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I mount the SD card on boot with the following line in /etc/rc.local:

mount /dev/sda2 /media/USB_OC > /home/pi/logs/USB_mount_log 2>&1

This was working perfectly until an apt-get upgrade and now it fails with:

mount: special device /dev/sda2 does not exist

This line still works manually however. So I've added sleep 10 above it in rc.local, and now it mounts ok on boot. But I'm a bit uneasy implementing hacky workarounds like this without understanding the underlying cause. Is there a better solution?

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    Why not just add a fstab entry like everyone else.
    – Milliways
    Commented May 8, 2016 at 9:24
  • How long ago was the previous time you ran apt-get upgrade?
    – goldilocks
    Commented May 8, 2016 at 12:07
  • Just yesterday.
    – geotheory
    Commented May 8, 2016 at 16:08

1 Answer 1

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/etc/rc.local is custom init script and commands added here are run at boot-time. Nothing guarantee at that time your peripheral devices were properly powered up before your mount command get execute. And the hack sleep 10 is a proof.

I suggest you should mount your card at boot with /etc/fstab instead.

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    there's also no guarantee (not 100% anyway) that the device will always be /dev/sda - for example add another USB drive and reboot ... if you must use fstab, "real" admins use UUID=.... Commented May 9, 2016 at 4:17
  • yes, at least use LABEL to differentiate devices in 'fstab', I personally use UUID too :)
    – Aura
    Commented May 9, 2016 at 8:16

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