Diversion AMTM / Diversion stopped working (USB Drive?)

[Dancing Lemur]

I've been running AMTM/Diversion for years. Once I get it installed, I let it run and just make it sure it's updated. A little while ago, it stopped working. I saw a USB drive not recognized error and thought the USB drive wasn't working. But that seemed to be the case with a different USB drive.

I've tried reformatting the drive and that seemed to work. The router rebooted. But when it came back up and I tried using amtm to install entware (after diversion told me I needed that), I saw the error:

No compatible device(s) found to install Entware on.
A USB storage device formatted with one of
these file systems is required:
ext2, ext3, ext4

Use Format disk (fd) in amtm to format devices to ext*.

Is this a known issue that can be resolved? Or is my USB port broken? I have a RT-AX88U Pro running the latest Merlin firmware (3004.388.8_2). I didn't see any log messages that seemed relevant but I may not have been looking for the right things there.

If someone can point me in the right direction to help debug this, it'd be greatly appreciated. I don't touch this stuff actively until something breaks. Apologies if this was posted somewhere else.

Thanks,

Dancing Lemur

______________________

 

[Dancing Lemur]

I saw something that said ext4 might not be working, so I tried with ext3 and managed to capture the message. I'm not sure why it's saying the drive is .1 GB. And it doesn't appear to detect /dev/sda1.

Dancing Lemur


Formatting sda SanDisk Corporation Anisha (0.1 GB) now!
_____________________________________________

Stopping file serving services and swap file

Unmounting device(s)

Zeroing disk sda SanDisk Corporation Anisha (0.1 GB)

16065+0 records in
16065+0 records out

Creating partition(s) on sda SanDisk Corporation Anisha (0.1 GB)

Device contains neither a valid DOS partition table, nor Sun, SGI, OSF or GPT disklabel
Building a new DOS disklabel. Changes will remain in memory only,
until you decide to write them. After that the previous content
won't be recoverable.


Command (m for help): Building a new DOS disklabel. Changes will remain in memory only,
until you decide to write them. After that the previous content
won't be recoverable.


Command (m for help): Command action
e extended
p primary partition (1-4)
Partition number (1-4): First cylinder (1-1016, default 1): Using default value 1
Last cylinder or +size or +sizeM or +sizeK (1-1016, default 1016): Using default value 1016

Command (m for help): The partition table has been altered.
Calling ioctl() to re-read partition table

Formatting disk as "ext3", enabling journalling

mke2fs 1.45.6 (20-Mar-2020)
The file /dev/sda1 does not exist and no size was specified.
Setting disk device label "AMTMDRIVE"

tune2fs: No such file or directory while trying to open /dev/sda1
Couldn't find valid filesystem superblock.
tune2fs 1.45.6 (20-Mar-2020)

 

[thelonelycoder]

I would recommend to use an external SSD instead of a thumb drive. SSDs are far more reliable and are built for the many read/write cycles while thumb drives are only for occasional use and wear out much faster.

 

[Dancing Lemur]

I thought about that, though the price seemed 4-5x more -- if I had to replace the flash drive every year or two, that'd still be cheaper probably?

I might have an old SSD somewhere that I can try. But given I see similar things with different USB sticks, would you expect the port to work with that?

 

[visortgw]

I thought about that, though the price seemed 4-5x more -- if I had to replace the flash drive every year or two, that'd still be cheaper probably?

I might have an old SSD somewhere that I can try. But given I see similar things with different USB sticks, would you expect the port to work with that?

Cheaper, maybe, but a whole lot less reliable...

 

[aru]

External SSDs are a more reliable and durable choice, especially for routers that require frequent writes or long-term operation. High-quality SSD chips can monitor usage, temperature, and health status, and their enclosures offer better heat dissipation compared to thumb drives (USB flash drives), helping to extend lifespan and maintain stable performance.

I accidentally discovered a rather unique thumb drive cooling solution, which surprised me with the creativity of the online community.

How Hot is your USB key?

HI. I noticed that the USB key I use for the "Persistent JFFS2 partition" on my RT-AX88U gets very hot. I do not have an infrared thermometer to get a precise value, but it feels hot when you touch it. In fact, my USB disk recently stopped working and I had to replace it. Do you guys have...

www.snbforums.com

 

[Dancing Lemur]

SSD vs. Flash discussion not withstanding, I think I may have more basic issues. I found a 1 TB SSD that didn't have anything I needed on it (I'll move to a smaller SSD if I find this works). I hooked up and tried to format it and saw this information below. It doesn't seem to recognize the size of the SSD. It didn't seem to format successfully. When I came came from the reboot, it still didn't detect the drive. Do I have a bad USB port? It recognizes a drive but doesn't seem to do much more...


No compatible device(s) found to install
Entware on.

A USB storage device formatted with one of
these file systems is required:
ext2, ext3, ext4

Use Format disk (fd) in amtm to format
devices to ext*
___________________

Here's the info on the formatting:

Formatting sda SanDisk Extreme Pro 55AF (0.0 GB) now!
_____________________________________________

Stopping file serving services and swap file

Unmounting device(s)

Zeroing disk sda SanDisk Extreme Pro 55AF (0.0 GB)

dd: writing '/dev/sda': No space left on device
2+0 records in
1+0 records out

Creating partition(s) on sda SanDisk Extreme Pro 55AF (0.0 GB)

fdisk: can't read from /dev/sda

Formatting disk as "ext4", enabling journalling

mke2fs 1.45.6 (20-Mar-2020)
The file /dev/sda1 does not exist and no size was specified.
Setting disk device label "AMTM"

tune2fs: No such file or directory while trying to open /dev/sda1
Couldn't find valid filesystem superblock.
tune2fs 1.45.6 (20-Mar-2020)

 

[aru]

I'm not sure if your SanDisk Extreme Pro is experiencing a similar issue to the one reported last year. If it is still under warranty, I recommend contacting the manufacturer for a replacement or repair to ensure your rights are protected.

WD's SSD Failures Stoke Class Action Lawsuit Over SanDisk Extreme Pro

Plaintiff says unreliability of the SSD means it is "worthless" for its intended purpose.

www.tomshardware.com

 

[John Fitzgerald]

Are you formatting the drive on a PC first to NTFS, then taking it to the router, plug it in , then reboot the router?
When it comes up as seen by the router, (Mounted) then go to AMTM and format as EXT4 with Journaling enabled.

I have a RT-AX88U Pro running the latest Merlin firmware (3004.388.8_2).

I would also update this to the new test build for security:

[ 3004_388.8_3 Build(s) ] available build(s)

https://www.asuswrt-merlin.net/test-builds https://www.asuswrt-merlin.net/download 3004.388.8_4 (xx-xxx-2024) - CHANGED: VPN killswitch will now only be active if the VPN client itself is enabled. If you stop/start the client yourself over SSH, you need to also...

www.snbforums.com

 

[thelonelycoder]

I use a variety of USB devices on my routers.
The less used test routers still use USB sticks, one of it is currently 24 years old, an IOMEGA 250 MB model. They work fine for their occasional use

On the Main router RT-AX88U a Samsung Portable SSD is doing its job fine 24/7.
The primary test router RT-AX86S with a conventional Corsair SSD works fast and really great.
The still-not-having-a-final-Firmware-release test router GT-BE98 has a SanDisk attached.

If I want to speed USB things up on any router for testing, I simply attach an NVM SSD to the USB3 port. The difference can be amazing, especially on older routers!

 

[Gary_Dexter]

Interesting mine did exactly the same thing on Friday and had been running flawlessly up until then.

Very strange.