Windows uses a different filesystem (NTFS) to store files. In order for Fedora to read that filesystem, you require NTFS support in your kernel. You can either recompile your kernel for NTFS read support -OR- obtain the proper kernel module.
NOTE: For users who upgraded from FC5 please first read the known bugs and problems.
To setup NTFS access you must (1) install NTFS support, (2) check how many partitions you have, (3) create mount points, (4) mount partitions, and (5) update fstab to mount at next boot.
NOTE: Previously Livna was recommended. However that solution has been known to be problematic in that it may update your kernel, which is normal behaviour. It is recommended to use NTFS-3G instead as it is supported in Fedora Extras and does NOT require kernel updates/upgrades. NTFS-3G also provides safe read-write access. (However SELinux may cause some problems for NTFS-3G.)
1. Install NTFS Support
For yum users:
# sudo yum install fuse fuse-libs ntfs-3g ntfsprogs ntfsprogs-gnomevfs
Users without yum, download fuse, fuse-lib and ntfs-3g (ntfsprogs and ntfsprogs-gnomevfs are optional) from Fedora Extras. Save them to a separate directory (ntfs). They are less than 1MB download.
# cd ntfs# sudo rpm -ivh fuse* ntfs*
No kernel version checking is required, so long as you are using a FC6 kernel.
2. Check Your Partitions
Use fdisk to list partitions. Most ATA hard drives will be /dev/hda. Drives may also show up as /dev/hdb, /dev/sda depending on your configuration.
# sudo /sbin/fdisk -lu /dev/hda | grep NTFS
/dev/hda1 * 63 33559784 16779861 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/hda2 33559785 67119569 16779892+ 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/hda3 67119570 100679354 16779892+ 7 HPFS/NTFS
Usually the first will be a drive "letter": C drive, next D, etc. Hence /dev/hda1 is my C:\ drive used by Windows.
3. Create Mount Points
For every partition in step 2 that you wish to access, you will need a "mount point". A mount point is just a directory. Common directories are: /media/ and /mnt/. Use whichever, but be consistent.
# cd /media/# sudo mkdir c_drive d_drive e_drive
You do not have to use these names, if you prefer to create folders such as movies, documents, or winxp, any name will work (without spaces).
4. Mount Partitions
Using NTFS-3G, we can mount the NTFS partition read-write, however it is recommended for novices as read-only. The following mounts and sets the permissions so all users can read the contents of each partition.
# sudo mount /dev/hda1 /media/c_drive -t ntfs-3g -r -o umask=0222
# sudo mount /dev/hda2 /media/d_drive -t ntfs-3g -r -o umask=0222
# sudo mount /dev/hda3 /media/e_drive -t ntfs-3g -r -o umask=0222
Read/Write Access: The above is for read-only access. In order to mount read/write, you must use the -rw -o umask=0000. Example:
# sudo mount /dev/hda1 /media/c_drive -t ntfs-3g -rw -o umask=0000
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: Please run man mount to understand what umask= does.
5. Update /etc/fstab
Every time Fedora boots, the partitions must be mounted. To automatically mount, you must edit /etc/fstab.
Open /etc/fstab in an editor: (use nano instead of gedit if you do not have a GUI)
# sudo gedit /etc/fstab
Add these lines to the END of the file:
/dev/hda1 /media/c_drive ntfs-3g ro,defaults,umask=0222 0 0
/dev/hda2 /media/d_drive ntfs-3g ro,defaults,umask=0222 0 0
/dev/hda3 /media/e_drive ntfs-3g ro,defaults,umask=0222 0 0
Read/Write Access: The above is for read-only access.
In order to mount read/write, you must use the rw,defaults,umask=0000. Example:
/dev/hda1 /media/c_drive ntfs-3g rw,defaults,umask=0000 0 0
Done!
NOTE: SELinux Problems
Users of SELinux will fix Fedora blocks the automounting of ntfs partitions when using NTFS-3G. This is a Fedora/SELinux bug, not NTFS-3G. Some support can be found on the NTFS-3G support page.. However for now users can mount everything when they log in by running:
# sudo mount -a
NOTE for FAT32 users
If you have FAT32 or FAT16 partitions, instead of ntfs-3g above you can use vfat to mount your partitions. No extra modules or downloads are required, this is built into the kernel. Just replace vfat for every place we have ntfs-3g when mounting and when editting /etc/fstab.
FAT32/FAT16 read and write is supported. If you wish to mount read/write, then use: '-rw' for Step 4. Mounting Partitions, and 'rw,defaults,umask=0000 0 0' for Step 5. Updating /etc/fstab.
NOTE for Livna NTFS Modules
The Livna NTFS modules are read-only access. I do not recommend using them due to the kernel dependancy. If you require them or NTFS-3G will not work then first setup the Livna repository. Then you can install them:
# sudo yum install kmod-ntfs
For all the above changes you should use ntfs instead of ntfs-3g.
