Can't access NTFS volumes

[Objekt]

I can't access the NTFS volumes on my system. Strangely, they show up in the Media browser list of devices, even with correct volume titles for those that have them. But if I try to access them, I can't.

Here's the setup: I multi-boot, using an IDE hard drive (HD0 according to GRUB) with Kubuntu 8.04.1 on it. Windows XP boots off the first partition of a SATA hard drive (HD1,0 according to GRUB) which is partitioned in 3 parts, all NTFS volumes. There is a second SATA drive with just data on it, also all NTFS partitions.

If I try to open one of the NTFS volumes in the Media browser right after logging in, I get prompted for my password, with a notice saying something about "internal media" violating "system policies."

So, I enter my password, and...nothing happens. The contents of the drive never come up.

I've also tried mounting the volumes the hard way, in Konsole. No dice. I'm told the NTFS volume is "in use," even though I'm not doing anything with it.

Running gparted shows the NTFS volumes, but there's a yellow triangle with exclamation point flag on each of them.

It's as if the NTFS volumes were almost, but not quite, mounted.

I do need full read-write access to the NTFS volumes, as they have some files on them I need to use while running Kubuntu. Is there any way to make them mount that way automatically?

FWIW, here's the contents of my /etc/fstab file:

# /etc/fstab: static file system information.
#
# <file system> <mount point> <type> <options> <dump> <pass>
proc /proc proc defaults 0 0
# /dev/sda1
UUID=7496f848-a0cc-4540-b773-c68f52c6d214 / ext3 relatime,errors=remount-ro 0 1
# /dev/sda3
UUID=17298028-07c1-4538-9ad5-44716179185a /home ext3 relatime 0 2
# /dev/sda2
UUID=0a707be2-4b34-459f-9d61-253fff5cd497 none swap sw 0 0
/dev/scd0 /media/cdrom0 udf,iso9660 user,noauto,exec,utf8 0 0
/dev/fd0 /media/floppy0 auto rw,user,noauto,exec,utf8 0 0

How do I fix this?

[dibl]

Re: Can't access NTFS volumes

No, they're not even almost mounted. They're missing in action.

Open the Konsole and issue the following two commands to get a good picture of how your partitions are defined in Linux:

sudo fdisk -l

sudo blkid

Using the output from these, you can add mount lines to your /etc/fstab file that will mount the ntfs partitions automatically, at boot. There have been many posts on this topic -- a search of this forum should yield examples of what the fstab lines should look like. Use the UUIDs that you get from the blkid command to write your fstab lines, (copy and paste from the terminal, just don't copy the " ' " marks).

[Objekt]

Re: Can't access NTFS volumes

OK, that's just WEIRD.

I didn't do a darn thing, but now I can access the NTFS volumes, no problem.

I did have to enter my password. I'd rather it were automated, so I"ll edit my fstab file anyhow.

Doesn't make sense that the NTFS volumes would be inaccessible one session, then magically work a few reboots later. But that's what happened.

[Qqmike]

Re: Can't access NTFS volumes

Just had a similar thing happen this morning with both a data CD (weird permissions I hadn't seen before) and my Windows partition (lost its mount point; no permission). I opened and closed each a couple times, and then it all went well.
EDIT: I did have to reset Windows mount point in Disk & Filesystems one time. Strange that it would vanish like that.

[Objekt]

Re: Can't access NTFS volumes

Shortly after posting the above, I found the Disk & Filesystems GUI item in System Settings->Advanced tab. I was able to designate all the NTFS volumes to be mounted on boot, and it's all working fine now. Didn't even have to enter my password when I started up just now.

[dibl]

Re: Can't access NTFS volumes

I was able to designate all the NTFS volumes to be mounted on boot, and it's all working fine now.

Huh! I didn't know you could do that!

[Qqmike]

Re: Can't access NTFS volumes

"...Disk & Filesystems GUI item in System Settings->Advanced tab. I was able to designate all the NTFS volumes to be mounted on boot,"

Exactly right (Automatic at top).
And although I routinely access that partition, today it lost its /media/sda1 mount point and had no mount point at all! Had to reset it. Worst case, Objekt, now and then you may have to find the icon under Konqueror > Storage Media and right-click and Mount, if it's not auto-mounted (as indicated by that lower-right green arrow on the icon).

[Objekt]

Re: Can't access NTFS volumes

What the...

Last time I booted Kubuntu (I'm posting from Win XP), I had to manually go in and enable the drives, through the previously-described GUI disk manager.

I don't know why it worked automagically the first time. This makes no sense.

I assume the GUI essentially rewrites /etc/fstab, so the next step is to look at it.

[Qqmike]

Re: Can't access NTFS volumes

I've noticed that behavior, also (FF & HH). I just go into D & F and get it quickly, or mount by CLI in Konsole (have a few commands cooked up, ready to go). For me, it happens mainly with USB devices, even though I've set up mount points, but it happens with other drives as well.

[Objekt]

Re: Can't access NTFS volumes

This gets weirder and weirder.

I manually edited fstab, switching the "noauto" statements to "auto." It seemed to work the next time I booted Kubuntu: the NTFS volumes were mounted automagically.

The next time I booted Kubuntu, they weren't. I checked fstab: no change. So somehow the OS is simply ignoring some of the settings in fstab.

Maybe I have to refer to the NTFS volumes by UUID. Anyway here's the relevant portion of fstab:

#Changed following lines from "noauto" to "auto" for automagic mounting.
/dev/sdb1 /media/windows/DiscImages auto nouser,atime,auto,rw,nodev,noexec,nosuid 0 0
/dev/sdb2 /media/windows/DVDs auto nouser,atime,auto,rw,nodev,noexec,nosuid 0 0
/dev/sda3 /media/windows/Everything auto nouser,atime,auto,rw,nodev,noexec,nosuid 0 0
/dev/sda2 /media/windows/Games auto nouser,atime,auto,rw,nodev,noexec,nosuid 0 0
/dev/sda1 /media/windows/WinXPBoot auto nouser,atime,auto,rw,nodev,noexec,nosuid 0 0

[Qqmike]

Re: Can't access NTFS volumes

That's what I have, too:
/dev/sda1 /media/sda1 auto nouser,atime,noauto,rw,nodev,noexec,nosuid 0 0
However, in Konqueror, Storage Media, I do have to Right-Click and Mount, but then it works fine.

[Objekt]

Re: Can't access NTFS volumes

I've noticed a pattern. It appears Kubuntu will do everything it can to avoid mounting an NTFS volume after Windows XP has crashed.

XP has been crashing a lot lately - the old blue screen of death. After it does so, Kubuntu takes longer to start up, as it insists on "checking" the NTFS drives during boot.

But then they don't automagically mount, and I can't access them without using the "force" variant of the "mount" command.

I tried restarting, booting into Windows XP (which, oddly, was not telling me "The system did not shut down properly" etc. as it normally does after a crash). Then restarted once more into Kubuntu.

Like magic, the NTFS volumes mounted automatically and I can do stuff with them.

I'm not sure that this is going to happen every time, but there may be something to it.

In the meantime, I've installed partimage. I am much closer to my goal of storing away an image of a clean Win XP boot volume on one of my Linux partitions. This will be insurance against the inevitable times when I need to refresh my Windows XP install, but don't want to go through the pain of reinstalling everything manually.

[Snowhog]

Re: Can't access NTFS volumes

Don't you love an OS (Linux) that recognizes a (possibly) trashed file system, and prevents it from being added/loaded to the file system tree during boot? Linux/Kubuntu is actually doing you a favor by not mounting the 'suspect' file system.