How to mount HD on dedicated server?

[gottadoit]

Hey all,

I have a dedicated test server (based on Linux Debian Sarge) with which I train myself as I'm a newbie ... but it's been cracked as it's not accessible by SSH anymore (password not recognized anymore), I asked my provider to set the rescue CD, so that I can mount my HD and clean and reinstall SSH with a new password. But I struggling with it:

after logging I'm on the CD driver

First I search the existing Hard Disk on my machine with:
rescuecd:~# fdisk -l | grep Disk
output:
Disk /dev/hda: 20.4 GB, 20404371456 bytes

I created a new directory "mnt/hd" on the root, and I asked to mount the HD with :
rescuecd:~# mount /dev/hda /mnt/hd
output:
mount: you must specify the filesystem type

I tried to get the filesystem by:
rescuecd:~# df -T /dev/hda
output:
Filesystem Type 1K-blocks Used Available Use% Mounted on
tmpfs tmpfs 10240 2568 7672 26% /dev

Apparently the file system is "tmpfs", so I called the mount command with this parameter:
rescuecd:~# mount -t tmpfs /dev/hda /mnt/hd

this time no output, so I guess everything is ok, I check the HD is well mounted with:
rescuecd:~# df
output:
Filesystem 1K-blocks Used Available Use% Mounted on
/dev/hda 257712 0 257712 0% /var/mnt/hd

Apparently it's mounted on /var/mnt/hd and not on /mnt/hd as I requested
but those folders are empty!

I'm not sure to use the right method, I tried to get a good tutorial for Linux Sarge platform via Google but found nothing.
Does anyone know a good link or can give the right procedure?

Thanks in advance

[Daan]

You might want to have look at /etc/mtab to see what is mounted and where it is mounted.

# cat /etc/mtab

[gottadoit]

Hey Daan,

Thanks for your answer, In the /etc/mtab file I can see this line:
/dev/hda /var/mnt/hd tmpfs rw 0 0

So I believe the HD is mounted on /var/mnt/hd but this folder is empty.
I don't know yet how I can access to my HD ... any idea?

[MikeTbob]

I think you should try this:
fdisk -l
Do not use grep on this because it will not show the partitions. You may have partitions that you need to mount and not just the whole disk.

[gottadoit]

Thanks very much MikeTbob!

Thanks to this command I can see there are 2 partitions:
Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/hda1 1 2352 18892408+ 83 Linux
/dev/hda2 2354 2480 1020127+ 82 Linux swap / Solaris

I tried to mount hda1 with:
mount -t tmpfs /dev/hda1 /mnt/hd

according to the /etc/mtab file, it's mounted on var/mnt/hd but this folder is empty

then I unmounted hda1 and mounted hda2:
mount -t tmpfs /dev/hda2 /mnt/hd

unfortunately I have the same result, the folder var/mnt/hd is still empty ... any idea?

[MikeTbob]

try this

mount -t ext3 /dev/hda1 /mnt/hd

then browse to the /mnt/hd folder again.

[gottadoit]

MikeTbob you are my HERO!!!!!!!!

It works!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks soooooooo Much!!!!!!!!!

but ..... How have you found that I was supposed to put 'ext3' as parameter?

Now I have to check what's wrong with my SSH server
Thanks once again

[MikeTbob]

Filesystem ID=83 which=ext3
/dev/hda1 1 2352 18892408+ 83 Linux
You are welcome.

[HROAdmin26]

Filesystem ID=83 which=ext3
/dev/hda1 1 2352 18892408+ 83 Linux
You are welcome.

Partition ID *does not equal filesystem.*

Example:

fdisk -l

Disk /dev/sda: 120.0 GB, 120034123776 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 14593 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x44456654

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sda1               1        1913    15361888+   7  HPFS/NTFS
Partition 1 does not end on cylinder boundary.
/dev/sda2            1913        3218    10485720    7  HPFS/NTFS
Partition 2 does not end on cylinder boundary.
/dev/sda3   *        3219        3231      104422+  83  Linux
/dev/sda4            3232       14593    91265265    f  W95 Ext'd (LBA)
/dev/sda5            3232        3362     1052226   82  Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sda6            3363        5973    20972826   83  Linux
/dev/sda7            5974       12501    52436128+  83  Linux
/dev/sda8           12502       14593    16803958+  83  Linux

/dev/sda2 = ext2
/dev/sda6 = reiserfs
/dev/sda7 = xfs
/dev/sda8 = encrypted

Partition types don't even have to be *close* to the filesystem. An "83" partition could just as easily have an NTFS filesystem on it.

MikeTbob simply took a guess.

[MikeTbob]

Partition ID *does not equal filesystem.*

Example:

fdisk -l

Disk /dev/sda: 120.0 GB, 120034123776 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 14593 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x44456654

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sda1               1        1913    15361888+   7  HPFS/NTFS
Partition 1 does not end on cylinder boundary.
/dev/sda2            1913        3218    10485720    7  HPFS/NTFS
Partition 2 does not end on cylinder boundary.
/dev/sda3   *        3219        3231      104422+  83  Linux
/dev/sda4            3232       14593    91265265    f  W95 Ext'd (LBA)
/dev/sda5            3232        3362     1052226   82  Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sda6            3363        5973    20972826   83  Linux
/dev/sda7            5974       12501    52436128+  83  Linux
/dev/sda8           12502       14593    16803958+  83  Linux

/dev/sda2 = ext2
/dev/sda6 = reiserfs
/dev/sda7 = xfs
/dev/sda8 = encrypted

Partition types don't even have to be *close* to the filesystem. An "83" partition could just as easily have an NTFS filesystem on it.

MikeTbob simply took a guess.

I did think the 83 was the filesystem type, thanks for the clarification.