Mount external fat32 hdd destroyed all data

[dutcha]

PLEASE DO NOT MOUNT AN EXTERNAL FAT32 USB-HDD TO PC-BSD 9 , especially when it's backup-storage!!!

All data on the hdd is destroyed, this is my story.

Error nr 1:

Cannot mount volume.
Unable to mount the volume.

Details:
mount_msdosfs: /dev/msdosfs/ : Disk too big, try '-0 large' mount option: Invalid argument .


My solution:

# mkdir /media/usbdisk

# mount_msdosfs -o large /dev/da0s1 /media/usbdisk


Error nr 2:

Disk busy....

But then Nautilus started automatically and there are my files and folders.
After 1 minute the disk made a very familiar noise, the noise of... exactly, format-hdd.

I did not ask or gave the command for this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

All my business files from the organisation, my domain, website, contacts, email, marketing, graphics, software, clients and financial data... gone. Everything is really gone, 12Gb and a lot of work away in 60 seconds.

After screaming and slaming the door I started the logviewer, and this is the messages log:
__________________________________________________ ___

kernel: umass0: <vendor 0x05e3 USB TO IDE, class 0/0, rev 2.00/0.02, addr 2> on usbus3
Feb 14 00:29:05 bsd-x kernel: umass0: SCSI over Bulk-Only; quirks = 0x408c
Feb 14 00:29:05 bsd-x kernel: umass0:2:0:-1: Attached to scbus2
Feb 14 00:29:05 bsd-x kernel: da0 at umass-sim0 bus 0 scbus2 target 0 lun 0
Feb 14 00:29:05 bsd-x kernel: da0: <WDC WD20 00JB-19GVA0 0811> Fixed Direct Access SCSI-0 device
Feb 14 00:29:05 bsd-x kernel: da0: 40.000MB/s transfers
Feb 14 00:29:05 bsd-x kernel: da0: 190782MB (390721968 512 byte sectors: 255H 63S/T 24321C)
Feb 14 00:29:06 bsd-x amountd: CREATE da0
Feb 14 00:29:06 bsd-x amountd: CREATE da0s1
Feb 14 00:29:06 bsd-x amountd: CREATE msdosfs/
Feb 14 00:30:58 bsd-x su: kallee to root on /dev/pts/0
Feb 14 00:34:24 bsd-x amountd: DESTROY da0s1
Feb 14 00:34:24 bsd-x amountd: DESTROY msdosfs/
Feb 14 00:34:24 bsd-x amountd: CREATE da0s1
Feb 14 00:34:24 bsd-x amountd: CREATE msdosfs/
Feb 14 00:35:40 bsd-x amountd: DESTROY msdosfs/
Feb 14 00:36:41 bsd-x sudo: kallee : TTY=unknown ; PWD=/usr/home/kallee ; USER=root ; COMMAND=/usr/local/etc/amount/amount doCmd umount msdosfs /dev/da0s1 /media/usbdisk kallee
Feb 14 00:36:42 bsd-x amountd: CREATE msdosfs/
Feb 14 00:36:54 bsd-x sudo: kallee : TTY=unknown ; PWD=/usr/home/kallee ; USER=root ; COMMAND=/usr/local/etc/amount/amount doCmd mount msdosfs /dev/da0s1 /media/da0s1 kallee
Feb 14 00:36:54 bsd-x amountd: DESTROY msdosfs/
Feb 14 00:36:54 bsd-x amountd: CREATE msdosfs/
Feb 14 00:51:42 bsd-x dbus[1891]: [system] Rejected send message, 2 matched rules; type="method_call", sender=":1.58" (uid=1001 pid=7657 comm="nautilus ") interface="org.freedesktop.DBus.Properties" member="GetAll" error name="(unset)" requested_reply="0" destination=":1.4" (uid=0 pid=2201 comm="/usr/local/sbin/console-kit-daemon --no-daemon ")
Feb 14 00:52:07 bsd-x amountd: DESTROY da0
Feb 14 00:52:07 bsd-x kernel: ugen3.2: <vendor 0x05e3> at usbus3 (disconnected)
Feb 14 00:52:07 bsd-x kernel: umass0: at uhub3, port 3, addr 2 (disconnected)
Feb 14 00:52:07 bsd-x kernel: (da0:umass-sim0:0:0:0): lost device - 0 outstanding
Feb 14 00:52:07 bsd-x kernel: (da0:umass-sim0:0:0:0): removing device entry
Feb 14 00:52:07 bsd-x amountd: DESTROY da0s1
Feb 14 00:52:07 bsd-x amountd: DESTROY msdosfs/
Feb 14 00:52:11 bsd-x kernel: ugen1.2: <Z-Star Corp.> at usbus1 (disconnected)
Feb 14 00:53:42 bsd-x kernel: ugen3.2: <vendor 0x05e3> at usbus3
Feb 14 00:53:42 bsd-x kernel: umass0: <vendor 0x05e3 USB TO IDE, class 0/0, rev 2.00/0.02, addr 2> on usbus3
Feb 14 00:53:42 bsd-x kernel: umass0: SCSI over Bulk-Only; quirks = 0x408c
Feb 14 00:53:42 bsd-x kernel: umass0:2:0:-1: Attached to scbus2
Feb 14 00:53:42 bsd-x kernel: da0 at umass-sim0 bus 0 scbus2 target 0 lun 0
Feb 14 00:53:42 bsd-x kernel: da0: <WDC WD20 00JB-19GVA0 0811> Fixed Direct Access SCSI-0 device
Feb 14 00:53:42 bsd-x kernel: da0: 40.000MB/s transfers
Feb 14 00:53:42 bsd-x kernel: da0: 190782MB (390721968 512 byte sectors: 255H 63S/T 24321C)
Feb 14 00:53:42 bsd-x amountd: CREATE da0
Feb 14 00:53:42 bsd-x amountd: CREATE da0s1
Feb 14 00:53:42 bsd-x amountd: CREATE msdosfs/
Feb 14 00:55:02 bsd-x sudo: kallee : TTY=unknown ; PWD=/usr/home/kallee ; USER=root ; COMMAND=/usr/local/etc/amount/amount doCmd mount msdosfs /dev/da0s1 /media/da0s1 kallee
Feb 14 00:55:03 bsd-x amountd: DESTROY msdosfs/
Feb 14 00:55:03 bsd-x amountd: CREATE msdosfs/
Feb 14 01:02:45 bsd-x sudo: kallee : TTY=unknown ; PWD=/usr/home/kallee ; USER=root ; COMMAND=/usr/local/etc/amount/amount doCmd mount msdosfs /dev/da0s1 /media/da0s1 kallee
Feb 14 01:02:45 bsd-x amountd: DESTROY msdosfs/
Feb 14 01:02:45 bsd-x amountd: CREATE msdosfs/
Feb 14 01:03:41 bsd-x kernel: ugen3.2: <vendor 0x05e3> at usbus3 (disconnected)
Feb 14 01:03:41 bsd-x kernel: umass0: at uhub3, port 4, addr 2 (disconnected)
Feb 14 01:03:41 bsd-x kernel: (da0:umass-sim0:0:0:0): lost device - 0 outstanding
Feb 14 01:03:41 bsd-x kernel: (da0:umass-sim0:0:0:0): removing device entry
Feb 14 01:03:41 bsd-x amountd: DESTROY da0
Feb 14 01:03:41 bsd-x amountd: DESTROY da0s1
Feb 14 01:03:41 bsd-x amountd: DESTROY msdosfs/
__________________________________________________ ___


NOW I AM GOING TO TRY TO RESCUE MY COMPANIES FILES WITH A TRUSTED LINUX RESCUE DISK AND TESTDISK

Hopefully this warning will help other users: Do not use this O.S in a production environment. Good luck.

[mooreted2000]

Sorry to hear you had problems. I have mounted several different FAT32 drives and haven't had an issue with it.

I hope you get your files back.

[kmoore134]

That is a wild story.. I'm looking at the at the code for amountd here,
and while the CREATE/DESTROY labels are a bit disconcerting, nowhere in
the code does it have any functionality to do a "newfs" or "gpart" which
would overwrite or otherwise change your drive... Those keywords just
refer to mount-points being created / destroyed, which doesn't touch the
drive itself.

Just the simple act of mounting the disk shouldn't have written anything
to it.. Do you think perhaps nautilus had something to do with it?

FWIW, I've mounted lots of external FAT32 drives here, never had an issue.

[dutcha]

Well, maybe it's the risc of doing business in IT...

After a few days of work in a high-temperature-place allmost every byte from the external hdd is saved. There are a few files which I could not save, but that's the risc of testing and reviewing operating systems. So I am back again.

First I have saved the files to three different places, just in case...

Please do not ask me what exactly happened, I really don't know.
Tomorrow I will mount the HDD again, because this time I want to know what is going on.

Hopefully I can solve this case. Overall, PC-BSD is doing great.

[monsee]

I had problem to mount my external HD (NTFS file-system) on PC-BSD 9.0 x86_64 (XFCE desktop).
When I -finally- arrange to mount it, it appears totally empty: all "free space", nor directories, nor files at all.
... and I cannot umount at all, after this moment.
But my data was NOT destroyed: I proceed to shudown (by normally way) my PC and, after shutdown, remove my external HD from USB.
Then, I connect my external HD to my Windows XP (USB way, of course) and all my files stay here, save...
I think that -maybe- there is some problems on usage from USB-connected external-HDs in PC-BSD 9.0...
No problems at all for pen-drives and similar.
I have used my 2 pen-drive (FAT16 and FAT32 formatted) without any problem on my PC-BSD 9.0 x86_64 XFCE desktop.

[arrowdodger]

I bet it has something to do with nautilus.

[monsee]

I can uninstall Nautilus (and all related softwares), maybe, -because i don't need of it: I am using XFCE desktop- to see if all work good without Nautilus... Can help to better understand, this way?