Getting a partitioned nvme drive to be accessible in Linux

I'm going to assume you have the correct partition and your username is michael (mentioned earlier).

Code:
$ mkdir /home/michael/SteamLibrary/
# mkfs.ext4 -L steamlinux /dev/nvme1n1p2
# cp /etc/fstab /etc/fstab.bkp_2024-10-03
# blkid /dev/nvme1n1p2
Note down the "UUID".

The above ran but gave no output. NO UUID!!!
I'd love to give you a copy+paste into your terminal so you don't have to manually edit the next bit, but I'll probably forget an escape character here, a closing quote there... So I won't risk that.
Code:
# nano /etc/fstab
Now you find where the UUID or "/dev/nvme1n1p2" is listed. Search with ctrl+w. Delete a line by pressing ctrl+k. There should only be one mention of it. Save with ctrl+o and exit with ctrl+x.

I ran the command just as you gave it. No output at all. Was there supposed to be some?

Next (I can give you a copy+paste):
Code:
# echo "LABEL=steamlinux                                       /home/michael/SteamLibrary/             ext4     defaults,user,exec              0       0" >> /etc/fstab
And that's it. It should show up in your file manager within a second or two. If not, just run:
Code:
$ mount /home/michael/SteamLibrary
You should be able to mount/unmount as a normal user from you file manager. If it requests the root password to mount, it'll only be this time. After each subsequent boot it'll be automatically mounted
My original volume and name are there. No signs of any change. And when I did the $ mount /home/michael/SteamLibary it said can't find in /etc/fstab. And as always when I access the mounted volume it is readonly.
 


Did you also tell the disk manager to mount the "/dev/nvme1n1p2" partition, can you share the output of the following?
Code:
lsblk -f
Can you still share the output of the above?
 
NAME FSTYPE FSVER LABEL UUID FSAVAIL FSUSE% MOUNTPOINTS
nvme0n1

├─nvme0n1p1
│ vfat FAT32 2E21-9FEC 64,6M 33% /boot/efi
├─nvme0n1p2

├─nvme0n1p3
│ ntfs B65034F45034BCC5
└─nvme0n1p4
ext4 1.0 5a8bf537-d8d2-4761-bac6-dd415569ce2b 171,9G 15% /
nvme1n1

├─nvme1n1p1
│ ntfs Game Volume 28849AC7849A9742
└─nvme1n1p2
ext4 1.0 Linux Volume a529eb82-2854-4f57-966f-a6f3281d1206
 
└─nvme1n1p2
ext4 1.0 Linux Volume a529eb82-2854-4f57-966f-a6f3281d1206
Is this the partition you want mount for your Steam library on Linux? If so where you want it mounted, ie: /mnt/Games?
 
NAME FSTYPE FSVER LABEL UUID FSAVAIL FSUSE% MOUNTPOINTS
nvme0n1

├─nvme0n1p1
│ vfat FAT32 2E21-9FEC 64,6M 33% /boot/efi
├─nvme0n1p2

├─nvme0n1p3
│ ntfs B65034F45034BCC5
└─nvme0n1p4
ext4 1.0 5a8bf537-d8d2-4761-bac6-dd415569ce2b 171,9G 15% /
nvme1n1

├─nvme1n1p1
│ ntfs Game Volume 28849AC7849A9742
└─nvme1n1p2
ext4 1.0 Linux Volume a529eb82-2854-4f57-966f-a6f3281d1206
 
Yes, the second group of drives is my 2TB nvme and the Linux Volume is where the games will go.

BTW I tested only using a single partition. At one time you could specify a folder within a drive. Now you can only specify the drive so I had to go with the two partitions.

So mnt/Games is fine for me.
 
Yes, the second group of drives is my 2TB nvme and the Linux Volume is where the games will go.
I'll just tell you how to get it mounted, as in how I do it since I have never used the disk manager myself. I hope that's okay with you?
1. Make the mount location: sudo mkdir /mnt/Games
2. Mount the partition: sudo mount /dev/nvme1n1p2 /mnt/Games
3. Give change the ownership of the files to your user: sudo chown darc:darc -R /mnt/Games
4. Add the following to your /etc/fstab file with a text editor:
Code:
/dev/nvme1n1p2 /mnt/Games   ext4   defaults 1 2
5. Reload your configuration: sudo systemctl daemon-reload
6. Done!
If you like I can just test it out in a vm if you want instructions on how to do it with the disk manager, if you tell me which Linux distribution you are using?
 
Ran Text Editor but it can only open it readonly. And it does not ask for a rights elevation when I try to save. So I used context menu to try running it with admin rights but Linux doesn't add that convenience.
 
Ran Text Editor but it can only open it readonly. And it does not ask for a rights elevation when I try to save.
Which text editor? Which distribution are you using?
 
Ran Text Editor but it can only open it readonly. And it does not ask for a rights elevation when I try to save.
Some file-browsers support, that but not the one that comes default installed with Mint. You can do the following.
1. Open a terminal from your menu.
2. Enter the following: sudo xed /etc/fstab
3. Add the following line.
Code:
/dev/nvme1n1p2 /mnt/Games   ext4   defaults 1 2
4. Click save
5. Reload your configuration: sudo systemctl daemon-reload
6. Done!
 
If you like I can just test it out in a vm if you want instructions on how to do it with the disk manager, if you tell me which Linux distribution you are using?
With the disk manager you do it like this.
1. Open the diskmanager
2. Select your partition, it should show up with the disk.
3. Click on the gear icon and select "Edit mount options"
4. Turn the slider off
5. Set "Mount Point" to: /mnt/Games
6. Set "Filesystem Type", you can just leave this on "auto".
7. Click "OK"
8. Then Click on the "play" icon. This part adds the partition to your /etc/fstab file and then mounts it, saves you from having to do it the way I always do it which is the first way I explained it to you. This way you will probably find easier since you can do it with a graphical tool.
 
After all of that, when I ran Steam it insisted on using the existing Windows install library. I added the linux side to the list of devices however it just updated one of the games and integrated Sniper and Proton Experimental equally. But your instructions worked. Many many steps for what is done in Windows with 2 steps via Disk Manager.
 
Everything is backed up on Steam Cloud services.
So if I take your suggestion, create a single NTFS partition, and have the folders for Windows and Linux, does that change any of the commands above?
Nope... That's between you and steam.

The above ran but gave no output. NO UUID!!!
The only time you wouldn't get a UUID is in a filesystem that does not support it. EXT4 does.

I ran the command just as you gave it. No output at all. Was there supposed to be some?
Err, yes, the nano CLI text editor should've started, whether the file existed or not.

My original volume and name are there. No signs of any change. And when I did the $ mount /home/michael/SteamLibary it said can't find in /etc/fstab. And as always when I access the mounted volume it is readonly.
Yes, it wouldn't find it in fstab if it wasn't added to fstab. The label wouldn't exist if it wasn't created... and so on... back to the start.

Still, I'm glad you got it working :)

Many many steps for what is done in Windows with 2 steps via Disk Manager.
It's a matter of familiarity. I think the two CLI/GUI post @f33dm3bits gave is proof of that. You struggled with initial method, but found the GUI method easy to follow. Things are only simple for Linux users because we've been doing this a long time. And even now and then we derp things when forced to do stuff differently (the beauty of Linux is "more than one way to skin a cat"). As a thought experiment: think of trying to explain Windows to somebody who'd only ever used an Android phone/tablet... At least with Linux, there's a CLI which is usually handy to fix a user's problem by just saying "run these commands" whereas there's no common interface with graphical interfaces; they change from version to version, predecessor to successor.
 
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