Live USB Drive – How to Mount as Read/Write

live-usbmount

Not sure why I cannot mount the Live USB drive as writable.

$ sudo mount -o rw /dev/sdd /tmp/usb/
mount: /tmp/usb: WARNING: device write-protected, mounted read-only.
$ mount|grep sdd
/dev/sdd on /tmp/usb type iso9660 (ro,relatime,nojoliet,check=s,map=n,blocksize=2048)

The Live USB with Kubuntu 18.04 has been created using usb-creator-kde utility. I would like to use it not only as Live USB but also as storage. I've already tried to format it and then mount as writable. It works.

So what's the problem? Obviously not the device. But at the same time I remember to have created Live USB by applying the utility to other pen drives and they were mounted as writable flawlessly.

P.S. There are no switches on the drive

Best Answer

Description of a live USB drive cloned from an iso file

When you create a live USB drive with the 'buntu Startup Disk Creator, usb-creator-gtk or in your case usb-creator-kde in Kubuntu, you are cloning from the iso file to the target device, the USB drive. This means that the content is copied byte for byte, and the partitioning and file systems are inherited. The main partition has an iso 9660 file system, which is read only by design. (It was originally made for CD disks.)

Creating a partition behind the cloned image

  • Several tools, including gparted, cannot modify such a USB boot drive, only repartition (re-format) it.

  • However, in 'buntu 19.10 (and newer versions including Focal Fossa to be released in April as 20.04 LTS and Debian 10 live), using a suitable tool you can add a read/write partition behind the cloned image and use that to

  • make a persistent live drive, where you can not only store data but also install program packages that survice reboot

  • add a usbdata partition for storage and transfer to computers running Windows.

You can make a persistent live drive with the text mode tool mkusb-minp. You can make either a persistent live drive or a drive with a usbdata partition with the more convenient and safer tool mkusb-plug.

Persistent live drive with usbdata partition

If you want a persistent live drive and a usbdata partition for storage and transfer to computers running Windows, you can use mkusb version 12 alias mkusb-dus. It works with all current versions of Ubuntu and the Ubuntu family flavours (including Kubuntu). It works also with Debian 10 live, the current version of Debian.

General describing link

How is it easier to make a persistent live drive with Ubuntu 19.10?

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