No dev/sd* - can't mount usb

[elk29n]

So after a full system upgrade on my dockstar, I can not access any of the usb drives. Even the usb drive the OS is on. I can ssh and boot in ok but I get errors when attempting to mount. Inside the /dev area there is no sda,sdb, etc.
I ran mount and get this:
$this->bbcode_second_pass_code('', '/dev/sda1 on /.aufs/rw type ext2 (rw,relatime,errors=continue)
ubi:modules on /.aufs/modules type ubifs (ro,noatime)
aufs on / type aufs (rw,noatime,nodiratime,si=be2cf04a)
proc on /proc type proc (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime)
sys on /sys type sysfs (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime)
run on /run type tmpfs (rw,nosuid,nodev,relatime,mode=755)
devpts on /dev/pts type devpts (rw,relatime,mode=600)
shm on /dev/shm type tmpfs (rw,nosuid,nodev,relatime)
')

then I ran cat /proc/partitions and get this:
$this->bbcode_second_pass_code('', 'major minor #blocks name

31 0 1024 mtdblock0
31 1 4096 mtdblock1
31 2 32768 mtdblock2
31 3 224256 mtdblock3
8 0 2000712 sda
8 1 1999841 sda1
8 16 1953514584 sdb
8 17 1953513472 sdb1
8 32 976762584 sdc
8 33 976760001 sdc1
')

The only things in /dev are:
$this->bbcode_second_pass_code('', '[root@Arch Linux ARM install dev]# ls
char fd kmsg null pts stderr stdout urandom
console initctl log ptmx shm stdin tty1 zero
')

Any help is much appreciated. I searched the forum but all the answers I tried did not work.

Thanks in advance

[hpglow]

Have you tried a hard reboot? I only ask because with my PogoPlug s4 if I soft-reboot I loose all USB connected HDDs, but if I disconnect the power and wait a couple seconds and plug it all back in they all come back. Not the same device, but I figured I would put in a suggestion.

[elk29n]

Yeah I tried a hard reboot but that didn't work.
I followed the re-enabling automount thread thinking it was that but to no avail.

I also even attempted to just do a fresh install but I can't get it to recognize sda to partition the usb drive.
Is my bootloader screwed too?

[hydro]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('elk29n', '
')I also even attempted to just do a fresh install but I can't get it to recognize sda to partition the usb drive.

[moonman]

ext2 doesnt have journal so its error prone. Check that partition with e2fsck using your computer and linux live cd/installation before you jump to reinstalling the whole thing

[elk29n]

@moonman - I've had ext2 errors before but never like this and I heard that ext3 was bad for USB. I started to think about doing the rescue CD/USB but would that help with the bootloader issue (see below)? And had just attempted a reinstall after I saw your post. Doh!

@hydro - I tried with and without USB (see below)

To give some back history:
Last time I updated pacman, this site was Arch Linux ARM (some almost a year ago?). After the update, I fixed some errors in the packages that I got and thought for the most part I had everything working except automount. I updated/re-enabled automount per the thread details and still could not get any drive recognized in /dev.
In one instance, I pulled the USB OS drive to load into Pogo OS but could not SSH into it.
I connected the USB OS and booted into ALARM fine but still no drives recognized. I then manually mounted sda and got one external drive under sdb but still couldn't get sdc mounted.
Well my curiosity and frustration got the best of me. I attempted to reinstall/redo the ALARM USB drive but after doing the partition and setup, I rebooted and could not SSH into it. Even without the drive AND network disconnected I had a solid green light. Bad bootloader? Think I bricked it?

Thanks for your help so far guys.

[moonman]

You may have just bricked it. You will need a serial cable to de-brick.

[elk29n]

@ moonman - Yeah I figured I did. Just to try I redid the USB OS on a Linux PC and plugged it in. It shows the solid green light after booting and I can ping it but can't SSH.