Accessing Files from a USB Device Using lsblk

Step-by-step guide to mount and explore contents from a USB device listed via lsblk

1. Understand Your lsblk Output

You ran lsblk and saw: 

sdb      8:16   1  7.6G  0 disk 
├─sdb1   8:17   1  200M  0 part 
└─sdb2   8:18   1  7.4G  0 part

This shows your USB drive is /dev/sdb with two partitions: /dev/sdb1 and /dev/sdb2.

2. Create Mount Points

In terminal, create folders where the partitions will be mounted:

sudo mkdir -p /mnt/usb1
sudo mkdir -p /mnt/usb2

3. Mount the Partitions

Now mount each partition to the corresponding directory:

sudo mount /dev/sdb1 /mnt/usb1
sudo mount /dev/sdb2 /mnt/usb2

Note: If the filesystem is not recognized (e.g., NTFS), you may need to install appropriate drivers like ntfs-3g.

4. Browse or Copy Files

To explore the files:

ls /mnt/usb1
ls /mnt/usb2

To copy files to your home folder:

cp -r /mnt/usb1 ~/usb1_files
cp -r /mnt/usb2 ~/usb2_files

5. Unmount When Done

Always unmount to avoid corrupting data:

sudo umount /mnt/usb1
sudo umount /mnt/usb2

6. Optional: Automount with File Manager

If using a desktop environment (like GNOME or KDE), inserting a USB will auto-mount it. You can then browse it via your file manager under /media or /run/media.