polkit-1/rules.d to let desktop users mount USBs without root
Auto-created /media/username/ mountpoints with user permissions

FreeBSD and GhostBSD have devd and automount, but it's far more bare bones and sometimes fragile.

lazylew

vimanuelt Thanks for explaining; some of it is quite clear, some might be so in the future, after working with Unix some more :-)

vimanuelt

Giving passwordless sudo to a user gives them full root access without confirmation. Use this only if you trust the user (e.g., oneself) and the environment. :-)

How to Set Up Passwordless sudo for lazylew Using visudo

Open a terminal.

Run visudo as root.
This is the safe way to edit the sudoers file because it checks for syntax errors before saving:

   sudo visudo

Find the section that looks like this:

   # User privilege specification
   root    ALL=(ALL:ALL) ALL

Under that line, add:

   lazylew ALL=(ALL:ALL) NOPASSWD: ALL

Save and exit.
- If you're using the vi editor:
  - Press Esc
  - Type :wq
  - Press Enter
Done! Now lazylew can run any sudo command without entering a password.

lazylew

vimanuelt That´s a neat trick, thanks :-)

lazylew

vimanuelt This sudo -trick doesn´t seem to work all the time ?
Not that important; I don´t mind typing the password.

What I do find frustrating, is that I still cannot access any of my external disks with my data.

vimanuelt

I was going to suggest a usdiskie solution, but it does not exist on FreeBSD/GhostBSD. I will need to write a BSD tool mimicking it.

vimanuelt

Yes, much depends on how an app was designed to work.

lazylew

During the install there was a welcome message that said something about attracting new users with less technical skills, making it possible to provide them with a user friendly stable desktop - I can´t recall the exact text, but this was the spirit of it anyway.

Now I really don´t understand how it can be that a simple thing like plugging in a USB to reach my documents, music etcetera can be such a major hurdle. How can one call that a user friendly system?
I had high hopes for a FreeBSD system; it was too difficult for me in 2008 and GhostBSD seemed a doable new way of looking at things, but I feel like a technical dummy once again..

vimanuelt

lazylew
Yes. Submitting bug reports for each issue is the best way forward. Comments in forums will get you workarounds. If the workaround is not implemented as a bug fix or feature request, then we come to this situation.

To submit a bug report: ghostbsd/issuesissues/new?assignees=&labels=bug&template=bug_report.yaml :-)

To suggest a new feature: ghostbsd/issuesissues/new?assignees=&labels=feature&template=feature_request.yaml :-)

Robin

lazylew I feel like a technical dummy once again..

I have felt that way since Day One, even on this , the "friendliest" of the BSDs. But three things keep me pressing on:

GhostBSD has been so much leaner and quicker than my old Linux OSes
The ethical issues which drive many of my choices brought me to explore BSD
My experience has been almost completely trouble-free so far. Minor li'l issues only, easily solved.

Attracting new users with less technical skills is a goal of this project for sure, and it's making good progress towards that goal. But surely not "plug-'n'-play" ready yet.

In the community Xfce version I have had no trouble at all mounting USB drives to access file stored there.

I wonder if that may be useful to you somehow, if maybe the Xfce mixture has some stuff in it that the official MATE version doesn't.

lazylew

vimanuelt Meanwhile i reported it as a bug :-)

vimanuelt

Robin
It’s great to hear that you’ve had a largely smooth experience, that's a strong testament to how far GhostBSD has come! You also make an excellent point about the ethical motivations behind choosing BSD systems, many of us are here for similar reasons.

That said, while GhostBSD is making real strides toward being more user-friendly, it’s still a growing project that depends heavily on community input. If something isn’t working quite right, or if a feature seems missing, the best thing we can do is be proactive: file bug reports or feature requests as needed. Every contribution, no matter how small, helps refine the experience not just for ourselves but for future users as well.

The difference you mentioned between the XFCE and MATE editions is interesting, definitely worth investigating further. It might hint at missing packages or differing defaults that could be resolved upstream.

Let’s keep the momentum going. Reporting issues and sharing what works is how we help GhostBSD evolve from "almost there" to "rock solid."

vimanuelt

lazylew
Great! It's far more effective to submit a proper bug report or feature request than to rely on workarounds here that never make it into GhostBSD itself.