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Fix: Unable to Mount NTFS M.2 SSDs on Ubuntu

If you're using Ubuntu and your additional M.2 SSDs (formatted as NTFS) cannot be mounted via the GUI file manager, this guide walks you through temporary and permanent solutions to make them accessible.

🧯 Problem Summary​

When clicking the drive in the file manager, you may see an error like:

Unable to access location
Error mounting /dev/nvme2n1p1 at /media/...
wrong fs type, bad option, bad superblock, or other error

This is usually caused by:

  • NTFS partitions not properly shut down from Windows
  • Missing or incomplete NTFS driver support
  • Ubuntu refusing to auto-mount due to Windows Fast Startup / Hibernate leaving the drive in a "dirty" state

💡 Why Fast Startup causes this
Windows Fast Startup and Hibernate save system state to disk without fully unmounting the filesystem.
This leaves the NTFS partition with a hibernation flag. Linux detects this and blocks mounting to prevent corruption.

✅ Step 1: Ensure NTFS Support Is Installed​

Ubuntu uses ntfs-3g to mount NTFS partitions. Install (or confirm) it:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install ntfs-3g

✅ Step 2: Check and Fix the NTFS Partition​

Use ntfsfix to repair the partition and clear Windows dirty/hibernation flags:

sudo ntfsfix /dev/nvme2n1p1

Expected output (if successful):

NTFS partition /dev/nvme2n1p1 was processed successfully.

🔧 Temporary Fix — Method 1: Mount to /media/username/WorkSpace​

The Ubuntu file manager only displays drives mounted under /media/username.

1. Create a visible mount point:​

sudo mkdir -p /media/$(whoami)/WorkSpace

2. Mount the drive manually:​

sudo mount -t ntfs-3g /dev/nvme2n1p1 /media/$(whoami)/WorkSpace

Now you can access the drive in the file manager under Other Locations or /media/yourname/WorkSpace.

Optional: Add a desktop shortcut:

ln -s /media/$(whoami)/WorkSpace ~/Desktop/

🔁 Permanent Fix 1 — Auto-Mount on Boot (/etc/fstab)​

1. Get the UUID of the partition:​

sudo blkid /dev/nvme2n1p1

Example output:

/dev/nvme2n1p1: UUID="0F280D1E7801D770" TYPE="ntfs"

2. Edit the fstab file:​

sudo nano /etc/fstab

Add the following line at the bottom (replace yourname):

UUID=0F280D1E7801D770 /media/yourname/WorkSpace ntfs-3g defaults 0 0

3. Create the mount point and apply:​

sudo mkdir -p /media/yourname/WorkSpace
sudo mount -a

If there's no error, it means auto-mounting is now working.

🛠 Permanent Fix 2 — Disable Windows Fast Startup & Hibernate​

If you want a permanent solution and avoid running ntfsfix repeatedly, disable Windows Fast Startup and Hibernate so that NTFS volumes are fully unmounted when shutting down.

1. Disable Fast Startup in Windows​

  • Open Control Panel → Power Options → Choose what the power buttons do
  • Click Change settings that are currently unavailable
  • Uncheck Turn on fast startup (recommended)
  • Save changes

2. Disable Hibernate (Optional)​

Open Command Prompt (Admin) and run:

powercfg /h off

3. Fully Shut Down Windows After Changes​

Run in Command Prompt:

shutdown /s /f /t 0

Once Fast Startup is disabled, Windows will fully unmount NTFS volumes on shutdown, and Ubuntu can mount them without errors.

🧩 Notes​

  • If the partition is still not mountable, try fully shutting down Windows using: 
    shutdown /s /f /t 0
  • Disable Windows Fast Startup if dual-booting is frequent.
  • Do not run fsck on NTFS drives — use ntfsfix instead.

✅ Conclusion​

You can use these methods to:

  • Quickly mount NTFS partitions from additional SSDs;
  • Make the drives visible in GUI;
  • Permanently prevent mount errors by disabling Windows Fast Startup / Hibernate;
  • Set up auto-mount at boot for long-term stability across reboots.