Hard drive will not mount

[csias40]

Got this answer... on 2 computers:
Error mounting /dev/sdb2 at /media/tina/TOSHIBA EXT 4TB new: Command-line `mount -t "ntfs" -o "uhelper=udisks2,nodev,nosuid,uid=1000,gid=1000" "/dev/sdb2" "/media/tina/TOSHIBA EXT 4TB new"' exited with non-zero exit status 13: $MFTMirr does not match $MFT (record 0).
Failed to mount '/dev/sdb2': Input/output error
NTFS is either inconsistent, or there is a hardware fault, or it's a
SoftRAID/FakeRAID hardware. In the first case run chkdsk /f on Windows
then reboot into Windows twice. The usage of the /f parameter is very
important! If the device is a SoftRAID/FakeRAID then first activate
it and mount a different device under the /dev/mapper/ directory, (e.g.
/dev/mapper/nvidia_eahaabcc1). Please see the 'dmraid' documentation
for more details.
Is this fixable?  Someone unplugged it while copying files....Tried it on two different Linuc Lite computers.
If you  have an answer, please tell me what to copy paste into the terminal because I am limited in my understanding.

[stevef]

I'm guessing it is an NTFS format drive.  NTFS is a microsoft system.

If you you have a windows machine available and want to try a simple approach, it might be worth just plugging the drive into that.  Windows may detect the issue with NTFS and offer to scan and repair the file system.

[Şerban S.]

[...] Error mounting /dev/sdb2 at /media/tina/TOSHIBA EXT 4TB new: Command-line `mount -t "ntfs" -o "uhelper=udisks2,nodev,nosuid,uid=1000,gid=1000" "/dev/sdb2" "/media/tina/TOSHIBA EXT 4TB new"' exited with non-zero exit status 13: $MFTMirr does not match $MFT (record 0).
Failed to mount '/dev/sdb2': Input/output error [...]

Hi!

As I see it, there is more than one problem to solve.
1. Drive formatting.
You need to check the type of formatting. The error message, suggests that the drive was formatted on a UEFI firmware machine. That means that reading the drive on a BIOS firmware (that is: Intel T2330 Dual Core), will always lead to read errors, since the GPT partitioning format  is different from MSDOS partitioning format that is used by the T2330 laptop . So, use GPartEd to check the type of partitions the drive has. If the partitioning is GPT, there is only one approach possible: Backup the data on a different drive then reformat the drive with MSDOS partitioning system, THEN create new partitions, less then 4 TB, or else, you'll get formatting errors.
2. Filesystem
Assuming the drive partitioning system IS MSDOS, then the filesystem might be corrupted. See the previous post for fixing that:
https://www.linuxliteos.com/forums/hard-...n#msg58911
Unfortunately, you need to check the drive state in order to rule out a faulty drive, which might be the cause of the filesystem failure.
3. Drive state
I use a tiny program that allows me to check the drive state: HD Sentinel. Go to:
https://www.hdsentinel.com/hard_disk_sentinel_linux.php
Read the instructions, download the App and install it or simply use the CLI version and check the drive.
IF the drive IS HEALTHY, then it surely is a faulty filesystem and to fix it, you need to run chckdisk /f, as stated before.
The app will try to fix the errors. Might take a (very) long time though, especially if there were extensive damages to the FS.

As I said before, it is very important to check the type of partitioning system: is it GPT or is it MSDOS?
MSDOS, supports at most 3,6 TB partitions.
Only GPT supports drives and partitions larger than 3,6 TB.
Also, the 4 TB drive support on an MSDOS partitioning system, is debatable. Although in theory it is supported, in fact, you can only format about 80% of the drive, due to MSDOS intrinsic limitations. So, you will be able to create 4 partitions at about 900 GB each (= 3600 GB = 3,51 TB). Beyond that, the drive might get damaged or generate reading and/or formatting errors.
Usually, a 4 TB drive requires a GPT formatting and a UEFI capable machine and since the machine is a BIOS one, the solution is the one I presented above.
I previously had 1 TB, 2 TB, 3 TB drives. When I moved to 4 TB, I started having problems with the formatting so I had to give up some 800 GB in order to be able to use MSDOS partitioning.
I can fix this, since my previous machine was a BIOS (Lenovo T400) and now I have an UEFI machine. But this takes a long time...

Hope this wil help fixing the problems!

Best regards!

[csias40]

I will try to find someone with a windows computer.  Since it won't even mount, I can't even check it in any way.  Not sure what my machine is, but I have tried it on two different machines, both with Linux Lite.  For the record, it used to work on both of these machines.  It got locked up in a file transfer, and I had to shut the machine down.  Now it won't mount at all.

[trinidad]

If you you have a windows machine available and want to try a simple approach, it might be worth just plugging the drive into that

Your best choice here, however it may take quite a while to complete. There is some risk that the Windows machine may go BSOD because of a RAM shortage. We don't know how big of a file transfer it was, but you do relate that it locked up initially forcing a hard shutdown. That is most often caused by RAM shortage or an inconsistent connection. What is on the disk? Does it matter if any files on it are lost?

TC