Hi there! Just put together my first gaming machine that runs Linux. The motherboard has three M.2 slots. Two of which are populated:
- 1TB Western Digital Black (boot)
- 2TB Samsung Evo (storage/backup)
I currently have Timeshift backing up to successfully to drive 2. However, I was going to try out Deja Dupe as a more granular backup solution and realized that I can’t see the 2nd drive when viewed through Files>Other Locations. GParted sees both:
- /dev/nvme1n1
- /dev/nvme0n1p1
In Deja Dupe I was able to manually type the backup destination in and it appears to have worked on initial backup. But I can’t see the drive via Files in order to verify.
Does Timeshift highjack the volume entirely for it’s own backup purposes? I couldn’t find anything anything that indicated that was the case. I did see some threads on that other site referencing a potential bug if it did NOT show up in GParted. But not what to do if it does.
Additionally, I built this machine in a Fractal Terra case and it has a USB C and a USB A port on the front of the case. I have a Lexar thumbdrive that has both plugs on it, one on each side. Occasionally I can get it recognized via A or C port, but most of the time the C port doesn’t work, period. The A port I just tried again and it doesn’t work. But I have the Logitech Unifying Receiver plugged into the same port right now that is communicating to my mouse and kb. The ports on the back are also now not working (they were before). I tested this same thumb drive on a Macbook Pro and it is recognized. In fact, this is the same drive I installed Pop from when I built the thing. I also used it to try out EndeavorOS.
For thoroughness I tried an external SSD I have via USB A and that is also not recognized. I’m not familiar enough with how Linux handles storage to understand what is happening. But it seems at least the internal NMVE is “working” but not visible outside of the automated Timeshift backup.
Any help would be appreciated. Or a log I can start looking at?
Oh, and I don’t know if it helps but Neofetch shows all the hardware correctly.
So, it looked like Timeshift did take over the drive. In Gnome disks it showed as mounted only as a Timeshift volume. The only way I could find to change it was to format the drive and remove it from Timeshift. Thankfully I have the critical data stored elsewhere, so no loss there. But I was able to get the drive recognized finally. USB drives I’m still testing. Some work, others don’t. Still working on narrowing down what that issue is. None of them appear in Disks though. But I don’t know if they should or not…
Multiple drives on Linux are a different ballgame than other OSs. And I JUST found that out. Lol. I hope this video helps. Give it a watch and see.
… that just blew my mind a bit, lol. Clearly I didn’t know either.
😂 don’t feel bad. I’ve been using Linux for almost 6 years and never knew this until I built my first PC ever last week and needed to add more drives. I was like wtf. I thought it was all like windows, but nope, there is a lot more to it
Don’t use Gparted unless you know what you are doing as it is relatively easy to screw up.
Gnome disks is a much more user friendly option and you don’t have to mess around with changing permissions as what changes you make in it are owned by the logged in user.
I use both. I only use gparted when I’m installed a distro. When I’m already in a distro, gnome disks is just amazing then. Very easy to use
Thanks for the tip! I only used it as it was suggested in a thread about missing drives.
