Can't eject USB drive without sudo?





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I'm trying to eject a USB drive in the command line with eject /dev/sdg1 but I get the following error:



eject: unable to open `/dev/sdg'


The command unmounts the drive but does not eject it. However, running with sudo works just fine. Is this a bug or expected behavior? I'm trying to incorporate this into a python application so sudo isn't really an option. Note that umount works just fine without sudo.



This is a usb flash drive. I think there's only a single partition on it










share|improve this question

























  • Welcome to AskUbuntu! What type of device is /dev/sdg? eject is specifically for removeable media such as Optical, Floppy, tape, ZIP, JAZ drives and is not supported by all devices. Further /dev/sdg1 indicates a partition, not a device.

    – Elder Geek
    Feb 14 at 22:16













  • @ElderGeek this is a usb flash drive. I think there's only a single partition on it

    – A Tyshka
    Feb 15 at 2:30








  • 1





    As described by @ElderGeek, it is 'enough' to unmount all mounted partitions on a USB drive to be able to unplug it safely. This does not turn off the power, and it can be mounted again. This is what I have been doing for years and it works well. - I think 'ejecting' in the case of USB drives means unmounting and poweroff, as implemented by some GUI tools (with the eject symbol). In this case it is not straight-forward to mount it again without unplugging and replugging. Is this what you want?

    – sudodus
    Feb 15 at 19:09











  • @sudodus yes, that is what I want

    – A Tyshka
    Feb 15 at 19:41


















0















I'm trying to eject a USB drive in the command line with eject /dev/sdg1 but I get the following error:



eject: unable to open `/dev/sdg'


The command unmounts the drive but does not eject it. However, running with sudo works just fine. Is this a bug or expected behavior? I'm trying to incorporate this into a python application so sudo isn't really an option. Note that umount works just fine without sudo.



This is a usb flash drive. I think there's only a single partition on it










share|improve this question

























  • Welcome to AskUbuntu! What type of device is /dev/sdg? eject is specifically for removeable media such as Optical, Floppy, tape, ZIP, JAZ drives and is not supported by all devices. Further /dev/sdg1 indicates a partition, not a device.

    – Elder Geek
    Feb 14 at 22:16













  • @ElderGeek this is a usb flash drive. I think there's only a single partition on it

    – A Tyshka
    Feb 15 at 2:30








  • 1





    As described by @ElderGeek, it is 'enough' to unmount all mounted partitions on a USB drive to be able to unplug it safely. This does not turn off the power, and it can be mounted again. This is what I have been doing for years and it works well. - I think 'ejecting' in the case of USB drives means unmounting and poweroff, as implemented by some GUI tools (with the eject symbol). In this case it is not straight-forward to mount it again without unplugging and replugging. Is this what you want?

    – sudodus
    Feb 15 at 19:09











  • @sudodus yes, that is what I want

    – A Tyshka
    Feb 15 at 19:41














0












0








0








I'm trying to eject a USB drive in the command line with eject /dev/sdg1 but I get the following error:



eject: unable to open `/dev/sdg'


The command unmounts the drive but does not eject it. However, running with sudo works just fine. Is this a bug or expected behavior? I'm trying to incorporate this into a python application so sudo isn't really an option. Note that umount works just fine without sudo.



This is a usb flash drive. I think there's only a single partition on it










share|improve this question
















I'm trying to eject a USB drive in the command line with eject /dev/sdg1 but I get the following error:



eject: unable to open `/dev/sdg'


The command unmounts the drive but does not eject it. However, running with sudo works just fine. Is this a bug or expected behavior? I'm trying to incorporate this into a python application so sudo isn't really an option. Note that umount works just fine without sudo.



This is a usb flash drive. I think there's only a single partition on it







usb mount sudo udev unmount






share|improve this question















share|improve this question













share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited Feb 15 at 19:23









Elder Geek

27.6k1055130




27.6k1055130










asked Feb 14 at 21:54









A TyshkaA Tyshka

1053




1053













  • Welcome to AskUbuntu! What type of device is /dev/sdg? eject is specifically for removeable media such as Optical, Floppy, tape, ZIP, JAZ drives and is not supported by all devices. Further /dev/sdg1 indicates a partition, not a device.

    – Elder Geek
    Feb 14 at 22:16













  • @ElderGeek this is a usb flash drive. I think there's only a single partition on it

    – A Tyshka
    Feb 15 at 2:30








  • 1





    As described by @ElderGeek, it is 'enough' to unmount all mounted partitions on a USB drive to be able to unplug it safely. This does not turn off the power, and it can be mounted again. This is what I have been doing for years and it works well. - I think 'ejecting' in the case of USB drives means unmounting and poweroff, as implemented by some GUI tools (with the eject symbol). In this case it is not straight-forward to mount it again without unplugging and replugging. Is this what you want?

    – sudodus
    Feb 15 at 19:09











  • @sudodus yes, that is what I want

    – A Tyshka
    Feb 15 at 19:41



















  • Welcome to AskUbuntu! What type of device is /dev/sdg? eject is specifically for removeable media such as Optical, Floppy, tape, ZIP, JAZ drives and is not supported by all devices. Further /dev/sdg1 indicates a partition, not a device.

    – Elder Geek
    Feb 14 at 22:16













  • @ElderGeek this is a usb flash drive. I think there's only a single partition on it

    – A Tyshka
    Feb 15 at 2:30








  • 1





    As described by @ElderGeek, it is 'enough' to unmount all mounted partitions on a USB drive to be able to unplug it safely. This does not turn off the power, and it can be mounted again. This is what I have been doing for years and it works well. - I think 'ejecting' in the case of USB drives means unmounting and poweroff, as implemented by some GUI tools (with the eject symbol). In this case it is not straight-forward to mount it again without unplugging and replugging. Is this what you want?

    – sudodus
    Feb 15 at 19:09











  • @sudodus yes, that is what I want

    – A Tyshka
    Feb 15 at 19:41

















Welcome to AskUbuntu! What type of device is /dev/sdg? eject is specifically for removeable media such as Optical, Floppy, tape, ZIP, JAZ drives and is not supported by all devices. Further /dev/sdg1 indicates a partition, not a device.

– Elder Geek
Feb 14 at 22:16







Welcome to AskUbuntu! What type of device is /dev/sdg? eject is specifically for removeable media such as Optical, Floppy, tape, ZIP, JAZ drives and is not supported by all devices. Further /dev/sdg1 indicates a partition, not a device.

– Elder Geek
Feb 14 at 22:16















@ElderGeek this is a usb flash drive. I think there's only a single partition on it

– A Tyshka
Feb 15 at 2:30







@ElderGeek this is a usb flash drive. I think there's only a single partition on it

– A Tyshka
Feb 15 at 2:30






1




1





As described by @ElderGeek, it is 'enough' to unmount all mounted partitions on a USB drive to be able to unplug it safely. This does not turn off the power, and it can be mounted again. This is what I have been doing for years and it works well. - I think 'ejecting' in the case of USB drives means unmounting and poweroff, as implemented by some GUI tools (with the eject symbol). In this case it is not straight-forward to mount it again without unplugging and replugging. Is this what you want?

– sudodus
Feb 15 at 19:09





As described by @ElderGeek, it is 'enough' to unmount all mounted partitions on a USB drive to be able to unplug it safely. This does not turn off the power, and it can be mounted again. This is what I have been doing for years and it works well. - I think 'ejecting' in the case of USB drives means unmounting and poweroff, as implemented by some GUI tools (with the eject symbol). In this case it is not straight-forward to mount it again without unplugging and replugging. Is this what you want?

– sudodus
Feb 15 at 19:09













@sudodus yes, that is what I want

– A Tyshka
Feb 15 at 19:41





@sudodus yes, that is what I want

– A Tyshka
Feb 15 at 19:41










2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes


















4














There is no mechanism for ejecting a USB device. Unmount it with (in your case umount /dev/sdg1 and manually remove it. (Assuming /dev/sdg1 is the only mounted partition on /dev/sdg). You can verify what partitions are mounted on a device with commands like lsblk and mount | grep sdX where sdX corresponds to your device (in your case sdg).



eject is specifically for removeable media such as Optical, Floppy, tape, ZIP, JAZ drives and is not supported by flash drives at all.



Sources:



man eject






share|improve this answer


























  • Alright thanks. Just confused since sudo does properly eject the usb. I’ll just use unmount

    – A Tyshka
    Feb 15 at 19:43



















2














I think 'ejecting' in the case of USB drives means unmounting and poweroff, as implemented by some GUI tools (with the eject symbol).



You can look into udisks and the tool udisksctl.



Read the manuals



man udisks
man udisksctl


For example, you will find the commands



   udisksctl mount {--object-path OBJECT | --block-device DEVICE}
[--filesystem-type TYPE] [--options OPTIONS...]
[--no-user-interaction]

udisksctl unmount {--object-path OBJECT | --block-device DEVICE} [--force]
[--no-user-interaction]

udisksctl power-off {--object-path OBJECT | --block-device DEVICE}
[--no-user-interaction]


I think the



udisksctl unmount --block-device <device> && 
udisksctl power-off --block-device <device>


commands can do what you want. In this case with one partition in 'sdg' <device> is /dev/sdg1




   power-off
Arranges for the drive to be safely removed and powered off. On the OS
side this includes ensuring that no process is using the drive, then
requesting that in-flight buffers and caches are committed to stable
storage. The exact steps for powering off the drive depends on the
drive itself and the interconnect used. For drives connected through
USB, the effect is that the USB device will be deconfigured followed by
disabling the upstream hub port it is connected to.

Note that as some physical devices contain multiple drives (for example
4-in-1 flash card reader USB devices) powering off one drive may affect
other drives. As such there are not a lot of guarantees associated with
performing this action. Usually the effect is that the drive disappears
as if it was unplugged.






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    2 Answers
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    active

    oldest

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    2 Answers
    2






    active

    oldest

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    active

    oldest

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    active

    oldest

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    4














    There is no mechanism for ejecting a USB device. Unmount it with (in your case umount /dev/sdg1 and manually remove it. (Assuming /dev/sdg1 is the only mounted partition on /dev/sdg). You can verify what partitions are mounted on a device with commands like lsblk and mount | grep sdX where sdX corresponds to your device (in your case sdg).



    eject is specifically for removeable media such as Optical, Floppy, tape, ZIP, JAZ drives and is not supported by flash drives at all.



    Sources:



    man eject






    share|improve this answer


























    • Alright thanks. Just confused since sudo does properly eject the usb. I’ll just use unmount

      – A Tyshka
      Feb 15 at 19:43
















    4














    There is no mechanism for ejecting a USB device. Unmount it with (in your case umount /dev/sdg1 and manually remove it. (Assuming /dev/sdg1 is the only mounted partition on /dev/sdg). You can verify what partitions are mounted on a device with commands like lsblk and mount | grep sdX where sdX corresponds to your device (in your case sdg).



    eject is specifically for removeable media such as Optical, Floppy, tape, ZIP, JAZ drives and is not supported by flash drives at all.



    Sources:



    man eject






    share|improve this answer


























    • Alright thanks. Just confused since sudo does properly eject the usb. I’ll just use unmount

      – A Tyshka
      Feb 15 at 19:43














    4












    4








    4







    There is no mechanism for ejecting a USB device. Unmount it with (in your case umount /dev/sdg1 and manually remove it. (Assuming /dev/sdg1 is the only mounted partition on /dev/sdg). You can verify what partitions are mounted on a device with commands like lsblk and mount | grep sdX where sdX corresponds to your device (in your case sdg).



    eject is specifically for removeable media such as Optical, Floppy, tape, ZIP, JAZ drives and is not supported by flash drives at all.



    Sources:



    man eject






    share|improve this answer















    There is no mechanism for ejecting a USB device. Unmount it with (in your case umount /dev/sdg1 and manually remove it. (Assuming /dev/sdg1 is the only mounted partition on /dev/sdg). You can verify what partitions are mounted on a device with commands like lsblk and mount | grep sdX where sdX corresponds to your device (in your case sdg).



    eject is specifically for removeable media such as Optical, Floppy, tape, ZIP, JAZ drives and is not supported by flash drives at all.



    Sources:



    man eject







    share|improve this answer














    share|improve this answer



    share|improve this answer








    edited Feb 15 at 19:26

























    answered Feb 15 at 18:23









    Elder GeekElder Geek

    27.6k1055130




    27.6k1055130













    • Alright thanks. Just confused since sudo does properly eject the usb. I’ll just use unmount

      – A Tyshka
      Feb 15 at 19:43



















    • Alright thanks. Just confused since sudo does properly eject the usb. I’ll just use unmount

      – A Tyshka
      Feb 15 at 19:43

















    Alright thanks. Just confused since sudo does properly eject the usb. I’ll just use unmount

    – A Tyshka
    Feb 15 at 19:43





    Alright thanks. Just confused since sudo does properly eject the usb. I’ll just use unmount

    – A Tyshka
    Feb 15 at 19:43













    2














    I think 'ejecting' in the case of USB drives means unmounting and poweroff, as implemented by some GUI tools (with the eject symbol).



    You can look into udisks and the tool udisksctl.



    Read the manuals



    man udisks
    man udisksctl


    For example, you will find the commands



       udisksctl mount {--object-path OBJECT | --block-device DEVICE}
    [--filesystem-type TYPE] [--options OPTIONS...]
    [--no-user-interaction]

    udisksctl unmount {--object-path OBJECT | --block-device DEVICE} [--force]
    [--no-user-interaction]

    udisksctl power-off {--object-path OBJECT | --block-device DEVICE}
    [--no-user-interaction]


    I think the



    udisksctl unmount --block-device <device> && 
    udisksctl power-off --block-device <device>


    commands can do what you want. In this case with one partition in 'sdg' <device> is /dev/sdg1




       power-off
    Arranges for the drive to be safely removed and powered off. On the OS
    side this includes ensuring that no process is using the drive, then
    requesting that in-flight buffers and caches are committed to stable
    storage. The exact steps for powering off the drive depends on the
    drive itself and the interconnect used. For drives connected through
    USB, the effect is that the USB device will be deconfigured followed by
    disabling the upstream hub port it is connected to.

    Note that as some physical devices contain multiple drives (for example
    4-in-1 flash card reader USB devices) powering off one drive may affect
    other drives. As such there are not a lot of guarantees associated with
    performing this action. Usually the effect is that the drive disappears
    as if it was unplugged.






    share|improve this answer






























      2














      I think 'ejecting' in the case of USB drives means unmounting and poweroff, as implemented by some GUI tools (with the eject symbol).



      You can look into udisks and the tool udisksctl.



      Read the manuals



      man udisks
      man udisksctl


      For example, you will find the commands



         udisksctl mount {--object-path OBJECT | --block-device DEVICE}
      [--filesystem-type TYPE] [--options OPTIONS...]
      [--no-user-interaction]

      udisksctl unmount {--object-path OBJECT | --block-device DEVICE} [--force]
      [--no-user-interaction]

      udisksctl power-off {--object-path OBJECT | --block-device DEVICE}
      [--no-user-interaction]


      I think the



      udisksctl unmount --block-device <device> && 
      udisksctl power-off --block-device <device>


      commands can do what you want. In this case with one partition in 'sdg' <device> is /dev/sdg1




         power-off
      Arranges for the drive to be safely removed and powered off. On the OS
      side this includes ensuring that no process is using the drive, then
      requesting that in-flight buffers and caches are committed to stable
      storage. The exact steps for powering off the drive depends on the
      drive itself and the interconnect used. For drives connected through
      USB, the effect is that the USB device will be deconfigured followed by
      disabling the upstream hub port it is connected to.

      Note that as some physical devices contain multiple drives (for example
      4-in-1 flash card reader USB devices) powering off one drive may affect
      other drives. As such there are not a lot of guarantees associated with
      performing this action. Usually the effect is that the drive disappears
      as if it was unplugged.






      share|improve this answer




























        2












        2








        2







        I think 'ejecting' in the case of USB drives means unmounting and poweroff, as implemented by some GUI tools (with the eject symbol).



        You can look into udisks and the tool udisksctl.



        Read the manuals



        man udisks
        man udisksctl


        For example, you will find the commands



           udisksctl mount {--object-path OBJECT | --block-device DEVICE}
        [--filesystem-type TYPE] [--options OPTIONS...]
        [--no-user-interaction]

        udisksctl unmount {--object-path OBJECT | --block-device DEVICE} [--force]
        [--no-user-interaction]

        udisksctl power-off {--object-path OBJECT | --block-device DEVICE}
        [--no-user-interaction]


        I think the



        udisksctl unmount --block-device <device> && 
        udisksctl power-off --block-device <device>


        commands can do what you want. In this case with one partition in 'sdg' <device> is /dev/sdg1




           power-off
        Arranges for the drive to be safely removed and powered off. On the OS
        side this includes ensuring that no process is using the drive, then
        requesting that in-flight buffers and caches are committed to stable
        storage. The exact steps for powering off the drive depends on the
        drive itself and the interconnect used. For drives connected through
        USB, the effect is that the USB device will be deconfigured followed by
        disabling the upstream hub port it is connected to.

        Note that as some physical devices contain multiple drives (for example
        4-in-1 flash card reader USB devices) powering off one drive may affect
        other drives. As such there are not a lot of guarantees associated with
        performing this action. Usually the effect is that the drive disappears
        as if it was unplugged.






        share|improve this answer















        I think 'ejecting' in the case of USB drives means unmounting and poweroff, as implemented by some GUI tools (with the eject symbol).



        You can look into udisks and the tool udisksctl.



        Read the manuals



        man udisks
        man udisksctl


        For example, you will find the commands



           udisksctl mount {--object-path OBJECT | --block-device DEVICE}
        [--filesystem-type TYPE] [--options OPTIONS...]
        [--no-user-interaction]

        udisksctl unmount {--object-path OBJECT | --block-device DEVICE} [--force]
        [--no-user-interaction]

        udisksctl power-off {--object-path OBJECT | --block-device DEVICE}
        [--no-user-interaction]


        I think the



        udisksctl unmount --block-device <device> && 
        udisksctl power-off --block-device <device>


        commands can do what you want. In this case with one partition in 'sdg' <device> is /dev/sdg1




           power-off
        Arranges for the drive to be safely removed and powered off. On the OS
        side this includes ensuring that no process is using the drive, then
        requesting that in-flight buffers and caches are committed to stable
        storage. The exact steps for powering off the drive depends on the
        drive itself and the interconnect used. For drives connected through
        USB, the effect is that the USB device will be deconfigured followed by
        disabling the upstream hub port it is connected to.

        Note that as some physical devices contain multiple drives (for example
        4-in-1 flash card reader USB devices) powering off one drive may affect
        other drives. As such there are not a lot of guarantees associated with
        performing this action. Usually the effect is that the drive disappears
        as if it was unplugged.







        share|improve this answer














        share|improve this answer



        share|improve this answer








        edited Feb 16 at 11:35

























        answered Feb 15 at 19:55









        sudodussudodus

        25.8k33178




        25.8k33178






























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