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Help! External HDD is read only.
Posted: Sat Sep 08, 2012 6:25 pm
by bigdavethehorn
Hello, I'm using the official Debian distro and I'm trying without success to share the external HDD connected to my Pi using the guide here:
http://www.simonthepiman.com/how_to_set ... server.php
My external HDD was formatted on a Windows 7 PC as NTFS. It is connected via a powered hub and is visible on my Pi. I can open folders etc, however I can't create any folders because it's a "read-only file system".
I've read about (and confused myself with) mount points, sda1's, fstab's etc. etc.
I've searched on this forum, but read only seems to be too common a phrase.
Please help me!
Re: Help! External HDD is read only.
Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2012 8:09 pm
by bredman
There is another thread describing the same problem, you may be able to find answers there
http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/viewt ... 28&t=16648
Re: Help! External HDD is read only.
Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2012 10:01 pm
by bigdavethehorn
Coincidentally I found that thread tonight thanks.
I think however that I have a problem with my fstab file. When I open fstab, I'm given a warning about a swap file which is open for editing.
I'm going to re-write Raspbian to my SD card and start from scratch.
Re: Help! External HDD is read only.
Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2012 8:31 am
by Licaon_Kter
install ntfs-3g
in fstab change ntfs to ntfs-3g
Re: Help! External HDD is read only.
Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2012 7:16 pm
by amyren
Licaon_Kter wrote:install ntfs-3g
in fstab change ntfs to ntfs-3g
Thanks for that information, I had the same issue with my hdd was read only. I only installed the driver though.
I added this line to fstab. I had the issue of being prompted for password for mounting the disk, and now it works fine with rw access

/dev/sda1 /media/WD ntfs-3g uid=pi,gid=pi 0 0
Re: Help! External HDD is read only.
Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2012 8:01 pm
by bigdavethehorn
amyren wrote:Licaon_Kter wrote:install ntfs-3g
in fstab change ntfs to ntfs-3g
Thanks for that information, I had the same issue with my hdd was read only. I only installed the driver though.
I added this line to fstab. I had the issue of being prompted for password for mounting the disk, and now it works fine with rw access

/dev/sda1 /media/WD ntfs-3g uid=pi,gid=pi 0 0
What driver did you install?
Re: Help! External HDD is read only.
Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2012 8:10 pm
by bigdavethehorn
I'm going to pop this link here for future reference, I haven't tested it yet.
http://raspi.tv/tag/mount-usb-hard-driv ... spberry-pi
Another for future reference:
http://forum.stmlabs.com/showthread.php?tid=1405
And another, don't worry, I'll let you know which one works eventually!
http://www.senab.co.uk/2012/06/09/raspb ... rver-pt-1/
Re: Help! External HDD is read only.
Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2012 8:50 pm
by bigdavethehorn
Re: Help! External HDD is read only.
Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 6:05 am
by amyren
bigdavethehorn wrote:amyren wrote:Licaon_Kter wrote:install ntfs-3g
in fstab change ntfs to ntfs-3g
Thanks for that information, I had the same issue with my hdd was read only. I only installed the driver though.
I added this line to fstab. I had the issue of being prompted for password for mounting the disk, and now it works fine with rw access

/dev/sda1 /media/WD ntfs-3g uid=pi,gid=pi 0 0
What driver did you install?
I just installed like this (under raspian wheezy):
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install ntfs-3g
Re: Help! External HDD is read only.
Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 8:39 am
by bredman
The wiki entry does not deal with the problem of mounting Windows-formatted drives, for example FAT or NTFS.
Is anybody able to add some text to the wiki? I would do it myself but I have never used a Windows-formatted drive so I would just be guessing.
Re: Help! External HDD is read only.
Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 11:42 am
by bigdavethehorn
A revised Wiki entry would be really helpful, with steps for complete dummies, eg.
1. Boot Wheezy
2. Connect HDD (or should it be connected at boot?!)
3. Unmount HDD by pressing the wee eject symbol in Wheezy's file browser
4. Type "sudo mkdir /media/USBHDD" in terminal
5. Type "mount -t ntfs-3g /dev/sda1 /media/USBHDD" in terminal
etc. etc.
Re: Help! External HDD is read only.
Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 9:28 pm
by bigdavethehorn
Alright, I made some progress tonight:
1. Connect HDD to Pi
2. Boot Wheezy
3. VNC into Pi and unmount HDD from Wheezy's file manager
4. Create mount point "sudo mkdir /mnt/disk1"
5. Install ntfs-3g "sudo apt-get install ntfs-3g"
6. Mount the HDD "sudo mount -t ntfs-3g -o uid=pi, gid=pi /dev/sda1 /mnt/disk1"
Test.
Re: Help! External HDD is read only.
Posted: Thu Nov 22, 2012 12:57 am
by JonnyMac
I know this is a old topic but I would just like to say thanks, this access rights issue had been a right pain until I found this post/
