Removeable filesystems are not automatically mounted during boot.

Bug #637979 reported by ShawnJGoff
30
This bug affects 5 people
Affects Status Importance Assigned to Milestone
One Hundred Papercuts
Opinion
Undecided
Unassigned
nautilus (Ubuntu)
Confirmed
Undecided
Unassigned
udev (Ubuntu)
Confirmed
Undecided
Unassigned

Bug Description

If a removable drive (such as a USB flash drive) is plugged in, it typically is automounted by Gnome. It is not automounted if the device is already plugged in during boot.

Story:
A user plugs in a flash drive and starts working. He gets on the plane, so he shuts down the system. Once the plane lands, the user boots up the system - the drive is no longer mounted. This violates the principle of least surprise. The user is forced to re-mount the drive through the disk utility or unplug and replug it (which can be a challenge depending on where the device is plugged in).

Revision history for this message
Rigved Rakshit (rigved) wrote :

My external hard disk is automatically mounted even when it is connected before the computer has started. So, it seems to be no problem.

Revision history for this message
Jack Leigh (leighman) wrote :

This used to happen -- regression in or since Maverick release

tags: added: maverick regression-release
Revision history for this message
Jack Leigh (leighman) wrote :

Seems to have been fixed for me by udev 162-2.2 from the proposed repository on Maverick ??

Revision history for this message
Chris Wilson (notgary-deactivatedaccount) wrote :

I am unable to reproduce this bug and I wonder if this is perhaps resulting form either an eccentricity in the setup of the OP or that the bug has indeed been fixed since it was reported. I am marking this as incomplete until further information can be obtained.

Changed in hundredpapercuts:
status: New → Incomplete
Changed in udev (Ubuntu):
status: New → Incomplete
Revision history for this message
Jack Leigh (leighman) wrote :

Still occurs for me, on and off. Seems to depend on how long boot takes?

Changed in udev (Ubuntu):
status: Incomplete → Confirmed
Changed in hundredpapercuts:
status: Incomplete → New
Revision history for this message
Jack Leigh (leighman) wrote : apport information

Architecture: i386
CustomUdevRuleFiles: 10-vboxdrv.rules
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 10.10
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 9.10 "Karmic Koala" - Release i386 (20091028.5)
MachineType: TOSHIBA Satellite A100
Package: udev 162-2.2
PackageArchitecture: i386
PccardctlIdent:
 Socket 0:
   no product info available
PccardctlStatus:
 Socket 0:
   no card
ProcCmdLine: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.35-24-generic-pae root=UUID=d1c27540-49ad-4002-8a84-9eba9c413cf1 ro quiet splash
ProcEnviron:
 PATH=(custom, user)
 LANG=en_GB.utf8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 2.6.35-24.42-generic-pae 2.6.35.8
Tags: maverick ubuntu-une
Uname: Linux 2.6.35-24-generic-pae i686
UserGroups: adm admin cdrom dialout lpadmin plugdev sambashare
dmi.bios.date: 07/12/2007
dmi.bios.vendor: Phoenix Technologies LTD
dmi.bios.version: 6.00
dmi.board.name: CAPELL VALLEY(NAPA) CRB
dmi.board.vendor: Intel Corporation
dmi.board.version: Not Applicable
dmi.chassis.asset.tag: No Asset Tag
dmi.chassis.type: 1
dmi.chassis.vendor: No Enclosure
dmi.chassis.version: N/A
dmi.modalias: dmi:bvnPhoenixTechnologiesLTD:bvr6.00:bd07/12/2007:svnTOSHIBA:pnSatelliteA100:pvrPSAANE-02C02EEN:rvnIntelCorporation:rnCAPELLVALLEY(NAPA)CRB:rvrNotApplicable:cvnNoEnclosure:ct1:cvrN/A:
dmi.product.name: Satellite A100
dmi.product.version: PSAANE-02C02EEN
dmi.sys.vendor: TOSHIBA

tags: added: apport-collected
Revision history for this message
Jack Leigh (leighman) wrote : BootDmesg.txt

apport information

Revision history for this message
Jack Leigh (leighman) wrote : CurrentDmesg.txt

apport information

Revision history for this message
Jack Leigh (leighman) wrote : Dependencies.txt

apport information

Revision history for this message
Jack Leigh (leighman) wrote : Lspci.txt

apport information

Revision history for this message
Jack Leigh (leighman) wrote : Lsusb.txt

apport information

Revision history for this message
Jack Leigh (leighman) wrote : ProcCpuinfo.txt

apport information

Revision history for this message
Jack Leigh (leighman) wrote : ProcInterrupts.txt

apport information

Revision history for this message
Jack Leigh (leighman) wrote : ProcModules.txt

apport information

Revision history for this message
Jack Leigh (leighman) wrote : UdevDb.txt

apport information

Revision history for this message
Jack Leigh (leighman) wrote : UdevLog.txt

apport information

Revision history for this message
Chris Wilson (notgary-deactivatedaccount) wrote :

I think that automatically mounting external volumes is a dangerous thing to do since it would mean *everything* would be mounted, including other partitions on the disk that the user would perhaps not want mounted by default, such as the systems root partition that may be mounted under a live session.

Revision history for this message
Jack Leigh (leighman) wrote :

Its always been the default behaviour.
The most likely use-case is a USB stick or external drive with documents/music/photos on, which the user want to access from login And they don't want programs to start undoing their libraries when they open and can't find the files.

Revision history for this message
Jack Leigh (leighman) wrote :

hundredpapercuts task changed as per duplicate

Changed in hundredpapercuts:
status: New → Opinion
Revision history for this message
phonixor (phonixor) wrote :

As i wrote in:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/hundredpapercuts/+bug/696130

the partitions/usb should not be mounted if plugged in... only if someone or something ask for it...
- this can be a user clicking in nautilus
- a user clicking on a shortcut (pointing to something on a plugged in but still unmounted usb)
- or a program... like transmission, trying to find if something is already downloaded...
it should not only mount if the user ask so...
it should not mount if there is no need for it i guess... (don't really see a problem with just mounting... as the device is already plugged in... if users dont want the device checked out... don't plug it in... but i don't know my stuff on this subject :P... this is up for opinion.... the fact that it should be mounted if something ask for it ... shouldn't... it should just work...)
(maybe not mounting saves power?, if that is the case... if a device is no longer used for over 5 minutes, it should turn off again... (the default time is currently way longer... i think...))

Revision history for this message
Launchpad Janitor (janitor) wrote :

Status changed to 'Confirmed' because the bug affects multiple users.

Steve Langasek (vorlon)
affects: mountall (Ubuntu) → nautilus (Ubuntu)
Changed in nautilus (Ubuntu):
status: New → Confirmed
Changed in nautilus (Ubuntu):
status: New → Confirmed
Revision history for this message
cat (netcat-z) wrote :

It happens every time I boot the pc with USB drive plugged in. I have to unplug it and plug it in again. I use Ubuntu 12.04 with gnome-shell.

To post a comment you must log in.
This report contains Public information  
Everyone can see this information.

Duplicates of this bug

Other bug subscribers

Remote bug watches

Bug watches keep track of this bug in other bug trackers.