Hard Drive is always active when formatted to EXT4.

[KGB7]

Router Asus AX86U, firmware Merlin 3004.388.8_4

I have a HDD connected to the router via USB port and it was formatted to NTFS.

Today I formatted the drive to EXT4 and now the HDD is constantly active. There is nothing on the HDD it self, I even performed factory reset of the router, deleting all the settings and the issue is still there. I disconnected all devices from the router and disconnected router from WAN, but HDD light keep blinking. But when I go back to using NTFS, HDD is not active. I tried both USB ports.

Nothing is being written to the drive, I checked for hidden files and folders.

As a test I used a USB Thumb Drive. Formatted the thumb drive to NTFS and there is no activity while plugged in to a router. So I formatted the thumb drive to EXT4 same way as I did HDD, via AMTM. And there is constant activity now as well ( it has an led light ). And now thumb drive is constantly active.

Anyone has any idea what it could be?

 

[OzarkEdge]

Anyone has any idea what it could be?

Another good reason to not trust router storage with your data.

/snark

OE

 

[Amplifier]

Anyone has any idea what it could be?

TLDR
Journal initialization on first mount.

---

Can't remember how long it was on my recent upgrade on external WD 5T. Not used for router though, but for laptop. I'd say under 1 hr, I really didn't care for initialization and did wait before it finished before I started a large backup. Not sure if it would have affected write speed if I started the backup right away, but I didn't care to find out.

---

If you care for docs.​

ref. Ext4 Filesystem

You can use "Find in page" for

• Data Mode
• initializ (typo intentional)
• first mounted
• mount, mounting

etc.

---

For web search​

• ext4 what is journal
• initialization on first mount after formatting external hdd with ext4

etc.

---

Response was not checked for accuracy

GPT4All​

When you format an external HDD with ext4, there are a few things that happen to prepare the drive for use. Here's what might be causing the activity:

1. Initializing the file system: When you create an ext4 file system on a fresh drive, it needs to initialize some internal structures and data blocks. This process is called "journaling" or "superblock initialization." It creates the necessary metadata, such as the superblock (containing information about the file system), inode tables, and block bitmaps.
2. Creating an empty journal: ext4 uses a transactional file system approach, which means it maintains a log of all changes made to the file system. This is called the "journal." When you format the drive with ext4, it creates an empty journal to record future transactions (i.e., writes) on the file system.
3. Writing metadata: The file system needs to write its own metadata, such as the superblock and inode tables, onto the disk. This process is called "writing the file system's internal data."
4. Initializing block allocation: ext4 uses a technique called "block allocation" to manage free space on the drive. When you format the drive with ext4, it initializes this mechanism by allocating blocks for future use.
5. Performing disk checks (optional): Depending on your Linux distribution and the `mkfs.ext4` command options used during formatting, there might be additional disk checks performed to ensure the integrity of the file system.

These activities are normal and necessary to create a functional ext4 file system on a fresh drive. The "activity" you're observing is likely due to one or more of these processes running in the background as the file system initializes itself.

Keep in mind that some of this activity might be visible through tools like `dmesg` (kernel messages) or `fsck` (file system check), which can provide detailed information about what's happening during the initialization process.

 

[Amplifier]

Another good reason to not trust router storage with your data.

/snark

OE

Expectations need to be modified and you'll be fine. Like with a plastic or steel knife.

 

[KGB7]

Another good reason to not trust router storage with your data.

/snark

OE

I only use the hard drive for movies and tv shows so I can stream them to tv.

 

[Digilog]

Anyone has any idea what it could be?

The two files you look at in regards to mounts is the system mount file (/etc/mtab), which is the file of things currently mounted and the /etc/fstab file that is the profile of drives to mount. Most likely there is an entry to an auto mount for the USB if the file system is EXT4 in fstab if it did complete the format. There is a couple of other places they could invoke auto mounting, but this is the common place for this.

But as far as how long it takes to format completely, its about 15 minutes for every Terabyte through the USB on the command line, give or take a few minutes depending on the speed of the drive. But this is only the command line. If done through gparted or through a web GUI it can take hours.

 

[Digilog]

Another good reason to not trust router storage with your data.

I still think its crazy and an unsafe security practice to run any shared storage from a network edge device like the router. Of course I feel that way about VPNs too, but for the reason of the performance hit to the router processor.

 

[KGB7]

TLDR
Journal initialization on first mount.

---

Can't remember how long it was on my recent upgrade on external WD 5T. Not used for router though, but for laptop. I'd say under 1 hr, I really didn't care for initialization and did wait before it finished before I started a large backup. Not sure if it would have affected write speed if I started the backup right away, but I didn't care to find out.

---

If you care for docs.​

ref. Ext4 Filesystem

You can use "Find in page" for

• Data Mode
• initializ (typo intentional)
• first mounted
• mount, mounting

etc.

---

For web search​

• ext4 what is journal
• initialization on first mount after formatting external hdd with ext4

etc.

---

Response was not checked for accuracy

GPT4All​

When you format an external HDD with ext4, there are a few things that happen to prepare the drive for use. Here's what might be causing the activity:

1. Initializing the file system: When you create an ext4 file system on a fresh drive, it needs to initialize some internal structures and data blocks. This process is called "journaling" or "superblock initialization." It creates the necessary metadata, such as the superblock (containing information about the file system), inode tables, and block bitmaps.
2. Creating an empty journal: ext4 uses a transactional file system approach, which means it maintains a log of all changes made to the file system. This is called the "journal." When you format the drive with ext4, it creates an empty journal to record future transactions (i.e., writes) on the file system.
3. Writing metadata: The file system needs to write its own metadata, such as the superblock and inode tables, onto the disk. This process is called "writing the file system's internal data."
4. Initializing block allocation: ext4 uses a technique called "block allocation" to manage free space on the drive. When you format the drive with ext4, it initializes this mechanism by allocating blocks for future use.
5. Performing disk checks (optional): Depending on your Linux distribution and the `mkfs.ext4` command options used during formatting, there might be additional disk checks performed to ensure the integrity of the file system.

These activities are normal and necessary to create a functional ext4 file system on a fresh drive. The "activity" you're observing is likely due to one or more of these processes running in the background as the file system initializes itself.

Keep in mind that some of this activity might be visible through tools like `dmesg` (kernel messages) or `fsck` (file system check), which can provide detailed information about what's happening during the initialization process.

You were right, it did take about an hour and fifteen minutes. When I used same HHD with ext4 on a Flint 2 router that is running OpenWRT, the hard drive never blinked for an hour or even 2 minutes.

 

[OzarkEdge]

I still think its crazy and an unsafe security practice to run any shared storage from a network edge device like the router. Of course I feel that way about VPNs too, but for the reason of the performance hit to the router processor.

I'm not sure about crazy but... I played with it once and it did not take long to decide 'no thanks'... storage has to be faultless for my data. That said, I can see hosting some temp storage that poses not real consequence when it glitches, like a DVR for OTA TV.

OE

 

[Amplifier]

You were right, it did take about an hour and fifteen minutes. When I used same HHD with ext4 on a Flint 2 router that is running OpenWRT, the hard drive never blinked for an hour or even 2 minutes.

Also keep in mind

GPT4ALL
Journal Replay in a Nutshell
When an ext4 file system is shut down unexpectedly (e.g., due to power loss or unplugging), it enters journal replay mode.
In this mode, the filesystem:

1. Replays incomplete write transactions from its internal log (the journal).
2. Completes any pending writes that were interrupted by the shutdown.
3. Ensures file system consistency and marks itself as clean upon completion.

---

I only use the hard drive for movies and tv shows so I can stream them to tv.

I figured that you, as a former agent, would know how to handle any sensitive data and only stream entertainment content in the safe house.
Knock, knock.
Who’s there?
Spy-cia-l admin Russell.
Russell who?
You and your Toys RUS are going for a drive.

P.S.
Remember, don’t drink and mix your drives.
Drink Matcha responsibly.