Cant open /etc/mtab for writing:: input/output error

[ChrisH]

Im using slackware 10.2 and I am having trouble mounting my USB drives all of a sudden.

When I try to browse the directory in Konqueror or anything else I get

Cant open /etc/mtab for writing: input/output error

It looks like this is happening when it is trying to be mounted as a manual mount yields the same result.

The USB drive has an entry in /etc/fstab and looking at dmesg it looks like fine.

So please help as Im stuck :P

[kingswood]

I was about to say, "Windows doesn't have an /etc/fstab file"-- but then realised you were talking Linux. Must have been that wine I had last night (rubs eyes again).

:-)

[ITWombat]

So Geoff does have days off

[ChrisH]

So Geoff does have days off

It would seem so

[openhgs]

This sounds suspiciously like an issue with the hal daemon. I've found trouble shooting this little monster to be impossible. Do what I do and take the easy route. Disable the hal daemon and mount your usb drives manually. Something like mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/usb should do he trick.

[Geoff]

how are you mounting your usb. are you using an automounter?

[ChrisH]

I tried the automounter and when that didnt work I tried manually from the console.

[Geoff]

what does the syslog say?

[ico2]

rm -f /etc/mtab; ln -s /proc/mounts /etc/mtab