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Correct way to replace the entware drive?

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Turgut Kalfaoglu

Regular Contributor
Hi.. I wanted to replace the /tmp/mnt/2TBEXTERNAL drive (connected to the first USB port) with another drive. I copied all the files with rsync and even changed the label of the partition of the new drive to be 2TBEXTERNAL but upon restart I could not SSH to the machine.

I can't even find an fstab on the machine. There is nothing in /jffs/configs except smb.conf.add
I wonder if the drive UUID's are used when mounting.

Any ideas what the correct way to replace the system drive is?
Many thanks, -t
 
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Hi.. I wanted to replace the /tmp/mnt/2TBEXTERNAL drive (connected to the first USB port) with another drive. I copied all the files with rsync and even changed the label of the partition of the new drive to be 2TBEXTERNAL but upon restart I could not SSH to the machine.

I can't even find an fstab on the machine. There is nothing in /jffs/configs except smb.conf.add
I wonder if the drive UUID's are used when mounting.

Any ideas what the correct way to replace the system drive is?
Many thanks, -t
This may be a good start....
https://www.snbforums.com/threads/drive-failing.65090/#post-601247
https://www.snbforums.com/threads/changing-usb-drive.65138/#post-601809
 
Hi.. I wanted to replace the /tmp/mnt/2TBEXTERNAL drive (connected to the first USB port) with another drive. I copied all the files with rsync and even changed the label of the partition of the new drive to be 2TBEXTERNAL but upon restart I could not SSH to the machine.

I can't even find an fstab on the machine. There is nothing in /jffs/configs except smb.conf.add
I wonder if the drive UUID's are used when mounting.

Any ideas what the correct way to replace the system drive is?
Many thanks, -t
How did you install Entware?
 
How did you install Entware?
TBH I don't remember.. It must have been whatever method the main site recommends.. I had a stock AC1900 and I added entware to it. It must have been this method..

But I Installed it on the external USB drive I had and I thought I could replace that drive with something left over from a laptop -- that does not require a power adaptor.. You see, whenever I move the drive there is a chance of disconnecting that adaptor and that causes data corruption.. So I wanted to move all the data to the laptop drive (with a usb converter) and get rid of the power adaptor.

I just wondered how the machine mounts these drives when it starts - there is no fstab that I can find anywhere for example. I guess I manually could create one in /jfss/configs folder? I read that would override the default one?
 
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TBH I don't remember.. It must have been whatever method the main site recommends.. I had a stock AC1900 and I added entware to it. It must have been this method..

But I Installed it on the external USB drive I had and I thought I could replace that drive with something left over from a laptop -- that does not require a power adaptor.. You see, whenever I move the drive there is a chance of disconnecting that adaptor and that causes data corruption.. So I wanted to move all the data to the laptop drive (with a usb converter) and get rid of the power adaptor.

I just wondered how the machine mounts these drives when it starts - there is no fstab that I can find anywhere for example. I guess I manually could create one in /jfss/configs folder? I read that would override the default one?
Are you running a recent version of Asuswrt-Merlin? If so I suggest the following:
Since you presumably are running scripts through Entware, you should be able to format the /jffs/ partition without loss of functions.

1. Make a backup of the complete /jffs/ partition outside of the router just to be safe.
2. In the router WebUI under Administration / System set Format JFFS partition at next boot to Yes.
3. Reboot router, it will format the partition
4. Plug in your old 2TBEXTERNAL device, there may be data loss on it with the next step, so make sure all is copied over to the new 2TBEXTERNAL.
5. Start amtm in a SSH terminal with amtm, if Asuswrt-Merlin is older than 384.15, run the install command from my website: https://diversion.ch/amtm.html
6. Enter ep in amtm and let it install Entware, this replaces an existing Entware installation, that's why you should use the old device.
7. Once finished, power off the router and swap the old with the new 2TBEXTERNAL device
8. Boot up and cross fingers.

Note that the amtm Entware mounter expects the Entware files to be in a folder called entware* in the root directory of your new 2TBEXTERNAL device. Rename it to entware if that is not the case before you plug it into the router.

The amtm Entware mounter is far superior than any other method I've come across and does NOT rely on device names or labels. It just works.
 
That's great -- thank you very much! I will report back my progress..
You can actually use any device for step 4, as long as it is formatted with an ext* file system.
 
I recently replaced my USB drive as per my other thread on the forum. I was suggested those windows tools to help, they were useless and mainly just freeware that wouldn't do all the steps without buying a license!

In the end I practically did exactly what @thelonelycoder said by myself, and it worked well!

AMTM is an incredibly useful tool so thank you for putting all the work into it to get it to where it is now! @thelonelycoder

As for replacing the drive, I do believe the faster drive has made a difference to my routers performance. Maybe it's just placebo, but it just seems more responsive in a number of aspects, and FlexQoS seems to perform better, reaching max speeds almost immediately now, but I've got no evidence to prove its the USB!
 

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