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Asked: 2024-09-25T21:26:17+05:30 In:

What are the steps to mount an NTFS partition in Ubuntu 16.04?

I’ve been trying to figure out how to mount an NTFS partition on my Ubuntu 16.04 machine, and I’m kind of stuck. It would really help me if someone could break it down step by step because, to be honest, I’m not super familiar with all the terminal commands and stuff.

So here’s the deal: I’ve got this external hard drive that I use for storing files, and it’s formatted in NTFS because I also use it with my Windows laptop. I recently switched my main setup to Ubuntu 16.04, and I thought it would be easy to access the NTFS drive since Ubuntu has improved a lot over the years. But then I tried plugging it in, and it didn’t automatically mount. I mean, how difficult can it be, right?

I tried just clicking on the ‘Files’ application and looking for it in the sidebar, but it wasn’t showing up at all. I did some digging online, and I saw that there are ways to manually mount it using the terminal, but the various guides I found are a bit all over the place. Some use commands I’ve never heard of, and others skip some crucial steps that just leave me more confused.

So, if anyone has experience with this, could you help a fellow Ubuntu user out? What are the exact steps I need to follow? Do I need to install any special packages first, like NTFS-3G? And what about the permissions—do I need to do anything in that department?

Also, if it’s not too much trouble, could you explain how I can make sure it mounts automatically every time I plug it in? I’ve read something about editing the `/etc/fstab` file, but that sounds a bit risky. I just want to avoid messing anything up, you know? Any tips will be super appreciated!

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    2 Answers

    1. How to Mount an NTFS Partition on Ubuntu 16.04

      No worries! I’ll break it down for you step by step. It’s not as tricky as it seems! Just follow these steps:

      Step 1: Check if NTFS-3G is Installed

      First, let’s make sure you have ntfs-3g installed. This is the package that will help you read and write NTFS file systems.

      sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install ntfs-3g

      Step 2: Identify Your Drive

      Next, plug in your external hard drive and open a terminal. You need to find out where your drive is listed. Use the following command:

      sudo fdisk -l

      This will show you a list of drives. Look for something like /dev/sdb1 (the number may differ). This is your NTFS drive.

      Step 3: Create a Mount Point

      Now, let’s create a place to mount (access) your drive. You can mount it anywhere, but let’s create a folder in /mnt:

      sudo mkdir /mnt/my_ntfs_drive

      Step 4: Mount the Drive

      Now it’s time to mount your drive! Replace /dev/sdb1 with whatever your drive is actually called:

      sudo mount -o uid=1000,gid=1000,umask=000 /dev/sdb1 /mnt/my_ntfs_drive

      This command mounts the drive, and the options specified ensure that you have proper access to the drive (you won’t need to be root to read/write). If this works, you should now see your files in /mnt/my_ntfs_drive!

      Step 5: Auto-Mount on Boot

      If you want your drive to mount automatically every time you plug it in or reboot, you’ll need to add an entry to the /etc/fstab file:

      First, open it with your favorite text editor (make a backup first just in case):

      sudo cp /etc/fstab /etc/fstab.bak
sudo nano /etc/fstab

      Then add this line at the end of the file:

      /dev/sdb1 /mnt/my_ntfs_drive ntfs-3g uid=1000,gid=1000,umask=000 0 0

      Save the file and exit. Now your NTFS drive will automatically mount when you boot your machine!

      Step 6: Unmounting the Drive

      When you’re done using the drive and want to safely remove it, you can unmount it using this command:

      sudo umount /mnt/my_ntfs_drive

      Final Tips

      Be careful when editing /etc/fstab as mistakes can prevent your system from booting properly. If you ever run into issues, you can always boot into recovery mode and restore from your backup.

      If you have any other questions, feel free to ask! Good luck!



    2. Mounting NTFS Partition on Ubuntu 16.04

      To mount your NTFS partition on Ubuntu 16.04, you will need to use the terminal to ensure the necessary packages are installed and to perform the mounting process. First, open the terminal and install the NTFS-3G package by entering the following command:

      sudo apt-get install ntfs-3g

      Once the installation is complete, you can now mount your external NTFS drive. Plug in your external hard drive and identify its device name by running:

      lsblk

      This will list all connected drives. Look for your NTFS drive, typically named something like `/dev/sdb1` (the name may vary). Next, create a mount point where you want to access the partition:

      sudo mkdir /media/ntfs_drive

      Now you can mount the drive using the following command, replacing `/dev/sdX1` with your actual device name:

      sudo mount -t ntfs-3g /dev/sdX1 /media/ntfs_drive

      To ensure the drive mounts automatically every time you connect it, you’ll need to edit the `/etc/fstab` file. Open it with:

      sudo nano /etc/fstab

      Then add a new line at the end of the file, like this:

      /dev/sdX1 /media/ntfs_drive ntfs-3g defaults,nofail 0 0

      Be sure to replace `/dev/sdX1` with your drive’s actual device name. Save the file (Ctrl + O to save, Ctrl + X to exit) and then reboot your machine to test that the drive mounts automatically. If some permissions issues arise, you may want to add the `uid` and `gid` options in the fstab line to ensure your user has the necessary permissions to access the drive. For example:

      /dev/sdX1 /media/ntfs_drive ntfs-3g defaults,nofail,uid=1000,gid=1000 0 0

      This specifies that the drive will be owned by the first user created on the system (usually the main user). Now your NTFS drive should be accessible without any hassle!


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