after formatting disk can't store files. Mount point problem?

[PIP436]

Hi, hope you can help. I have MX Linux installed. Using GParted I recently reformatted two internal hard disks (there were old versions of OS there and I needed file space). I see both reformatted disks in my file manager and they seem to be mounted (also in disk manager). But I can't paste files into them. When I right click on the disk the first three options (create a folder, create a file and paste into folder) are greyed out. Maybe there's a problem with mount point? Or the folder type? Let me know what information you need to understand the problem and I'll send it. I'm a very basic Linux user, so I'd appreciate any advice. Thanks.

$ lsblk
NAME MAJ:MIN RM SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINTS
sda 8:0 0 447.1G 0 disk
├─sda1 8:1 0 256M 0 part /boot/efi
├─sda2 8:2 0 402.2G 0 part /
└─sda3 8:3 0 44.7G 0 part /home
sdb 8:16 0 465.8G 0 disk
└─sdb1 8:17 0 465.8G 0 part /media/shalom/2bbc8f93-7b97-4017-8032-9818f6c7c5f4
nvme0n1 259:0 0 238.5G 0 disk
└─nvme0n1p1 259:1 0 238.5G 0 part /media/shalom/8fef46d1-e6cf-490c-ae44-def1c058ddba
shalom@mx:~
$ lsblk -f
NAME FSTYPE FSVER LABEL UUID FSAVAIL FSUSE% MOUNTPOINTS
sda
├─sda1
│ vfat FAT32 EFI-SYSTEM
│ 6E09-BF76 251.8M 0% /boot/efi
├─sda2
│ ext4 1.0 rootMX23
│ 5f6acc69-1728-44fa-8635-3c4cfb1af75d 362.1G 3% /
└─sda3
ext4 1.0 homeMX
40641964-f5b1-4869-bf3d-1d42591babe8 28.3G 30% /home
sdb
└─sdb1
ext4 1.0 2bbc8f93-7b97-4017-8032-9818f6c7c5f4 434.1G 0% /media/shalom/2bbc8f93-7b97-4017-8032-9818f6c7c5f4
nvme0n1

└─nvme0n1p1
ext4 1.0 8fef46d1-e6cf-490c-ae44-def1c058ddba 221.7G 0% /media/shalom/8fef46d1-e6cf-490c-ae44-def1c058ddba

System:
  Kernel: 6.1.0-35-amd64 [6.1.137-1] arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 12.2.0
    parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-6.1.0-35-amd64 root=UUID=<filter> ro quiet splash
  Desktop: Xfce v: 4.20.0 tk: Gtk v: 3.24.38 info: xfce4-panel wm: xfwm v: 4.20.0 vt: 7
    dm: LightDM v: 1.32.0 Distro: MX-23.6_x64 Libretto April 13  2025 base: Debian GNU/Linux 12
    (bookworm)
Machine:
  Type: Desktop System: HP product: HP 290 G4 Microtower PC v: N/A serial: <superuser required>
    Chassis: type: 3 serial: <superuser required>
  Mobo: HP model: 877E v: A (SMVB) serial: <superuser required> UEFI: AMI v: F.23
    date: 04/01/2021
CPU:
  Info: model: Intel Core i5-10500 bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Comet Lake gen: core 10 level: v3
    note: check built: 2020 process: Intel 14nm family: 6 model-id: 0xA5 (165) stepping: 3
    microcode: 0xFC
  Topology: cpus: 1x cores: 6 tpc: 2 threads: 12 smt: enabled cache: L1: 384 KiB
    desc: d-6x32 KiB; i-6x32 KiB L2: 1.5 MiB desc: 6x256 KiB L3: 12 MiB desc: 1x12 MiB
  Speed (MHz): avg: 800 min/max: 800/4500 scaling: driver: intel_pstate governor: powersave
    cores: 1: 800 2: 800 3: 800 4: 800 5: 800 6: 800 7: 800 8: 800 9: 800 10: 800 11: 800 12: 800
    bogomips: 74399
  Flags: avx avx2 ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx
  Vulnerabilities:
  Type: gather_data_sampling mitigation: Microcode
  Type: itlb_multihit status: KVM: VMX disabled
  Type: l1tf status: Not affected
  Type: mds status: Not affected
  Type: meltdown status: Not affected
  Type: mmio_stale_data mitigation: Clear CPU buffers; SMT vulnerable
  Type: reg_file_data_sampling status: Not affected
  Type: retbleed mitigation: Enhanced IBRS
  Type: spec_rstack_overflow status: Not affected
  Type: spec_store_bypass mitigation: Speculative Store Bypass disabled via prctl
  Type: spectre_v1 mitigation: usercopy/swapgs barriers and __user pointer sanitization
  Type: spectre_v2 mitigation: Enhanced / Automatic IBRS; IBPB: conditional; PBRSB-eIBRS: SW
    sequence; BHI: SW loop, KVM: SW loop
  Type: srbds mitigation: Microcode
  Type: tsx_async_abort status: Not affected
Graphics:
  Device-1: Intel CometLake-S GT2 [UHD Graphics 630] vendor: Hewlett-Packard driver: i915 v: kernel
    arch: Gen-9.5 process: Intel 14nm built: 2016-20 ports: active: HDMI-A-1 empty: DP-1
    bus-ID: 00:02.0 chip-ID: 8086:9bc8 class-ID: 0300
  Display: x11 server: X.Org v: 1.21.1.7 compositor: xfwm v: 4.20.0 driver: X:
    loaded: modesetting unloaded: fbdev,vesa dri: iris gpu: i915 display-ID: :0.0 screens: 1
  Screen-1: 0 s-res: 1920x1080 s-dpi: 96 s-size: 509x286mm (20.04x11.26") s-diag: 584mm (22.99")
  Monitor-1: HDMI-A-1 mapped: HDMI-1 model: Dell SE2417HG serial: <filter> built: 2017
    res: 1920x1080 hz: 60 dpi: 94 gamma: 1.2 size: 521x293mm (20.51x11.54") diag: 598mm (23.5")
    ratio: 16:9 modes: max: 1920x1080 min: 720x400
  API: OpenGL v: 4.6 Mesa 22.3.6 renderer: Mesa Intel UHD Graphics 630 (CML GT2)
    direct-render: Yes
Audio:
  Device-1: Intel Comet Lake PCH cAVS vendor: Hewlett-Packard driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel
    alternate: snd_sof_pci_intel_cnl bus-ID: 00:1f.3 chip-ID: 8086:06c8 class-ID: 0403
  API: ALSA v: k6.1.0-35-amd64 status: kernel-api tools: alsamixer,amixer
  Server-1: PipeWire v: 1.0.0 status: active with: 1: pipewire-pulse status: active
    2: wireplumber status: active 3: pipewire-alsa type: plugin 4: pw-jack type: plugin
    tools: pactl,pw-cat,pw-cli,wpctl
Network:
  Device-1: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet vendor: Hewlett-Packard
    driver: r8169 v: kernel pcie: gen: 1 speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 1 port: 4000 bus-ID: 01:00.0
    chip-ID: 10ec:8168 class-ID: 0200
  IF: eth0 state: down mac: <filter>
  Device-2: Realtek RTL8821CE 802.11ac PCIe Wireless Network Adapter vendor: Hewlett-Packard
    driver: rtw_8821ce v: N/A modules: rtw88_8821ce,wl pcie: gen: 1 speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 1
    port: 3000 bus-ID: 02:00.0 chip-ID: 10ec:c821 class-ID: 0280
  IF: wlan0 state: up mac: <filter>
Bluetooth:
  Device-1: Realtek Bluetooth 4.2 Adapter type: USB driver: btusb v: 0.8 bus-ID: 1-14:5
    chip-ID: 0bda:b00a class-ID: e001 serial: <filter>
  Report: hciconfig ID: hci0 rfk-id: 1 state: up address: <filter> bt-v: 2.1 lmp-v: 4.2
    sub-v: f098 hci-v: 4.2 rev: 75b8
  Info: acl-mtu: 1021:8 sco-mtu: 255:12 link-policy: rswitch hold sniff park
    link-mode: peripheral accept service-classes: rendering, capturing, object transfer, audio,
    telephony
RAID:
  Hardware-1: Intel SATA Controller [RAID mode] driver: ahci v: 3.0 port: 5060 bus-ID: 00:17.0
    chip-ID: 8086:2822 rev: class-ID: 0104
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 1.12 TiB used: 25.78 GiB (2.2%)
  SMART Message: Unable to run smartctl. Root privileges required.
  ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 maj-min: 259:0 vendor: Toshiba model: KBG40ZNV256G KIOXIA size: 238.47 GiB
    block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 31.6 Gb/s lanes: 4 type: SSD serial: <filter>
    rev: HP00AE00 temp: 21.9 C scheme: MBR
  ID-2: /dev/sda maj-min: 8:0 vendor: KIOXIA model: EXCERIA SATA SSD size: 447.13 GiB block-size:
    physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s type: SSD serial: <filter> rev: 18.1 scheme: GPT
  ID-3: /dev/sdb maj-min: 8:16 vendor: Western Digital model: WD5000AAKX-00ERMA0 size: 465.76 GiB
    block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s type: N/A serial: <filter> rev: 1H15
    scheme: MBR
Partition:
  ID-1: / raw-size: 402.19 GiB size: 394.81 GiB (98.16%) used: 12.61 GiB (3.2%) fs: ext4
    dev: /dev/sda2 maj-min: 8:2
  ID-2: /boot/efi raw-size: 256 MiB size: 252 MiB (98.46%) used: 274 KiB (0.1%) fs: vfat
    dev: /dev/sda1 maj-min: 8:1
  ID-3: /home raw-size: 44.69 GiB size: 43.68 GiB (97.76%) used: 13.17 GiB (30.2%) fs: ext4
    dev: /dev/sda3 maj-min: 8:3
Swap:
  Kernel: swappiness: 15 (default 60) cache-pressure: 100 (default)
  ID-1: swap-1 type: file size: 3 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) priority: -2 file: /swap/swap
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 30.0 C pch: 41.0 C mobo: N/A
  Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A
Repos:
  Packages: pm: dpkg pkgs: 2160 libs: 1067 tools: apt,apt-get,aptitude,nala,synaptic pm: rpm
    pkgs: 0 pm: flatpak pkgs: 0
  No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian-stable-updates.list
    1: deb http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm-updates main contrib non-free non-free-firmware
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian.list
    1: deb http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm main contrib non-free non-free-firmware
    2: deb http://security.debian.org/debian-security bookworm-security main contrib non-free non-free-firmware
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/google-chrome.list
    1: deb [arch=amd64] https://dl.google.com/linux/chrome/deb/ stable main
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/megasync.list
    1: deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/meganz-archive-keyring.gpg] https://mega.nz/linux/repo/Debian_12/ ./
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mx.list
    1: deb http://ftp.linux.org.tr/mx/repo/mx/repo/ bookworm main non-free
Info:
  Processes: 303 Uptime: 1h 1m wakeups: 1 Memory: 7.58 GiB used: 3.14 GiB (41.4%) Init: SysVinit
  v: 3.06 runlevel: 5 default: graphical tool: systemctl Compilers: gcc: 12.2.0 alt: 12
  Client: shell wrapper v: 5.2.15-release inxi: 3.3.26
Boot Mode: UEFI

 

[osprey]

Hi, hope you can help. I have MX Linux installed. Using GParted I recently reformatted two internal hard disks (there were old versions of OS there and I needed file space). I see both reformatted disks in my file manager and they seem to be mounted (also in disk manager). But I can't paste files into them. When I right click on the disk the first three options (create a folder, create a file and paste into folder) are greyed out. Maybe there's a problem with mount point? Or the folder type? Let me know what information you need to understand the problem and I'll send it. I'm a very basic Linux user, so I'd appreciate any advice. Thanks.

$ lsblk
NAME MAJ:MIN RM SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINTS
sda 8:0 0 447.1G 0 disk
├─sda1 8:1 0 256M 0 part /boot/efi
├─sda2 8:2 0 402.2G 0 part /
└─sda3 8:3 0 44.7G 0 part /home
sdb 8:16 0 465.8G 0 disk
└─sdb1 8:17 0 465.8G 0 part /media/shalom/2bbc8f93-7b97-4017-8032-9818f6c7c5f4
nvme0n1 259:0 0 238.5G 0 disk
└─nvme0n1p1 259:1 0 238.5G 0 part /media/shalom/8fef46d1-e6cf-490c-ae44-def1c058ddba
shalom@mx:~
$ lsblk -f
NAME FSTYPE FSVER LABEL UUID FSAVAIL FSUSE% MOUNTPOINTS
sda
├─sda1
│ vfat FAT32 EFI-SYSTEM
│ 6E09-BF76 251.8M 0% /boot/efi
├─sda2
│ ext4 1.0 rootMX23
│ 5f6acc69-1728-44fa-8635-3c4cfb1af75d 362.1G 3% /
└─sda3
ext4 1.0 homeMX
40641964-f5b1-4869-bf3d-1d42591babe8 28.3G 30% /home
sdb
└─sdb1
ext4 1.0 2bbc8f93-7b97-4017-8032-9818f6c7c5f4 434.1G 0% /media/shalom/2bbc8f93-7b97-4017-8032-9818f6c7c5f4
nvme0n1

└─nvme0n1p1
ext4 1.0 8fef46d1-e6cf-490c-ae44-def1c058ddba 221.7G 0% /media/shalom/8fef46d1-e6cf-490c-ae44-def1c058ddba

It looks like /dev/sdb is mounted at:
/media/shalom/2bbc8f93-7b97-4017-8032-9818f6c7c5f4

and /dev/nvme0n1 is mounted at:
/media/shalom/8fef46d1-e6cf-490c-ae44-def1c058ddba

Normally for a user to have read and write and access permissions on mounted drives, that user needs to be the owner of the directory being used as a mount point.

Check the ownership of the directories which are the mount points, and if they do not belong to the user, you can change that as root, for example with something like the following commands:

# chown $USER:$USER /media/shalom/2bbc8f93-7b97-4017-8032-9818f6c7c5f4
# chown $USER:$USER /media/shalom/8fef46d1-e6cf-490c-ae44-def1c058ddba

where $USER is a user's name such as ben.

Note that to have the disks mounted at boot, they can have entries in the /etc/fstab file. That's the usual practice.

To see if the drives are actually mounted, run: findmnt, in a terminal and see if the mount points are displayed in the output. If not shown, then the disks have not been mounted.

 

[Windmill]

Hi @PIP436
For the same reason.
I recently had to take ownership of a directory with MX Linux.

@osprey always gives good advice but if not confident with the terminal, there's another option.
It can easily be done with the 'gnome-disk-utility' app which can be installed via Synaptic Package Manager.

Once installed, it will be labelled as 'Disks' in the accessories menu.
Open it and you will see all connected disks on the left side.
Highlight the one you need ownership of then highlight the partition.
Mount the partition via the arrowhead next to the small cog, (it will be a square if or when mounted).
Then click the small cog which gives a menu.
Click Take Ownership in the menu.

Here's a screenshot

 

[APTI]

you will need to make sure the mount point or folder you are mounting to has the appropriate permissions before you mount to it.

 

[PIP436]

you will need to make sure the mount point or folder you are mounting to has the appropriate permissions before you mount to it.

Right. What's the best way to do that?

 

[APTI]

Right. What's the best way to do that?

well, before you mount the drive, you already have a directory to put it in locally.

so make sure you create the directory you will mount to. figure you already have done this.

Go into terminal and go to the directory above what you will be mounting to.

use chmod command to change permissions so you can access it. Many people will set the directory to 0777 which can be dangerous but depends on what you want to do. the 777 will give full access to all. This only needs done once.

I believe MX linux uses the fstab file which is in the /etc directory. This file is where you put the information to automatically mount that drive. Once you have it in there you will mount automatically from then on.

You can test if the permissions are correct by creating a file in the directory before you mount if you want to.

I hope this next part is ok because it is a link to another site that can give you some more information about mounting the drive.
How to mount drives in MX Linux
If the link is not allowed I apologize.

 

[bob466]

I'm sure MX Linux has a Format tool...I'd use that instead of the Disk Utility.

 

[PIP436]

Thanks Windmill. At first I hesitated to try Gnome-Disk-Utility because it looked too easy (yes as an unsophisticated user I like GUI). But after trying some other suggestions that seemed more complicated without success, I decided to go for it. Wow Gnome-Disk-Utility worked perfectly! Thanks so much!

2 more related questions.

1) In Gnome-Disk-Utility I went into mount options and changed the display name to something simple, so that's what shows up in the file manager. But when I open the drive I still see a long string of numbers, for example /media/shalom/8fef46d1-e6cf-490c-ae44-def1c058ddba/ . How do I change the actual name of the mount path?

2) the mounted disks show up only as devices. Is there any way I can also show them under "places" in file manager. That would make it easier to set up a backup or sync rather than having to go through several folder levels.

Thanks Windmill, Osprey, Apti and Bob466. I learned from all of you.

 

[Windmill]

How do I change the actual name

Edit the disk label.

This can be done in gparted or the disks app.

Here's a shot of how to in the disks app.

For your second related question, I don't have a solution.

 

[bob466]

1) In Gnome-Disk-Utility I went into mount options and changed the display name to something simple,

To change the name try this...
https://www.linux.org/threads/how-t...linux-mint-with-the-gnome-disk-utility.41300/

 

[PIP436]

Thanks again to all. If I may, I have another related disk question. Maybe it's about permissions? I've noticed that the internal HDD on which I put the re-installation of the OS, indicated in devices as "file system" says it has 34 GB used and 361 GB free. But when I try to link it to a backup (MEGA) it says the disk has 43 GB of which only 25 is available). I'm not concerned about the exact numbers. But I wonder if the unllocated root partition on this drive needs to have read/write permission. If so, how do I do that (preferably via Gnome Disk). Also any danger in giving permissions to a disk that has the OS installed on it? In short, I want to be able to use the file sysytem disk for file storage (and then link that to a cloud back-up). Hope I'm not being too confusing. Again, appreciate your help.