How Do I Know the Device Path to an Usb-Stick?

Maya Lin-Takahashi
Maya Lin-Takahashi
• • 5 min read

I Have a Usb-Stick (Used as an Installation Medium). Now I Need to Install a Driver from a Restricted Folder on That Device). but How Do I Get the Device Path...

How Do I Know the Device Path to an Usb-Stick?

I have a USB-stick (used as an installation medium). Now I need to install a driver from a restricted folder on that device). But how do I get the device path to my USB-stick (e.g. /dev/sda3 so I can mount it using the mount command?

I have read the answer to but fdisk -l shows nothing to me.

3

6 Answers

First plug in your USB-Stick.
Then type: 

lsblk

Your output should look something like this

NAME   MAJ:MIN RM   SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINT
sda      8:0    0 465,8G  0 disk 
├─sda1   8:1    0  74,5G  0 part /
├─sda2   8:2    0 390,2G  0 part /home
├─sda3   8:3    0     1K  0 part 
└─sda5   8:5    0     1G  0 part [SWAP]

Now you can use the size to determine which one is your usb stick . To mount it somewhere in your home folder for example just type: 

mkdir ~/UsbStick
sudo mount /dev/PATH_TO_YOUR_STICK ~/UsbStick

obviously replacing PATH_TO_YOUR_STICK with the right /dev/sdX path and ~/UsbStick with the directory you created using the mkdir command

find device path, LABEL, UUID and TYPE of block devices with help of command 

sudo blkid

result will be like 

/dev/sda1: UUID="XXXX" TYPE="ntfs" 
/dev/sda5: UUID="XXXX-XXXX" TYPE="ext4"
/dev/sda6: UUID="XXXX-XXXX" TYPE="swap" 
/dev/sda7: UUID="XXXX-XXXX" TYPE="ext4" 
/dev/sda8: UUID="XXXX-XXXX" TYPE="ext4" 
/dev/sdb1: LABEL="p" UUID="XXXX-XXXX" TYPE="vfat"

get your device path and fire mount command for usb-stick.

Must Read

Device names of flash drives

A flash drive can be connected

  • via USB (typically a USB stick or a memory card via a USB adapter)

  • the device name is the same as for SATA drives, /dev/sdx

  • and partitions are named /dev/sdxn

where x is the device letter and n the partition number, for example /dev/sda1

  • via PCI (typically a memory card in a built-in slot in a laptop)

  • the device name is /dev/mmcblkm

  • and partitions are named /dev/mmcblkmpn

where m is the device number and n the partition number, for example /dev/mmcblk0p1

Maya Lin-Takahashi

Maya Lin-Takahashi

Consumer Tech & Gadget Reviewer
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Maya is a hardware enthusiast who tests and reviews smart home devices, smartphones, wearables, and audio gear. She focuses on practical consumer value and build quality.