Why do I have to reboot to use the USB ports?

[minesheep]

I'm not willing to go to 4.4 unless I have a good reason

Isn't it a good reason to your fix usb problem, you don't need to reinstall just use lite upgrade and it upgrades in about 2-60 minutes and should keep your own files untouched, but because anything can fail anytime it is recommended to make backup before. I have used lite upgrade for about 15 times and never had any problems with it

[Searchernow]

I'm not sure I understand what the problem is, but here goes:

I'm running LL 4.4 and when I log in with a usb flash drive already inserted it remains Unmounted, so I have 2 options -

1)  I right-click on the usb flash drive Icon on the desktop and select Mount

or

2) I withdraw the usb flash drive and re-insert it and it is Mounted by the system in a couple of seconds

I never thought this was a fault, just a feature of Linux with regard to mounting drives.

But maybe this is not the problem you are dealing with ....?

[Tyrannocaster]

It mounts fine; I just can't copy anything to it once I remove it and then reinsert it (or any other USB drive).

About upgrading to 4.4: Since apparently nobody else has ever had this problem with 4.0 I think there's a good chance I might upgrade to 4.4 and still have the issue. Upgrades make me nervous, especially when it comes to Linux. I would rather get another SSD and install the new one on it and keep this one; or I might just switch distros. So far, Bodhi seems to work with multiple USB disks.

Also, isn't 4.0 a long term release?

[minesheep]

What filesystem are you using and how did you format it?. ext filesystems need permissions to read and write. Try to right click the drive window where you see copy and paste and select "Open as administrator" enter your password and then you should be able to copy/move/delete files.

If you can access the drive with root account in thunar right click it again and select "Properties..." and allow write and read permissions from "Permissions" tab. Now it should work until you format it again.

Linux lite series 4 is based on ubuntu 18.04LTS. Series 4 means every version of linux lite 4.x. Linux lite 4.4 is based on ubuntu 18.04LTS because it's one version of series 4

[Tyrannocaster]

The flash drives are all formatted as FAT32, I believe.

But, BUT - I just tried using your recommended method of "Open as administrator" and this time it worked, so that is really great.
Like, REALLY GREAT. :-) However, when I try to remove the drive after copying a small file to it, it tells me there is data being copied and the drive is busy; that never went away even after waiting quite a while and I finally just told it to eject it anyway. Then I plugged it back in and checked the files, which were there. I copied another file to the flash drive using the Administrator window and again, it copied correctly but the system did not want to let me eject it ("Target is busy") and it didn't give me the "eject anyway" option. I finally just pulled it out of the port without ejecting it first, which I don't like to do. And then the next time I plugged it back in I was able to copy files to it without the Admin window! It seems like every time I start to get a handle on the problem it throws up something unexpected, which everybody hates.

But it brings up the question of why can I copy files to the flash drive okay when the system has been rebooted without having to use the Administrator window?

But thanks so much for that suggestion!

[Tyrannocaster]

It does appear that as long as I keep that Admin window open I can copy files to the drive, even if I can't copy them via a non-admin window. So for me, that seems like a workable solution.

Thanks!

[minesheep]

It does appear that as long as I keep that Admin window open I can copy files to the drive, even if I can't copy them via a non-admin window. So for me, that seems like a workable solution.

Thanks!

Why to not fix it permanently via the administrator window

If you can access the drive with root account in thunar right click it again and select "Properties..." and allow write and read permissions from "Permissions" tab. Now it should work until you format it again.

[Tyrannocaster]

Yes, that seems to work, although it requires an admin window, and it seems just as easy to just keep the admin window open (I have four virtual desktops, so it's not in the way). But it's an easy thing to do. What I wonder is why do the permissions get changed each time I unplug the USB drive? Should that happen?

[bitsnpcs]

Freedom isn't free.

+1 very deep, and wise words  8)

[Tyrannocaster]

Because that isn't a permanent fix; it will only last until I reboot. I've tried it.

Why to not fix it permanently via the administrator window
[quote author=minesheep link=topic=6395.msg46813#msg46813 date=1555838643]
If you can access the drive with root account in thunar right click it again and select "Properties..." and allow write and read permissions from "Permissions" tab. Now it should work until you format it again.

[/quote]