USB Sticks on Arch Linux

#linux #usb #storage #troubleshooting

Step 1: Identifying Your USB Device

Terminal Detection Methods

# Method 1: lsblk - List block devices
lsblk -f

# Method 2: dmesg - View kernel messages
sudo dmesg | tail -20

# Method 3: fdisk - Detailed partition info
sudo fdisk -l

Key indicators:

  • /dev/sdX (X = letter assignment)
  • Filesystem type (vfat)

Step 2: Mounting & Accessing Files

Manual Mounting

# Create mount point
mkdir ~/usb-drive

# Mount device (example for NTFS)
sudo mount -t ntfs /dev/sdX1 ~/usb-drive

# Access files
cd ~/usb-drive && ls

Unmounting Safely

# Unmount before removal
sudo umount ~/usb-drive

# Force unmount if busy
sudo umount -l ~/usb-drive  # Lazy unmount