Strugguling with live usb maker [Solved]

[1nky]

Hi
I have been trying to make a live USB with the mx tool on my installed system from an iso that i created from the installed and set up system. The more i have read up and watched the more confused I have become. The tool behaves some what differently in terms of when it fails but the logs and dmesg are pretty much the same every time. I have tried to use some of the flags in the advanced settings and none of them and also formatting the usb to different formats none of which helped, at one point the drive would no longer mount and I had to restart and luckily able to reformat. Some things I noticed are when I look at the app properties> permissions there is no execute for my user if I run it as root I get message's that say not a valid path or similar, the app does ask for a password before executing(as my user) so seems right. The drive is a 982Gb aluminium body newish USB 2 or 3. I wish to use the the snapshot iso as a back up and on another usb as a portable system, but I can't get passed the make live USB without it failing.
Please could some one explain wtf I'm not getting or understanding about how this works, and perhaps explain it in a very basic way.
I've added the logs from the live usb maker as well ....
Thanks

Code: Select all

Snapshot created on: 20250225_1534
System:
  Kernel: 6.11.10-1-liquorix-amd64 [6.11-15~mx23ahs] arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 12.2.0 parameters: audit=0
    intel_pstate=disable BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-6.11.10-1-liquorix-amd64 root=UUID=<filter> ro
    quiet splash resume=UUID=<filter> resume_offset=113326080
  Desktop: KDE Plasma v: 5.27.5 wm: kwin_x11 vt: 7 dm: SDDM Distro: MX-23.5_KDE_x64 Libretto
    September 15 2024 base: Debian GNU/Linux 12 (bookworm)
Machine:
  Type: Desktop System: Micro-Star product: MS-7E27 v: 1.0 serial: <superuser required>
  Mobo: Micro-Star model: PRO B650M-P (MS-7E27) v: 1.0 serial: <superuser required> UEFI: American
    Megatrends LLC. v: 1.D1 date: 10/22/2024
Battery:
  Device-1: hidpp_battery_0 model: Logitech M350 Wireless Mouse serial: <filter> charge: 100%
    (should be ignored) rechargeable: yes status: discharging
CPU:
  Info: model: AMD Ryzen 7 7700X bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Zen 4 gen: 5 level: v4 note: check
    built: 2022+ process: TSMC n5 (5nm) family: 0x19 (25) model-id: 0x61 (97) stepping: 2
    microcode: 0xA601209
  Topology: cpus: 1x cores: 8 tpc: 2 threads: 16 smt: enabled cache: L1: 512 KiB
    desc: d-8x32 KiB; i-8x32 KiB L2: 8 MiB desc: 8x1024 KiB L3: 32 MiB desc: 1x32 MiB
  Speed (MHz): avg: 845 high: 5350 min/max: 545/5573 boost: enabled scaling:
    driver: amd-pstate-epp governor: performance cores: 1: 545 2: 545 3: 545 4: 545 5: 545 6: 545
    7: 545 8: 5350 9: 545 10: 545 11: 545 12: 545 13: 545 14: 545 15: 545 16: 545 bogomips: 144000
  Flags: avx avx2 ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 sse4a ssse3 svm
  Vulnerabilities:
  Type: gather_data_sampling status: Not affected
  Type: itlb_multihit status: Not affected
  Type: l1tf status: Not affected
  Type: mds status: Not affected
  Type: meltdown status: Not affected
  Type: mmio_stale_data status: Not affected
  Type: reg_file_data_sampling status: Not affected
  Type: retbleed status: Not affected
  Type: spec_rstack_overflow mitigation: Safe RET
  Type: spec_store_bypass mitigation: Speculative Store Bypass disabled via prctl
  Type: spectre_v1 mitigation: usercopy/swapgs barriers and __user pointer sanitization
  Type: spectre_v2 mitigation: Enhanced / Automatic IBRS; IBPB: conditional; STIBP: always-on;
    RSB filling; PBRSB-eIBRS: Not affected; BHI: Not affected
  Type: srbds status: Not affected
  Type: tsx_async_abort status: Not affected
Graphics:
  Device-1: NVIDIA GA104 [GeForce RTX 3070] vendor: ZOTAC driver: nvidia v: 535.216.03
    non-free: 530.xx+ status: current (as of 2023-03) arch: Ampere code: GAxxx process: TSMC n7 (7nm)
    built: 2020-22 pcie: gen: 1 speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 16 link-max: gen: 4 speed: 16 GT/s
    bus-ID: 01:00.0 chip-ID: 10de:2484 class-ID: 0300
  Device-2: AMD Raphael vendor: Micro-Star MSI driver: amdgpu v: kernel arch: RDNA-2
    code: Navi-2x process: TSMC n7 (7nm) built: 2020-22 pcie: gen: 4 speed: 16 GT/s lanes: 16 ports:
    active: none empty: DP-1, DP-2, DP-3, HDMI-A-1, Writeback-1 bus-ID: 10:00.0 chip-ID: 1002:164e
    class-ID: 0300 temp: 40.0 C
  Display: x11 server: X.Org v: 1.21.1.7 with: Xwayland v: 22.1.9 compositor: kwin_x11 driver: X:
    loaded: amdgpu,nvidia unloaded: fbdev,modesetting,nouveau,vesa alternate: nv dri: radeonsi
    gpu: nvidia,amdgpu display-ID: :0 screens: 1
  Screen-1: 0 s-res: 1280x1024 s-dpi: 85 s-size: 382x302mm (15.04x11.89") s-diag: 487mm (19.17")
  Monitor-1: HDMI-0 res: 1280x1024 hz: 60 dpi: 86 size: 376x301mm (14.8x11.85")
    diag: 482mm (18.96") modes: N/A
  API: OpenGL v: 4.6.0 NVIDIA 535.216.03 renderer: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070/PCIe/SSE2
    direct-render: Yes
Audio:
  Device-1: NVIDIA GA104 High Definition Audio vendor: ZOTAC driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel pcie:
    gen: 4 speed: 16 GT/s lanes: 16 bus-ID: 01:00.1 chip-ID: 10de:228b class-ID: 0403
  Device-2: AMD Rembrandt Radeon High Definition Audio vendor: Micro-Star MSI
    driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel pcie: gen: 4 speed: 16 GT/s lanes: 16 bus-ID: 10:00.1
    chip-ID: 1002:1640 class-ID: 0403
  Device-3: AMD Family 17h/19h HD Audio vendor: Micro-Star MSI driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel
    pcie: gen: 4 speed: 16 GT/s lanes: 16 bus-ID: 10:00.6 chip-ID: 1022:15e3 class-ID: 0403
  API: ALSA v: k6.11.10-1-liquorix-amd64 status: kernel-api tools: alsamixer,amixer
  Server-1: PipeWire v: 1.0.0 status: active with: 1: pipewire-pulse status: active
    2: wireplumber status: active 3: pipewire-alsa type: plugin 4: pw-jack type: plugin
    tools: pactl,pw-cat,pw-cli,wpctl
Network:
  Device-1: Realtek RTL8125 2.5GbE vendor: Micro-Star MSI driver: r8169 v: kernel pcie: gen: 2
    speed: 5 GT/s lanes: 1 port: e000 bus-ID: 0c:00.0 chip-ID: 10ec:8125 class-ID: 0200
  IF: eth0 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter>
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 1.43 TiB used: 210.07 GiB (14.4%)
  SMART Message: Unable to run smartctl. Root privileges required.
  ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 maj-min: 259:0 vendor: Western Digital model: PC SN730 SDBPNTY-512G-1006
    size: 476.94 GiB block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 31.6 Gb/s lanes: 4 type: SSD
    serial: <filter> rev: HPS2 temp: 36.9 C scheme: GPT
  ID-2: /dev/sda maj-min: 8:0 type: USB model: N/A size: 982.42 GiB block-size: physical: 512 B
    logical: 512 B type: N/A serial: <filter> rev: 2.00 scheme: MBR
  SMART Message: Unknown USB bridge. Flash drive/Unsupported enclosure?
Partition:
  ID-1: / raw-size: 476.69 GiB size: 468.13 GiB (98.21%) used: 210.07 GiB (44.9%) fs: ext4
    dev: /dev/nvme0n1p2 maj-min: 259:2
  ID-2: /boot/efi raw-size: 256 MiB size: 252 MiB (98.46%) used: 274 KiB (0.1%) fs: vfat
    dev: /dev/nvme0n1p1 maj-min: 259:1
Swap:
  Kernel: swappiness: 15 (default 60) cache-pressure: 100 (default)
  ID-1: swap-1 type: file size: 53.16 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) priority: -2 file: /swap/swap
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 43.8 C mobo: 30.2 C
  Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A
  GPU: device: nvidia screen: :0.0 temp: 40 C fan: 0% device: amdgpu temp: 39.0 C
Repos:
  Packages: pm: dpkg pkgs: 2753 libs: 1500 tools: apt,apt-get,aptitude,nala pm: rpm pkgs: 0
    pm: flatpak pkgs: 0
  No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian-stable-updates.list
    1: deb http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm-updates main contrib non-free non-free-firmware
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian.list
    1: deb http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm main contrib non-free non-free-firmware
    2: deb http://security.debian.org/debian-security bookworm-security main contrib non-free non-free-firmware
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mx.list
    1: deb http://mxlinux.mirrors.uk2.net/packages/mx/repo/ bookworm main non-free
    2: deb http://mxlinux.mirrors.uk2.net/packages/mx/repo/ bookworm ahs
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/vscodium.list
    1: deb [ signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/vscodium-archive-keyring.gpg ] https://paulcarroty.gitlab.io/vscodium-deb-rpm-repo/debs vscodium main
Info:
  Processes: 330 Uptime: 6h 8m wakeups: 23 Memory: 46.17 GiB used: 4.14 GiB (9.0%) Init: SysVinit
  v: 3.06 runlevel: 5 default: graphical tool: systemctl Compilers: gcc: 12.2.0 alt: 11/12
  Client: shell wrapper v: 5.2.15-release inxi: 3.3.26
Boot Mode: UEFI

live usb

Code: Select all

=====================================================================
/usr/local/bin/live-usb-maker gui partition-clear -NC off --target sdc
        program: live-usb-maker
        started: Fri 27 Dec 01:31:10 GMT 2024
        version: 2.41.19-2302 (Sat, 25 Feb 2023 12:45:10 -0500)
         kernel: 6.11.10-1-liquorix-amd64
             OS: MX 23.4_KDE (Libretto)
      found lib: /usr/local/lib/cli-shell-utils/cli-shell-utils.bash
    lib version: 2.41.05-2302 (Sat, 25 Feb 2023 12:45:10 -0500)
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Found man page: live-usb-maker.1
Will use target device sdc (14.3G SanDisk Cruzer Blade)
Will use source  null
Ready to perform partition-clear action on sdc

>> partition-clear
Total bytes: 15376318464
Total blocks: 30031872
 > dd status=none if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sdc bs=512 count=34
 > dd status=none if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sdc bs=512 count=34 seek=64
 > dd status=none conv=notrunc if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sdc bs=512 count=34 seek=30031838
 > partprobe /dev/sdc
>> done


=====================================================================
/usr/local/bin/live-usb-maker gui -N -p -g -C off --from=/home/snapshot/snapshot-20250225_1531.iso -t /dev/sda
        program: live-usb-maker
        started: Tue 25 Feb 18:44:04 GMT 2025
        version: 2.41.19-2302 (Sat, 25 Feb 2023 12:45:10 -0500)
         kernel: 6.11.10-1-liquorix-amd64
             OS: MX 23.5_KDE (Libretto)
      found lib: /usr/local/lib/cli-shell-utils/cli-shell-utils.bash
    lib version: 2.41.05-2302 (Sat, 25 Feb 2023 12:45:10 -0500)
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Found man page: live-usb-maker.1
PRETEND MODE ENABLED
Will use target device /dev/sda (3.8G SCSI DISK)
Will use source file /home/snapshot/snapshot-20250225_1531.iso
Found grub config 2.0
Estimated extfs overhead for 3797M is 7M

                    Total      Used       Extra
   entire drive  3.76 GiB 3.76 GiB       1 MiB
 main partition  3.71 GiB 20.2 GiB  -16935 MiB
 uefi partition    50 MiB   32 MiB      18 MiB

Warning: Not enough space on main partition
Warning: Less than 20 MiB would remain on main partition
Already using over 900f the device
Error: Not enough space on ext partition

=====================================================================
/usr/local/bin/live-usb-maker gui -N -g --data-first=25,exfat -C off --from=/home/snapshot/snapshot-20250225_1531.iso -t /dev/sda
        program: live-usb-maker
        started: Wed  5 Mar 15:55:42 GMT 2025
        version: 2.41.19-2302 (Sat, 25 Feb 2023 12:45:10 -0500)
         kernel: 6.11.10-1-liquorix-amd64
             OS: MX 23.5_KDE (Libretto)
      found lib: /usr/local/lib/cli-shell-utils/cli-shell-utils.bash
    lib version: 2.41.05-2302 (Sat, 25 Feb 2023 12:45:10 -0500)
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Found man page: live-usb-maker.1
Will use target device /dev/sda (982.4G VendorCo ProductCode)
Will use source file /home/snapshot/snapshot-20250225_1531.iso
Found grub config 2.0
Estimated extfs overhead for 754449M is 44M

                   Total      Used    Extra
   entire drive  982 GiB  982 GiB    0 MiB
 data partition  245 GiB    0 MiB  245 GiB
 main partition  736 GiB 20.3 GiB  716 GiB
 uefi partition   50 MiB   32 MiB   18 MiB

Will create a leading exfat data partition
Ready to make live-usb on device sda
... by copying file /home/snapshot/snapshot-20250225_1531.iso

>> partition-clear
Total bytes: 1054867456000
Total blocks: 2060288000
 > dd status=none if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda bs=512 count=34
 > dd status=none if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda bs=512 count=34 seek=64
 > dd status=none conv=notrunc if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda bs=512 count=34 seek=2060287966
 > partprobe /dev/sda

>> partition-make
Using gpt partitioning
 > parted --script --align optimal /dev/sda unit MiB mklabel gpt
 > dd status=none if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda seek=1024 bs=1K count=128
 > parted --script --align optimal /dev/sda unit MiB mkpart primary 1 251500
 > dd status=none if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda seek=257536000 bs=1K count=128
 > parted --script --align optimal /dev/sda unit MiB mkpart primary 251500 1005948
 > parted --script --align optimal /dev/sda unit MiB set 2 legacy_boot on
 > dd status=none if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda seek=1030090752 bs=1K count=128
 > parted --script --align optimal /dev/sda unit MiB mkpart primary 1005948 1005997
 > parted --script --align optimal /dev/sda unit MiB set 3 esp on
 > partprobe /dev/sda

>> makefs-data
 > wait_for_file /dev/sda1

>> makefs-data
Make exfat filesystem
 > mkfs.exfat -n USB-DATA /dev/sda1
exfatprogs version : 1.2.0
Creating exFAT filesystem(/dev/sda1, cluster size=131072)

Writing volume boot record: done
Writing backup volume boot record: done
Fat table creation: done
Allocation bitmap creation: done
Upcase table creation: done
Writing root directory entry: done
Synchronizing...

exFAT format complete!
 > partprobe /dev/sda1
Error: Partition(s) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64 on /dev/sda1 have been written, but we have been unable to inform the kernel of the change, probably because it/they are in use.  As a result, the old partition(s) will remain in use.  You should reboot now before making further changes.
 > wait_for_file /dev/sda2

>> makefs-bios
 > mkfs.ext4 -O ^64bit -m0 -i16384 -J size=32 /dev/sda2
mke2fs 1.47.0 (5-Feb-2023)
64-bit filesystem support is not enabled.  The larger fields afforded by this feature enable full-strength checksumming.  Pass -O 64bit to rectify.
Creating filesystem with 193138688 4k blocks and 48291840 inodes
Filesystem UUID: b8f1f347-40bf-495d-b565-fcd43e072174
Superblock backups stored on blocks: 
	32768, 98304, 163840, 229376, 294912, 819200, 884736, 1605632, 2654208, 
	4096000, 7962624, 11239424, 20480000, 23887872, 71663616, 78675968, 
	102400000

Allocating group tables:    0/5895         done                            
Writing inode tables:    0/5895         done                            
Creating journal (8192 blocks): done
Writing superblocks and filesystem accounting information:    0/5895         done

 > tune2fs -L Live-usb /dev/sda2
tune2fs: Bad magic number in super-block while trying to open /dev/sda2
tune2fs 1.47.0 (5-Feb-2023)
 > wait_for_file /dev/sda3

>> makefs-uefi
 > mkfs.vfat -F 32 -n LIVE-UEFI /dev/sda3
mkfs.fat 4.2 (2021-01-31)
 > partprobe /dev/sda
Error: The backup GPT table is corrupt, but the primary appears OK, so that will be used.
 > wait_for_file /dev/sda2
 > mkdir -p /run/live-usb-maker/main
 > mount -t ext4 /dev/sda2 /run/live-usb-maker/main
mount: /run/live-usb-maker/main: wrong fs type, bad option, bad superblock on /dev/sda2, missing codepage or helper program, or other error.
       dmesg(1) may have more information after failed mount system call.
Error: Could not mount /dev/sda2 at /run/live-usb-maker/main


=====================================================================
/usr/local/bin/live-usb-maker gui -N --data-first=30,exfat -C off --from=/home/snapshot/snapshot-20250225_1531.iso -t /dev/sda
        program: live-usb-maker
        started: Wed  5 Mar 16:09:22 GMT 2025
        version: 2.41.19-2302 (Sat, 25 Feb 2023 12:45:10 -0500)
         kernel: 6.11.10-1-liquorix-amd64
             OS: MX 23.5_KDE (Libretto)
      found lib: /usr/local/lib/cli-shell-utils/cli-shell-utils.bash
    lib version: 2.41.05-2302 (Sat, 25 Feb 2023 12:45:10 -0500)
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Found man page: live-usb-maker.1
Will use target device /dev/sda (982.4G VendorCo ProductCode)
Will use source file /home/snapshot/snapshot-20250225_1531.iso
Found grub config 2.0
Estimated extfs overhead for 704149M is 44M

                   Total      Used    Extra
   entire drive  982 GiB  982 GiB    0 MiB
 data partition  294 GiB    0 MiB  294 GiB
 main partition  687 GiB 20.3 GiB  667 GiB
 uefi partition   50 MiB   32 MiB   18 MiB

Will create a leading exfat data partition
Ready to make live-usb on device sda
... by copying file /home/snapshot/snapshot-20250225_1531.iso

>> partition-clear
Total bytes: 1054867456000
Total blocks: 2060288000
 > dd status=none if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda bs=512 count=34
 > dd status=none if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda bs=512 count=34 seek=64
 > dd status=none conv=notrunc if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda bs=512 count=34 seek=2060287966
 > partprobe /dev/sda

>> partition-make
Using msdos partitioning
 > parted --script --align optimal /dev/sda unit MiB mklabel msdos
 > dd status=none if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda seek=1024 bs=1K count=128
 > parted --script --align optimal /dev/sda unit MiB mkpart primary 1 301800
 > dd status=none if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda seek=309043200 bs=1K count=128
 > parted --script --align optimal /dev/sda unit MiB mkpart primary 301800 1005948
 > parted --script --align optimal /dev/sda unit MiB set 2 boot on
 > dd status=none if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda seek=1030090752 bs=1K count=128
 > parted --script --align optimal /dev/sda unit MiB mkpart primary 1005948 1005997
 > parted --script --align optimal /dev/sda unit MiB set 3 esp on
 > partprobe /dev/sda

>> makefs-data
 > wait_for_file /dev/sda1

>> makefs-data
Make exfat filesystem
 > mkfs.exfat -n USB-DATA /dev/sda1
exfatprogs version : 1.2.0
Creating exFAT filesystem(/dev/sda1, cluster size=131072)

Writing volume boot record: done
Writing backup volume boot record: done
Fat table creation: done
Allocation bitmap creation: done
Upcase table creation: done
Writing root directory entry: done
Synchronizing...

exFAT format complete!
 > partprobe /dev/sda1
Error: Partition(s) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64 on /dev/sda1 have been written, but we have been unable to inform the kernel of the change, probably because it/they are in use.  As a result, the old partition(s) will remain in use.  You should reboot now before making further changes.
 > wait_for_file /dev/sda2

>> makefs-bios
 > mkfs.ext4 -O ^64bit -m0 -i16384 -J size=32 /dev/sda2
mke2fs 1.47.0 (5-Feb-2023)
64-bit filesystem support is not enabled.  The larger fields afforded by this feature enable full-strength checksumming.  Pass -O 64bit to rectify.
Creating filesystem with 180261888 4k blocks and 45072384 inodes
Filesystem UUID: 7f95bf54-8b19-45b8-8d0c-d6ed325b7e6f
Superblock backups stored on blocks: 
	32768, 98304, 163840, 229376, 294912, 819200, 884736, 1605632, 2654208, 
	4096000, 7962624, 11239424, 20480000, 23887872, 71663616, 78675968, 
	102400000

Allocating group tables:    0/5502         done                            
Writing inode tables:    0/5502         done                            
Creating journal (8192 blocks): done
Writing superblocks and filesystem accounting information:    0/5502         done

 > tune2fs -L Live-usb /dev/sda2
tune2fs: Bad magic number in super-block while trying to open /dev/sda2
tune2fs 1.47.0 (5-Feb-2023)
 > wait_for_file /dev/sda3

>> makefs-uefi
 > mkfs.vfat -F 32 -n LIVE-UEFI /dev/sda3
mkfs.fat 4.2 (2021-01-31)
 > partprobe /dev/sda
 > wait_for_file /dev/sda2
 > mkdir -p /run/live-usb-maker/main
 > mount -t ext4 /dev/sda2 /run/live-usb-maker/main
mount: /run/live-usb-maker/main: wrong fs type, bad option, bad superblock on /dev/sda2, missing codepage or helper program, or other error.
       dmesg(1) may have more information after failed mount system call.
Error: Could not mount /dev/sda2 at /run/live-usb-maker/main


=====================================================================
/usr/local/bin/live-usb-maker gui -N --label=sda2 -C off --from=/home/snapshot/snapshot-20250225_1531.iso -t /dev/sda
        program: live-usb-maker
        started: Wed  5 Mar 16:12:58 GMT 2025
        version: 2.41.19-2302 (Sat, 25 Feb 2023 12:45:10 -0500)
         kernel: 6.11.10-1-liquorix-amd64
             OS: MX 23.5_KDE (Libretto)
      found lib: /usr/local/lib/cli-shell-utils/cli-shell-utils.bash
    lib version: 2.41.05-2302 (Sat, 25 Feb 2023 12:45:10 -0500)
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Found man page: live-usb-maker.1
Will use target device /dev/sda (982.4G VendorCo ProductCode)
Will use source file /home/snapshot/snapshot-20250225_1531.iso
Found grub config 2.0
Estimated extfs overhead for 1005949M is 44M

                   Total      Used    Extra
   entire drive  982 GiB  982 GiB    1 MiB
 main partition  982 GiB 20.3 GiB  962 GiB
 uefi partition   50 MiB   32 MiB   18 MiB

Ready to make live-usb on device sda
... by copying file /home/snapshot/snapshot-20250225_1531.iso

>> partition-clear
Total bytes: 1054867456000
Total blocks: 2060288000
 > dd status=none if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda bs=512 count=34
 > dd status=none if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda bs=512 count=34 seek=64
 > dd status=none conv=notrunc if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda bs=512 count=34 seek=2060287966
 > partprobe /dev/sda

>> partition-make
Using msdos partitioning
 > parted --script --align optimal /dev/sda unit MiB mklabel msdos
 > dd status=none if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda seek=1024 bs=1K count=128
 > parted --script --align optimal /dev/sda unit MiB mkpart primary 1 1005949
 > parted --script --align optimal /dev/sda unit MiB set 1 boot on
 > dd status=none if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda seek=1030091776 bs=1K count=128
 > parted --script --align optimal /dev/sda unit MiB mkpart primary 1005949 1005998
 > parted --script --align optimal /dev/sda unit MiB set 2 esp on
 > partprobe /dev/sda
 > wait_for_file /dev/sda1

>> makefs-bios
 > mkfs.ext4 -O ^64bit -m0 -i16384 -J size=32 /dev/sda1
mke2fs 1.47.0 (5-Feb-2023)
64-bit filesystem support is not enabled.  The larger fields afforded by this feature enable full-strength checksumming.  Pass -O 64bit to rectify.
Creating filesystem with 257522688 4k blocks and 64380928 inodes
Filesystem UUID: 704a6a2e-2e47-4867-aafd-93a8c78bb863
Superblock backups stored on blocks: 
	32768, 98304, 163840, 229376, 294912, 819200, 884736, 1605632, 2654208, 
	4096000, 7962624, 11239424, 20480000, 23887872, 71663616, 78675968, 
	102400000, 214990848

Allocating group tables:    0/7859         done                            
Writing inode tables:    0/7859         done                            
Creating journal (8192 blocks): done
Writing superblocks and filesystem accounting information:    0/78593126/7859         done

 > tune2fs -L sda2 /dev/sda1
tune2fs 1.47.0 (5-Feb-2023)
 > wait_for_file /dev/sda2

>> makefs-uefi
 > mkfs.vfat -F 32 -n LIVE-UEFI /dev/sda2
mkfs.fat 4.2 (2021-01-31)
 > partprobe /dev/sda
 > wait_for_file /dev/sda1
 > mkdir -p /run/live-usb-maker/main
 > mount -t ext4 /dev/sda1 /run/live-usb-maker/main
mount: /run/live-usb-maker/main: wrong fs type, bad option, bad superblock on /dev/sda1, missing codepage or helper program, or other error.
       dmesg(1) may have more information after failed mount system call.
Error: Could not mount /dev/sda1 at /run/live-usb-maker/main

live-usb-maker took 16 seconds.


=====================================================================
/usr/local/bin/live-usb-maker gui -N --force=usb -C off --from=/home/snapshot/snapshot-20250225_1531.iso -t /dev/sda
        program: live-usb-maker
        started: Sun 16 Mar 00:14:42 GMT 2025
        version: 2.41.19-2302 (Sat, 25 Feb 2023 12:45:10 -0500)
         kernel: 6.11.10-1-liquorix-amd64
             OS: MX 23.5_KDE (Libretto)
      found lib: /usr/local/lib/cli-shell-utils/cli-shell-utils.bash
    lib version: 2.41.05-2302 (Sat, 25 Feb 2023 12:45:10 -0500)
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Found man page: live-usb-maker.1
Will use target device /dev/sda (982.4G VendorCo ProductCode)
Will use source file /home/snapshot/snapshot-20250225_1531.iso
Found grub config 2.0
Estimated extfs overhead for 1005949M is 44M

                   Total      Used    Extra
   entire drive  982 GiB  982 GiB    1 MiB
 main partition  982 GiB 20.3 GiB  962 GiB
 uefi partition   50 MiB   32 MiB   18 MiB

Ready to make live-usb on device sda
... by copying file /home/snapshot/snapshot-20250225_1531.iso

>> partition-clear
Total bytes: 1054867456000
Total blocks: 2060288000
 > dd status=none if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda bs=512 count=34
 > dd status=none if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda bs=512 count=34 seek=64
 > dd status=none conv=notrunc if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda bs=512 count=34 seek=2060287966
 > partprobe /dev/sda

>> partition-make
Using msdos partitioning
 > parted --script --align optimal /dev/sda unit MiB mklabel msdos
 > dd status=none if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda seek=1024 bs=1K count=128
 > parted --script --align optimal /dev/sda unit MiB mkpart primary 1 1005949
 > parted --script --align optimal /dev/sda unit MiB set 1 boot on
 > dd status=none if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda seek=1030091776 bs=1K count=128
 > parted --script --align optimal /dev/sda unit MiB mkpart primary 1005949 1005998
 > parted --script --align optimal /dev/sda unit MiB set 2 esp on
 > partprobe /dev/sda
 > wait_for_file /dev/sda1

>> makefs-bios
 > mkfs.ext4 -O ^64bit -m0 -i16384 -J size=32 /dev/sda1
mke2fs 1.47.0 (5-Feb-2023)
64-bit filesystem support is not enabled.  The larger fields afforded by this feature enable full-strength checksumming.  Pass -O 64bit to rectify.
Creating filesystem with 257522688 4k blocks and 64380928 inodes
Filesystem UUID: e0d19aa1-f405-4a6d-afe2-8806e555d29e
Superblock backups stored on blocks: 
	32768, 98304, 163840, 229376, 294912, 819200, 884736, 1605632, 2654208, 
	4096000, 7962624, 11239424, 20480000, 23887872, 71663616, 78675968, 
	102400000, 214990848

Allocating group tables:    0/7859         done                            
Writing inode tables:    0/7859         done                            
Creating journal (8192 blocks): done
Writing superblocks and filesystem accounting information:    0/7859         done

 > tune2fs -L Live-usb /dev/sda1
tune2fs 1.47.0 (5-Feb-2023)
 > wait_for_file /dev/sda2

>> makefs-uefi
 > mkfs.vfat -F 32 -n LIVE-UEFI /dev/sda2
mkfs.fat 4.2 (2021-01-31)
 > partprobe /dev/sda
 > wait_for_file /dev/sda1
 > mkdir -p /run/live-usb-maker/main
 > mount -t ext4 /dev/sda1 /run/live-usb-maker/main
mount: /run/live-usb-maker/main: wrong fs type, bad option, bad superblock on /dev/sda1, missing codepage or helper program, or other error.
       dmesg(1) may have more information after failed mount system call.
Error: Could not mount /dev/sda1 at /run/live-usb-maker/main

live-usb-maker took 18 seconds.


=====================================================================
/usr/local/bin/live-usb-maker gui -N -C off --from=/home/lobo/snapshot-20250225_1531.iso -t /dev/sda
        program: live-usb-maker
        started: Wed 19 Mar 13:39:07 GMT 2025
        version: 2.41.19-2302 (Sat, 25 Feb 2023 12:45:10 -0500)
         kernel: 6.11.10-1-liquorix-amd64
             OS: MX 23.5_KDE (Libretto)
      found lib: /usr/local/lib/cli-shell-utils/cli-shell-utils.bash
    lib version: 2.41.05-2302 (Sat, 25 Feb 2023 12:45:10 -0500)
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Found man page: live-usb-maker.1
Will use target device /dev/sda (982.4G VendorCo ProductCode 3.0)
Will use source file /home/lobo/snapshot-20250225_1531.iso
Found grub config 2.0
Estimated extfs overhead for 1005949M is 44M

                   Total      Used    Extra
   entire drive  982 GiB  982 GiB    1 MiB
 main partition  982 GiB 20.3 GiB  962 GiB
 uefi partition   50 MiB   32 MiB   18 MiB

Ready to make live-usb on device sda
... by copying file /home/lobo/snapshot-20250225_1531.iso

>> partition-clear
Total bytes: 1054867456000
Total blocks: 2060288000
 > dd status=none if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda bs=512 count=34
 > dd status=none if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda bs=512 count=34 seek=64
 > dd status=none conv=notrunc if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda bs=512 count=34 seek=2060287966
 > partprobe /dev/sda

>> partition-make
Using msdos partitioning
 > parted --script --align optimal /dev/sda unit MiB mklabel msdos
 > dd status=none if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda seek=1024 bs=1K count=128
 > parted --script --align optimal /dev/sda unit MiB mkpart primary 1 1005949
 > parted --script --align optimal /dev/sda unit MiB set 1 boot on
 > dd status=none if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda seek=1030091776 bs=1K count=128
 > parted --script --align optimal /dev/sda unit MiB mkpart primary 1005949 1005998
 > parted --script --align optimal /dev/sda unit MiB set 2 esp on
 > partprobe /dev/sda
 > wait_for_file /dev/sda1

>> makefs-bios
 > mkfs.ext4 -O ^64bit -m0 -i16384 -J size=32 /dev/sda1
mke2fs 1.47.0 (5-Feb-2023)
64-bit filesystem support is not enabled.  The larger fields afforded by this feature enable full-strength checksumming.  Pass -O 64bit to rectify.
Creating filesystem with 257522688 4k blocks and 64380928 inodes
Filesystem UUID: 18d93f94-67f8-4f15-b993-b6306e68815a
Superblock backups stored on blocks: 
	32768, 98304, 163840, 229376, 294912, 819200, 884736, 1605632, 2654208, 
	4096000, 7962624, 11239424, 20480000, 23887872, 71663616, 78675968, 
	102400000, 214990848

Allocating group tables:    0/7859         done                            
Writing inode tables:    0/7859         done                            
Creating journal (8192 blocks): done
Writing superblocks and filesystem accounting information:    0/78593126/7859         done

 > tune2fs -L Live-usb /dev/sda1
tune2fs 1.47.0 (5-Feb-2023)
 > wait_for_file /dev/sda2

>> makefs-uefi
 > mkfs.vfat -F 32 -n LIVE-UEFI /dev/sda2
mkfs.fat 4.2 (2021-01-31)
 > partprobe /dev/sda
 > wait_for_file /dev/sda1
 > mkdir -p /run/live-usb-maker/main
 > mount -t ext4 /dev/sda1 /run/live-usb-maker/main
mount: /run/live-usb-maker/main: wrong fs type, bad option, bad superblock on /dev/sda1, missing codepage or helper program, or other error.
       dmesg(1) may have more information after failed mount system call.
Error: Could not mount /dev/sda1 at /run/live-usb-maker/main

live-usb-maker took 37 seconds.


=====================================================================
/usr/local/bin/live-usb-maker gui -N -g --data-first=50,exfat -C off --from=/home/snapshot/snapshot-20250225_1531.iso -t /dev/sda
        program: live-usb-maker
        started: Wed 19 Mar 14:17:44 GMT 2025
        version: 2.41.19-2302 (Sat, 25 Feb 2023 12:45:10 -0500)
         kernel: 6.11.10-1-liquorix-amd64
             OS: MX 23.5_KDE (Libretto)
      found lib: /usr/local/lib/cli-shell-utils/cli-shell-utils.bash
    lib version: 2.41.05-2302 (Sat, 25 Feb 2023 12:45:10 -0500)
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Found man page: live-usb-maker.1
Will use target device /dev/sda (982.4G VendorCo ProductCode 3.0)
Will use source file /home/snapshot/snapshot-20250225_1531.iso
Found grub config 2.0
Estimated extfs overhead for 502949M is 44M

                   Total      Used    Extra
   entire drive  982 GiB  982 GiB    0 MiB
 data partition  491 GiB    0 MiB  491 GiB
 main partition  491 GiB 20.3 GiB  470 GiB
 uefi partition   50 MiB   32 MiB   18 MiB

Will create a leading exfat data partition
Ready to make live-usb on device sda
... by copying file /home/snapshot/snapshot-20250225_1531.iso

>> partition-clear
Total bytes: 1054867456000
Total blocks: 2060288000
 > dd status=none if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda bs=512 count=34
 > dd status=none if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda bs=512 count=34 seek=64
 > dd status=none conv=notrunc if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda bs=512 count=34 seek=2060287966
 > partprobe /dev/sda

>> partition-make
Using gpt partitioning
 > parted --script --align optimal /dev/sda unit MiB mklabel gpt
 > dd status=none if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda seek=1024 bs=1K count=128
 > parted --script --align optimal /dev/sda unit MiB mkpart primary 1 503000
 > dd status=none if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda seek=515072000 bs=1K count=128
 > parted --script --align optimal /dev/sda unit MiB mkpart primary 503000 1005948
 > parted --script --align optimal /dev/sda unit MiB set 2 legacy_boot on
 > dd status=none if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda seek=1030090752 bs=1K count=128
 > parted --script --align optimal /dev/sda unit MiB mkpart primary 1005948 1005997
 > parted --script --align optimal /dev/sda unit MiB set 3 esp on
 > partprobe /dev/sda

>> makefs-data
 > wait_for_file /dev/sda1

>> makefs-data
Make exfat filesystem
 > mkfs.exfat -n USB-DATA /dev/sda1
exfatprogs version : 1.2.0
Creating exFAT filesystem(/dev/sda1, cluster size=131072)

Writing volume boot record: done
Writing backup volume boot record: done
Fat table creation: done
Allocation bitmap creation: done
Upcase table creation: done
Writing root directory entry: done
Synchronizing...

exFAT format complete!
 > partprobe /dev/sda1
Error: Partition(s) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64 on /dev/sda1 have been written, but we have been unable to inform the kernel of the change, probably because it/they are in use.  As a result, the old partition(s) will remain in use.  You should reboot now before making further changes.
 > wait_for_file /dev/sda2

>> makefs-bios
 > mkfs.ext4 -O ^64bit -m0 -i16384 -J size=32 /dev/sda2
mke2fs 1.47.0 (5-Feb-2023)
64-bit filesystem support is not enabled.  The larger fields afforded by this feature enable full-strength checksumming.  Pass -O 64bit to rectify.
Creating filesystem with 128754688 4k blocks and 32194560 inodes
Filesystem UUID: ea2a47af-7e70-4967-abb1-721a9d0f459c
Superblock backups stored on blocks: 
	32768, 98304, 163840, 229376, 294912, 819200, 884736, 1605632, 2654208, 
	4096000, 7962624, 11239424, 20480000, 23887872, 71663616, 78675968, 
	102400000

Allocating group tables:    0/3930         done                            
Writing inode tables:    0/3930         done                            
Creating journal (8192 blocks): done
Writing superblocks and filesystem accounting information:    0/3930         done

 > tune2fs -L Live-usb /dev/sda2
tune2fs: Bad magic number in super-block while trying to open /dev/sda2
tune2fs 1.47.0 (5-Feb-2023)
 > wait_for_file /dev/sda3

>> makefs-uefi
 > mkfs.vfat -F 32 -n LIVE-UEFI /dev/sda3
mkfs.fat 4.2 (2021-01-31)
 > partprobe /dev/sda
 > wait_for_file /dev/sda2
 > mkdir -p /run/live-usb-maker/main
 > mount -t ext4 /dev/sda2 /run/live-usb-maker/main
mount: /run/live-usb-maker/main: wrong fs type, bad option, bad superblock on /dev/sda2, missing codepage or helper program, or other error.
       dmesg(1) may have more information after failed mount system call.
Error: Could not mount /dev/sda2 at /run/live-usb-maker/main

live-usb-maker took one minute and 15 seconds.

[rokytnji.1]

First thing I do is save snapshot in /home/snapshot instead of /home snapshot
I use a large enough usb drive for the live usb. Fat32 is Ok.
I use tightest compression when making my snapshot.

Hit the go button. Easy Peasy. Done a few snapshot installs on laptops and netbooks recently with no problems.
I always check md5sum which is provided with making the snapshot.
This laptop I am posting with is running one.

I changed the platter driver for a SSD.

[chrispop99]

The log from live usb maker contains this:

Code: Select all

Bad magic number in super-block 

I would suggest having a look online to see how to fix this as a first step.

Chris

[DukeComposed]

Code: Select all

/usr/local/bin/live-usb-maker gui -N -p -g -C off --from=/home/snapshot/snapshot-20250225_1531.iso -t /dev/sda
        started: Tue 25 Feb 18:44:04 GMT 2025
        
PRETEND MODE ENABLED
Will use target device /dev/sda (3.8G SCSI DISK)
Will use source file /home/snapshot/snapshot-20250225_1531.iso
Found grub config 2.0
Estimated extfs overhead for 3797M is 7M

                    Total      Used       Extra
   entire drive  3.76 GiB 3.76 GiB       1 MiB
 main partition  3.71 GiB 20.2 GiB  -16935 MiB
 uefi partition    50 MiB   32 MiB      18 MiB

Warning: Not enough space on main partition

OK. In this example the ISO file was bigger than the destination.

Code: Select all

/usr/local/bin/live-usb-maker gui -N -g --data-first=25,exfat -C off --from=/home/snapshot/snapshot-20250225_1531.iso -t /dev/sda
        started: Wed  5 Mar 15:55:42 GMT 2025

Will use target device /dev/sda (982.4G VendorCo ProductCode)
Will use source file /home/snapshot/snapshot-20250225_1531.iso

It looks likes the 900+ GB device is a hard disk and should be big enough for a 20 GB ISO.

Code: Select all

exFAT format complete!
 > partprobe /dev/sda1
Error: Partition(s) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64 on /dev/sda1 have been written, but we have been unable to inform the kernel of the change, probably because it/they are in use.  As a result, the old partition(s) will remain in use.  You should reboot now before making further changes.
 > wait_for_file /dev/sda2

This error should be safe to ignore, it's commonly seen when editing partition tables and should not, typically, affect the rest of the steps.

Code: Select all

>> makefs-bios
 > mkfs.ext4 -O ^64bit -m0 -i16384 -J size=32 /dev/sda2
mke2fs 1.47.0 (5-Feb-2023)
64-bit filesystem support is not enabled.  The larger fields afforded by this feature enable full-strength checksumming.  Pass -O 64bit to rectify.
Creating filesystem with 193138688 4k blocks and 48291840 inodes

"-O ^64bit" disables 64-bit support for the file system. I'm guessing this might limit the maximum size of the partition. From "man 5 ext4":

Code: Select all

Enables  the  file system to be larger than 2^32 blocks.

193,138,688 is far less than 2^32, so this shouldn't be an issue, either, though if the blocks are 4k or not might be important. I doubt it.

Code: Select all

> tune2fs -L Live-usb /dev/sda2
tune2fs: Bad magic number in super-block while trying to open /dev/sda2
tune2fs 1.47.0 (5-Feb-2023)
 > wait_for_file /dev/sda3

Not a good sign.

Code: Select all

 > partprobe /dev/sda
Error: The backup GPT table is corrupt, but the primary appears OK, so that will be used.
 > mount -t ext4 /dev/sda2 /run/live-usb-maker/main
mount: /run/live-usb-maker/main: wrong fs type, bad option, bad superblock on /dev/sda2, missing codepage or helper program, or other error.
       dmesg(1) may have more information after failed mount system call.
Error: Could not mount /dev/sda2 at /run/live-usb-maker/main

Also not a good sign.

My advice: in the future, pick one specific run from the log file, and only provide that. There are several runs included in this output where it shows you were still experimenting. I picked the first couple that looked interesting.

As has been suggested, formatting the ext4 partition looks to be an issue.

Since the log provides each command and its output, you could easily repeat the procedure up to this point by hand and verify if each step succeeds or fails.

Specifically, you could wipe the drive, repartition it, remove it/reboot/add it back to ensure the partition table is current, and format each of the partitions by hand to confirm that they're valid. If mkfs.ext4 works but tune2fs fails, then mkfs.ext4 didn't work after all.

Bear in mind that when you find the step that fails, you can always go back and start tweaking the previous steps. Is the sda2 partition too large? You can make it smaller and try again.

I'm not diagnosing "big partition" as the problem. "parted --script --align optimal /dev/sda unit MiB mkpart primary 503000 1005948" suggests that /dev/sda2 should only be about 490 MB, which is plenty small enough for a 32-bit ext4 format.

If reformatting and tune2fs still fail, as it seems they consistently do, a fsck on that partition is in order.

EDIT: Typos

[fehlix]

I can't get passed the make live USB without it failing.
Will use target device /dev/sda (982.4G VendorCo ProductCode)

Suggest to try first another USB key, e.g USB-3.0 with 32GB or 64 GB.
B/c 1TB USB-device by "no name "VendorCo ProductCode" looks rather suspicious. (kind of non-working fake device.)
Also make sure you plugged this device into an USB-3 port, otherwise on USB-2-port it would be certainly under-powered and far too slow and probably not working any way.
This error/warning:

Code: Select all

exFAT format complete!
 > partprobe /dev/sda1
Error: Partition(s) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64 
on /dev/sda1 have been written, but we have been unable to inform the kernel of the change, probably because it/they are in use.  
As a result, the old partition(s) will remain in use.  
You should reboot now before making further changes.

can be ignored, as seem to be a partprobe issues. Maybe someone would fix the live-usb-maker code, to use an alternative.
Also try whether it makes difference without a data-first or choose ext4 for the first data partition, you can later reformat to exFat e.g with Gparted.

[DukeComposed]

B/c 1TB USB-device by "no name "VendorCo ProductCode" looks rather suspicious. (kind of non-working fake device.)

I noticed that and opted not to say anything. Because I've never seen it doesn't necessarily mean it's fake.

A search for "VendorCo" shows a couple threads outlining similar dodgy behavior.

If this is the case, there's firmware in the device that's lying about its capacity, hence why the mkfs shows success but the partition fails to function.

[1nky]

the dodgyness.png

hi and Thanks for all the comments..
started from the beginning again this time having a closer look at the drive and found this which I have never seen before and reeks, I bought 2 the 982Gb one and a 512Gb one, the 515Gb one reads the same as size as the 982Gb... got then off Amazon and not happy
Could the magic number error be something to do with the timestamp / creation etc date it reports?
I'll start with seeing if I can get the drive to behave the way it was intended and then try another
Will come back soon, may be in different time zones so forgive the disjointedness
thanks

[DukeComposed]

I bought 2 the 982Gb one and a 512Gb one, the 515Gb one reads the same as size as the 982Gb... got then off Amazon and not happy

A 1 TB Kingston USB thumb drive on Amazon is going for about $85 USD, down from a retail price of $120. Newegg offers a similarly-sized Kingston device for $125. I imagine anything cheaper than this is not going to be a legitimate device. Contact Amazon and return it if you can.

Could the magic number error be something to do with the timestamp / creation etc date it reports?

Magic numbers are just a specific ID. They can be randomly chosen by the file system developer or his phone number or anything else, as long as it's unique and no other file system would have. They're used in most file systems for validating internal consistency. A bad magic number means the file system is corrupt.

In this case, an ext4 file system will embed internal data structures you never see at certain exact places all throughout the disk, but there isn't actually enough space to store them all. This is why the mkfs quote-unquote "succeeds" but the tune2fs fails. The drive is taking writes, not actually writing everything where it needs to be in order for things to work correctly, and lying about it.

[1nky]

Duke Hey

Contact Amazon and return it if you can.

yeah doing this, thanks for explaining the magic numbers concept....
Should I mark this post as solved ?

[j2mcgreg]

If it is solved, click on the checkmark beside the post that gave the solution.