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My USB became unusable recently and I'm trying to fix it. I'm using Ubuntu 24.04 but the problem persists on older Ubuntu and Windows OS as well.

The symptoms: Upon plugging it in, the computer makes a sound and the device shows up in the dmesg list:

[503371.231982] usb 3-4: new high-speed USB device number 60 using xhci_hcd
[503371.363541] usb 3-4: New USB device found, idVendor=090c, idProduct=1000, bcdDevice=11.00
[503371.363553] usb 3-4: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
[503371.363556] usb 3-4: Product: Intenso Ultra Line
[503371.363560] usb 3-4: Manufacturer: SMI Technology
[503371.363562] usb 3-4: SerialNumber: 18010500003539
[503371.366805] usb-storage 3-4:1.0: USB Mass Storage device detected
[503371.367071] scsi host0: usb-storage 3-4:1.0

Similarly, I can see it in Disks, from here I can see that device is assigned /dev/sda. However, I cannot see, e.g. the Size and the only option that I have here for configuring its settings is Edit Mount Options.

enter image description here

But I cannot access the drive via command line nor file manager. I tried the obvious (different ports, machines, OS, made sure that the ports are working with other drives, etc.) and of course mounting via sudo mount /dev/sda /media/usb/

Here I get the error: mount: /media/usb: no medium found on /dev/sda.

Formatting the drive to set it back to working conditions is also an option but how can I do this when access is restricted?

I'm starting to think that the device might be physically damaged but if someone here has any further ideas, they are much appreciated, thanks!

graham
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dumbledore
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2 Answers2

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Try the following:

plug in the USB

Open a terminal.

Run in it:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install --reinstall gparted
sudo gparted

From Gparted select your USB.

Unmount it if it is mounted.

Create a new gpt partition table

Create a partition in the free space, ext4 system

Apply the changes.

Close Gparted

Close the terminal

Try to access the USB

kyodake
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It may be possible to salvage it. You will need an adapter to plug the USB into your smart-phone. I've done this and it actually worked several times when trying to format a USB that has a partition that can't be over-written with the standard formatting in Nautilus or Disks. Just plug the USB into the adapter and then the adapter into the phone and you should get a notification of a new USB device is plugged-in. At this point you should be able to format the USB. If it's salvageable, that should do it. If not, it's likely a "block" and should be retired.

gardengnome
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