How to mount NTFS partition in Ubuntu

I have installed Ubuntu the Warty Warthog release. My problem is that I cannot mount my NTFS (hda1) partition for myself. I made a folder from my username, and mounted the partition by using SU. Now, I do not have permission to view the partition. I always have to log in as SU to view the files.

Please Help.

Go here
*www.linux-ntfs.org/
It may provide u some help
or go here
*discoverlinux.blogspot.com/2006/04/mounting-ntfs-partition-in-redhat-and.html#links
Perhaps it may help you out

M

Well you can mount ntfs as read-only partition. Add the following in /etc/fstab to mount it and view without su'ing.

Code:

/dev/hdx  /<name of the folder>   ntfs   defaults,ro,umask=000    0  0

Here x in hdx is the partition number of the ntfs partition. If you have SATA drive you have to use sdx.
And reboot the computer. Somehow it did not work for me without rebooting.

Tried but still I have to switch to su to view it.

M

su in ubuntu???
Please explain what have you done and have you rebooted after making changes?

Yes, I made changes to /etc/fstab as you have described exactly, even counted the spaces and entered the lines. I then restarted and tried to get into the /mnt/win folder, where I have it mounted, then it says that I donot have permission. I swear I entered everything correctly.

M

Again did you reboot befotre trying to access the partition after you made changes? And no need to count the number of spaces I have left it does not make a difference. You just need to leave a space.
It won't work without a reboot. That had happened to me too. Me and some others were puliing out our hair at why I could not access windows partition as normal user even after making changes in fstab. But, it went all fine after the next reboot.

Ain't it possible to have "write-access" to NTFS partitions from ubuntu?

M

Well it is possible using ntfs-3g or ntfs-static but it will be too slow. It is so slow that I found it too irritating to even use it.

^^
NTFS-3G isnt slow at all tech_your_future!
Here, follow this for those who need NTFS-3g in Ubuntu.
*ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=217009
__________

tech_your_future said:
Again did you reboot befotre trying to access the partition after you made changes? And no need to count the number of spaces I have left it does not make a difference. You just need to leave a space.
It won't work without a reboot. That had happened to me too. Me and some others were puliing out our hair at why I could not access windows partition as normal user even after making changes in fstab. But, it went all fine after the next reboot.

are yaar, he said he rebooted. I mounted NTFS in my /media folder and it worked, maybe /mnt/win isnt open to all groups ? Thats a bit weird though.

D

i never mounted ntfs partition on ubuntu but i don't know how it mounted windows partition automatically! it allow me to read write on ntfs drive without any problem.

M

Which version of Ubuntu are you talking about Desi-Tek? It must be Edgy cos AFAIK, ntfs write is supported only since kernel 2.6.17.

Edgy too by default doesnt allow writing to NTFS. But in coming mid summer the k-mod plugin will start write support.

D

@tech_your_future hi mate i am using dapper with latest version of kernel which i compiled recently .It require root permission to to write any thing on ntfs drive .

M

OK so that's why. You have compiled a kernel with ntfs write support. A default install of Dapper won't allow to write to ntfs.
And you should be able to write as non-root user too. I guess module isn't loaded or you may have not set write permissions for non-root user, maybe intentionally.

D

latest kernel is not the reason i am able to read/write in ntfs drive from the very first day when i installed ubuntu for first time. even through live cd.
actually i mounted ntfs drive through system>administration>>disks
than i created a folder called /ntfs/windows
than i selected partition 1 added this access path /ntfs/windows
and than i clicked on enable it mounted ntfs drive with read and write support

M

Not possible AFAIK dapper doesn't support writing to ntfs.

D

i have no idea how it is working for me

The Live CD will definitely not support writing of NTFS. If you compiled a kernel, good job.

D

i am using fully cr@ckd mce xp may be that could be the reason?

@QwertyManiac it took me more than 1.5hour to compile source code of kernel. but it was really fun

M

Nope it doesn't have anything to do with pirated or non-pirated copy of windows. Cos you need the ntfs write enabled in the kernel, which came after 2.6.17 and Dapper has 2.6.15 kernel and I don't think ubuntu has anyway enabled write access to ntfs in 2.6.15 kernel by some patches.

D

no idea how it is working but it is working for me

D

the only hitch for me to install this addon is the warning.. that it may hurt my hdd in some way.. how can i reassure myself.. that nothing would be damaged by it
thanks

D

@tech_your_future r u sure that latest version of kernel has ntfs write support?
but people in debian irc told me that it does not have ntfs write support

<Dheeraj_k> i just installed latest kernel but still not able to write any thing in ntfs drive
<PerfDave> Dheeraj_k: I don't think writeable NTFS support is in the upstream Linux kernel, because it depends on non-Free software.
<jelly-home> PerfDave: say what?
<jelly-home> Dheeraj_k: /msg dpkg ntfs-3g ... but ntfs-3g is a work in progress... HAVE BACKUPS
<PerfDave> jelly-home: Say what what?
<jelly-home> PerfDave: oh, sorry, the "ntfs driver depends on non-free so that's why it isn't in the kernel tree"
<jelly-home> PerfDave: sounds strange... what non-free software does it depend on? ntfs-progs (libntfs) is AFAICT free.
<PerfDave> jelly-home: Hmm, I thought that all the usable NTFS stuff wrapped around the Windows DLL?
<jelly-home> PerfDave: nope, current state of the art is a devel version of libntfs ("ntfs-3g") used with fuse.
<PerfDave> jelly-home: Which doesn't use any of the Windows code at all?
<jelly-home> PerfDave: Correct.
<PerfDave> jelly-home: Fair enough, I stand corrected
<PerfDave> There have been GPL-licensed wrappers for proprietary code before.
<Dheeraj_k> <jelly-home> if libntfs is free than can we expect ntfs write support in future release of kernel?
<jelly-home> PerfDave: there was that captive-ntfs hack that used pieces of wine, ReactorOS and windows dlls, yes
jelly-home> Dheeraj_k: Dunno... as it is now, you don't need support in kernel at all - just use ntfs-3g
<jelly-home> Dheeraj_k: ... the only thing needed from kernel is fuse, and it's been available in vanilla kernels since 2.6.15

<Dheeraj_k> <jelly-home> thanx for the information
<jelly-home> Dheeraj_k: you're welcome

source
irc.freenode.net
##debian channel

M

I am talking of vanilla kernel. Not the ubuntu kernel.

That PerfDave kid is stupid...NTFS-Write support (no matter how half baked it is) has been in official kernel since I don't remember when. On the other hand...the other user jelly-home just told you about a better solution for NTFS write i.e. ntfs-3g.

M

I guess perf-dave meant about debian when he said that.

D

@tech_your_future i am using vanilla kernel version linux-2.6.19 and the problem is it is allowing me to write any thing on ntfs drive but it is supporting the read.

and they were knowin that i am using kernel v 2.6.19 .

but surprisingly i am able to do read/write on ntfs when i boot ubuntu on its default kernel!

M

Did you select the module which allows writing to ntfs?

D

yeah i did selected ntfs and other filesystem module. and i guess i got the answer and this time by very exprienced debian user and he is admin of that channel and if i am right than it is a official debian channel

(05:00:24) Guerin: Dheeraj_k: it's not half-baked, it's completely nonfunctional.
(05:01:21) Dheeraj_k: Guerin: that means what they said in thinkdigit is wrong?
(05:01:24) lacin left the room (quit: "Leaving").
(05:01:57) Guerin: Dheeraj_k: it's technically right - there IS what they call ntfs-write in kernel. It's just utterly ****ing useless.
(05:02:02) Guerin: Dheeraj_k: *utterly
(05:04:26) Guerin: Dheeraj_k: well, a very small part. The driver can't create or delete files, and can't change the size of a file. But you could change a file containing `bar' to `foo' as long as the size remained identical, for instance.
(05:05:49) Dheeraj_k: Guerin: actually some linux user said that i can edit, delete,move, rename file in ntfs if i am using vanilla kernel
(05:05:59) Guerin: Dheeraj_k: that's very new, then.

and he also visited this thread before answering the query as i gave him the link via pm

I hv jst installed Fc6, wll editing the fstab in the same way work!

wht dows umask men in this line!(umask=000 or umask=0222)

M

OH sorry. I haven't really tried it on a ntfs partition myself cos I don't have one. I just know that there's ntfs write support. Never knew that it was non-functional.

D

has anyone tried ntfs-3g???
did anyone find any errors by writing/editing on ntfs partitions of Seagate 80 gb sata drives??
please i intend to use it.. but wanna know how safe would it be.. or how risky would it be?
thanks

^^ ntfs-3g is perfectly safe. I use it on my home PC. I've transferred all kinds of files (big and small) using it. Never faced any problem, and its fast too!

D

kalpik: you use your home pc as dual boot.. i use xp to play all the games.. and it has quite a staggering amount data useful to my dad.. was wondering if its same thing (dual boot) and no errs

I support Kalpik, I've been using ntfs-3g following his earlier advice and have transferred many a files between ext3 and NTFS, 0% health reduce or problems. Just be careful with the rm, but there is a .thrash thats created on NTFS too!

D

whats rm and .thrash plz elaborate
thanks

nitish_mythology said:
I hv jst installed Fc6, wll editing the fstab in the same way work!

wht dows umask men in this line!(umask=000 or umask=0222)

Pls answer my ques too........

M

da_tcpip said:
whats rm and .thrash plz elaborate
thanks

rm stands for remove command
.thrash is the thrash folder

@da_tcpip: yes, i have a dual boot setup Ubuntu/Vista

@nitish_mythology: That's got something to do with usergroups. The umask determines what usergroups get what kind of access (read or write) to the partition.

M

nitish_mythology said:
I hv jst installed Fc6, wll editing the fstab in the same way work!

wht dows umask men in this line!(umask=000 or umask=0222)

See this *en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umask . It is a bit confusing but just read for basic understanding, if you understand then great. Also read about POSIX. Link is there on the page, it will be quite useful.
Also read man pages of mount and fstab. They are available on the net too *www.die.net/doc/linux/man/man8/mount.8.html , *www.tuxfiles.org/linuxhelp/fstab.html and many more links available from googling but better read the man pages on FC since you don't have a fast connection.

Can Ubuntu read Fat32 with ease?

DeSmOnD dAvId said:
Can Ubuntu read Fat32 with ease?

Of course, it can!

hi when i installed ubutu it was only reading the ntfs then i installed some package to enable the write...it works fine..............now i'm facing the problem noether i'm able to read nor write. when i open sda1,sda2,sda4 and sda5 which is ntfs there is nothing in the folder ubutu is not able to read ne thing.
please give ne valid reason for this coz?

u need to look for partns UUID's changed.look at the o/p of sudo fdisk -l and blkid command can give the UUID's of ur partns.edit /etc/fstab accordingly.else use the classic /dev/sdax in fstab.

praka123 said:
u need to look for partns UUID's changed.look at the o/p of sudo fdisk -l and blkid command can give the UUID's of ur partns.edit /etc/fstab accordingly.else use the classic /dev/sdax in fstab.

i really dint understood wht u siad but when i did sudo fdisk -l i got this.

Disk /dev/sda: 80.0 GB, 80026361856 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 9729 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 * 1 2550 20482843+ 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda2 2551 5265 21808237+ f W95 Ext'd (LBA)
/dev/sda3 5906 7180 10241437+ 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda4 7181 9729 20474842+ 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda5 4476 5265 6345643+ 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda6 2551 4349 14450404+ 83 Linux
/dev/sda7 4350 4475 1012063+ 82 Linux swap / Solaris

Partition table entries are not in disk order

now tell me what to do?
Edit: now its working i think sudo fdisk -l did the magic.

friends again my ntfs partitions are not in the place they disappeared... i tried every thing what i done before but i'm not able to gain it again.... please help i have all the data in those folders only.

post the contents of fstab here

^post the contents of /etc/fstab here.If ur novice,I'll ask u paste the o/p of below commands from a terminal(in menu Applications>Accessories>Terminal):
type below command each and press enter and copy the output and paste here.

Code:

cat /etc/fstab

Code:

 blkid

just copy the o/p from the terminal by selecting with mouse right click copy and paste here.

You know, this may be a little late but if the OP has an internet connection and Ubuntu, all he had to do was:

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

Hmm...

this is what i get after cat /etc/fstab

Code:

root@mak:/home/mukesh# cat /etc/fstab
# /etc/fstab: static file system information.
#
#  -- This file has been automaticly generated by ntfs-config -- 
#
# <file system> <mount point>   <type>  <options>       <dump>  <pass>

proc /proc proc defaults 0 0
# Entry for /dev/sda6 :
UUID=c2648606-56f2-44b0-9741-9c2a0de549dc / ext3 defaults,errors=remount-ro 0 1
# Entry for /dev/sda1 :
UUID=9698CB5998CB3691 /media/sda1 ntfs-3g defaults,locale=en_IN 0 1
# Entry for /dev/sda3 :
UUID=E0C0DF7FC0DF59FC /media/sda3 ntfs-3g defaults,locale=en_IN 0 1
# Entry for /dev/sda4 :
UUID=4CC86B13C86AFA9A /media/sda4 ntfs-3g defaults,locale=en_IN 0 1
# Entry for /dev/sda5 :
UUID=709C8D5C9C8D1E2A /media/sda5 ntfs-3g defaults,locale=en_IN 0 1
# Entry for /dev/sda7 :
UUID=92163ea2-326d-4e7c-b290-24ddcd12be33 none swap sw 0 0
/dev/scd1 /media/cdrom0 udf,iso9660 user,noauto 0 0
/dev/scd0 /media/cdrom1 udf,iso9660 user,noauto 0 0
/dev/fd0 /media/floppy0 auto rw,user,noauto 0 0

and for blkid

Code:

root@mak:/home/mukesh# blkid
/dev/sda1: TYPE="ntfs" 
/dev/sda3: TYPE="ntfs" 
/dev/sda4: TYPE="ntfs" 
/dev/sda5: TYPE="ntfs" 
/dev/sda7: UUID="92163ea2-326d-4e7c-b290-24ddcd12be33" TYPE="swap" 
/dev/sda6: UUID="c2648606-56f2-44b0-9741-9c2a0de549dc" SEC_TYPE="ext2" TYPE="ext3" 
root@mak:/home/mukesh#

You know, this may be a little late but if the OP has an internet connection and Ubuntu, all he had to do was:

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

Hmm...

i have ntfs config tool installed...

^seems like u have formatted/moved ur ntfs partns

so uuid set by ubuntu may be lost.so no probs.do as follows:
edit ur /etc/fstab to look as follows for sda1,sda3,sda4,sda5(ur ntfs partns) ONLY:
remaining entries shud be the same.
for editing u need admin(root) access for that press ALT+F2 to get "run" dialogue.inside enter "gksudo gedit /etc/fstab" -ofcorz without quote.edit,save and exit the editor.

Code:

# Entry for /dev/sda1 :
[B]/dev/sda1[/B] /media/sda1 ntfs-3g defaults,locale=en_IN 0 1
# Entry for /dev/sda3 :
[B]/dev/sda3[/B] /media/sda3 ntfs-3g defaults,locale=en_IN 0 1
# Entry for /dev/sda4 :
[B]/dev/sda4[/B] /media/sda4 ntfs-3g defaults,locale=en_IN 0 1
# Entry for /dev/sda5 :
[B]/dev/sda5[/B] /media/sda5 ntfs-3g defaults,locale=en_IN 0 1

now after saved and exit editor,try below command and look inside ur ntfs mount dirs for whether mounted

Code:

sudo mount -a

^this will solve ur problem of mounting ntfs at boot.though u can post here the o/p of:

Code:

ls /dev/disk/by-uuid -lh

Also looking at ur cdrom drives,I will recommend u get a latest kernel for ur architecture(linux-image-2.6.20-16-386 for intel) u can search that using synaptic package manager after pressing "reload" while internet is ON.

praka123 said:
now after saved and exit editor,try below command and look inside ur ntfs mount dirs for whether mounted

Code:

sudo mount -a

after giving a mount -a at terminal i got this

Code:

root@mak:/home/mukesh# mount -a fusermount: mount failed: Device or resource busy FUSE mount point creation failed Unmounting /dev/disk/by-uuid/9698CB5998CB3691 (documents) fusermount: mount failed: Device or resource busy FUSE mount point creation failed Unmounting /dev/disk/by-uuid/E0C0DF7FC0DF59FC (Windows) fusermount: mount failed: Device or resource busy FUSE mount point creation failed Unmounting /dev/disk/by-uuid/4CC86B13C86AFA9A (Entertainment) fusermount: mount failed: Device or resource busy FUSE mount point creation failed Unmounting /dev/disk/by-uuid/709C8D5C9C8D1E2A (extended) root@mak:/home/mukesh#

here as you can see every thing is failed but my partitions are working fine...i have installed 'NTFS config tool' it is hapning because of this?

Also looking at ur cdrom drives,I will recommend u get a latest kernel for ur architecture(linux-image-2.6.20-16-386 for intel) u can search that using synaptic package manager after pressing "reload" while internet is ON.

i'll upgrade when i'll have enough download balance right now im strugling with download limit.

I have now got Ubuntu 7.04 FF release and am quite happy with it. It reads NTFS with no sweat.

Nice! Remember, you can't WRITE to an NTFS partition however, unless you do:

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