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I'm running Kubuntu 12.04 on my PC. I want to make one USB port on my computer appear as if it is a USB mass storage device to other devices. In other words, something connected to this USB port will think my whole PC is just an external HDD or a media player or some other USB mass storage device. Is this possible? If so, how would I do it?

MountainX
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    Help me understand your question clearly! – Ruban Savvy Dec 21 '13 at 04:21
  • Say you have an MP3 player. That player appears as a USB mass storage device when connected via USB to another device (say a PC). I want my Linux PC to appear as a USB mass storage device to other devices. Clear? – MountainX Dec 21 '13 at 04:37
  • I think you would need a different hardware configuration as well. You would need device side (aka. gadget) to do that. Plus the gadget drivers. – Keith Dec 21 '13 at 04:48
  • Yes, in terms of a "gadget" I'm thinking Arduino... but I hope someone has already solved this and can tell me how. – MountainX Dec 21 '13 at 23:56
  • I have the same objective. I have the USB host adapter for my Android tablet. MTP is not supported on my Linux. By making the Linux (CentOS-6) "look" like a USB mass storage device, I can copy files to my Android without using an intermediate thumb drive. I want to view OTA (Over The Air) TV recordings on my Android with the VLC beta - which works. I do this daily. MTP doesn't like the MPG file type and will not transfer them. Same is true for MOV files –  Sep 14 '14 at 06:03

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You really can't unless you have a special USB chip that is able to switch from being USB host to USB guest. While such chips are often present in mobile devices, on a workstation it generally doesn't make much sense (and so it isn't there).

I have a hunch that you might be asking a wrong question though.

peterph
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  • In terms of the meta-question, I did not specify that hardware add-ons (for example) had to be excluded. I'm open to using Arduino or some other hardware option, if required. I'm sure there is a solution and now my curiosity to find a solution is aroused even more. :-) – MountainX Dec 21 '13 at 23:55
  • Sure, using a separate system (or at least a peripheral) having such a chip is interesting from educational point of view - e.g. exporting the file system via SAN (~ network accessed block device) and forwarding it to USB connection. However, you may easily deviate greatly from the original problem i.e. not solve it in the end - I'm speaking from own experience here. :) – peterph Dec 22 '13 at 22:48