Disk write error due to read-only filesystem (lemmy.world)

submitted 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) by biofaust@lemmy.world to c/linux_gaming@lemmy.ml

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Disclaimer: I am very new to Linux (1 week).

I have installed the Valve version of Steam on LMDE6. I have used Disks to automatically mount the NTFS drive I used with Windows (doesn't hold bootloader, it is just for Steam library storage) at boot ( /media/[username]/Gaming ) and I made it the default library folder in Steam.

Running games works perfectly (actually, performance is surprisingly good), but I cannot install them due to a "disk write error".

I looked for solutions and found this page, from which I understand that I need to change permissions to the mounting point, but when I do, using chown -R, I get a "Read-only filesystem" error for all files and folders.

I can see no options to fix this in Disks and I tried to edit fstab once, but it messed things up so badly I had to use the USB drive with the portable installer to fix things.

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[-] solofroto@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 day ago

Did you get this fixed?

[-] biofaust@lemmy.world 2 points 21 hours ago

Only temporarily using the Shifted Reboot from Windows. I wanted to update and thanks when I would have move the Library to an ext4 or exFAT, but I had no time to play nor work on this lately.

[-] solofroto@lemmy.ml 2 points 14 hours ago

If I'm not mistaken, when you mount whatever you're mounting, you need to specify the read/write permissions with the mount parameters. Trying to change the permissions after it's already been mounted won't work, afaik.

[-] biofaust@lemmy.world 1 points 12 hours ago

I had modified the automounting parameters already, but there was something Windows-side that made it impossible to write anyway. Shift-shutdown on Windows helped, but it's just a hack. Next step is to find a drive that would allow me to move all my stuff, and the Steam library on an exFAT or ext4 partition.

[-] solofroto@lemmy.ml 2 points 12 hours ago

Okay I need a bit more information. Are you dual booting Linux with Windows? Tell me more about how this is setup, including what drives you're talking about

[-] CommanderCloon@lemmy.ml 5 points 6 days ago

NTFS is not very well supported in linux, you should reformat

[-] CaptainBasculin@lemmy.bascul.in 4 points 6 days ago

You can disable fast boot on Windows to remove the read only lock.

Please note that it is not a suggested way to run, nor install games. A program could modify the disk in a way Windows itself can't parse it, rendering it unbootable.

[-] over_clox@lemmy.world 3 points 6 days ago

Yeah, Linux supports filenames with characters such as colons within the filename, which are invalid filename characters in Windows ☹️

[-] biofaust@lemmy.world 1 points 6 days ago

Thanks for the info!

It is a hack-y way to keep playing while I transition fully from Windows.

[-] over_clox@lemmy.world 3 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

Windows by default uses a 'hybrid shutdown' to allow for faster booting times. It's basically halfway between sleep mode and hibernate mode, which basically means Windows isn't actually fully shut down, so all file changes haven't been fully written to disk and Windows still has open files.

You should do a full shutdown from within Windows first. Unless M$ has changed something that I'm not aware of, that should be just as simple as holding Shift when you hit Shutdown.

[-] biofaust@lemmy.world 1 points 6 days ago

I am going to specify in the body of the post that this is a drive I used as library drive only for Steam, it is not the one holding the Windows boot.

Would that change things?

[-] over_clox@lemmy.world 2 points 6 days ago

Knowing M$, yeah, they probably lock all the attached drives when in hybrid shutdown mode.

I'd still try either Shift+Shutdown, or as another commented suggested, just disable Fast Boot.

this post was submitted on 23 Apr 2025

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