Published on March 8, 2007

Accessing an NTFS partition in read/write mode from Kubuntu Linux

Abstract

This article describes how to use an NTFS partition in read/write mode from Kubuntu Linux.
For this example I used Kubuntu v. 6.10 Edgy; if other version is intended it is necessary to replace the edgy from repositories with the name you are using. Also for older versions the package (ntfs-3g) may not be available.

For Ubuntu the same package is needed and the same repository should be used but it will be necessary to use Synaptic package manager
http://www.debianadmin.com/simple-package-management- with-synaptic-package-manager-in-ubuntu.html
instead of Adept Manager Manage Packages.

For command line editor could be used gedit instead of kate.

More detailed information about installing and configuring Ubuntu / Kubuntu could be found on the following addresses:
1) http://ubuntuguide.org/wiki/Ubuntu_Edgy
2) http://www.ubuntuforums.org/index.php

Installing ntfs-3g package

For accessing a NTFS partition in read/write mode it is neceassary to use ntfs-3g package for mounting the partition in a folder. The ntfs-3g must be installed by the user because it is not included on the installation CD.

GUI mode

1) Adding the repository for ntfs-3g.
- Start Adept Manager from K-menu / System / Adept Manager Manage Packages.
- Select View / Manage Repositories menu.
- In the new repository edit insert deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu edgy main restricted universe
- Press Add button.
- Repeat previous two steps for deb-src http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu edgy main restricted universe repository.
- Press Apply button.
- Press Close button.
- From Fetch Updates button from the toolbar.

2) Installing ntfs-3g
- Type ntfs-3g in the search edit.
- Expand the package from the list and press Request Install button.
- Press Apply Changes from the toolbar.

Command line mode
1) Adding the repository for ntfs-3g.
- Open a console from K-menu / System / Konsole Terminal Program
- Type sudo kate /etc/apt/sources.list
- In the editor append the following lines:
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu edgy main restricted universe
deb-src http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu edgy main restricted universe
- Save the file and close the editor.

2) Installing ntfs-3g
- Type apt-get install ntfs-3g.

Mount partition

For mounting partitions it is necessary to open a console as described in the previous paragraph.
- Type sudo ntfs-3g /dev/[partition] [mount-point]

It is necessary to substitute the [partition] and [mount-point] with the desired values.

For displaying names of all partitions from the system it is necessary to type:
cat /proc/partitions

The partition names are composed from drive-type , drive-letterand partition-number.
For drive type are used:
- hd for IDE
- sd for SATA, USB and SCSI.

For drive letter is used a for first drive, b for second etc.

For partition numbering are used digits from 1 - 4 for primary partitions and from 5 upward for logical drives.

For example the first primary partition from second IDE drive is hdb1, first logical drive from third drive on USB drive is sdc5.

The mount point is the folder in the Linux file system from where it is accessed the partition. Usually it could be a subfolder of /mnt or /media but also it could be mounted in a subfolder of home folder.

It is necessary to provide proper rights (user,group) for this folder to be accessible after mount.

Notes
Mounting fails if the journal file of the partition is corrupted. For repairing journal files follow the following steps:
1) boot in windows
2) run chkdsk [drive]
3) reboot in windows

Unmounting partition

After finishing working it is recommended to unmount the partition.
For USB drives it is also necessary to unmount the partitions before removing them from the computer otherwise the files could be corrupted.

It is possible to unmount the partitions from desktop by right click.
If the mounted partitions are not displayed on the desktop it is necessary to open a console as described in previous paragraphs.

Type sudo fusermount -u [mount-point] or
sudo umount [mount-point] or
sudo umount [partition]

Notes
1) It is necessary to close all the files from the partition before unmounting.
2) During the shut down process the operating systems unmount all the partitions automatically.