Dear fellow users,
I successfully installed Zorin 18 Pro.
I first put all my documents, photos, and videos on a USB drive, of course.
Now that I plugged in the device, the system recognizes the USB, but it says the folders are empty (0 files), which is absolutely not true.
Furthermore, when I click on images, an icon appears with the name Thumbs.db.
The system says it can't open it (unknown).
So I can't access my hundreds of precious photos!
Can anyone help me?
Thank you very much in advance!
Hi and welcome. How was the USB formatted and what format are the images? Are the images standard .jpg or RAW? If RAW you would need to install darktable to view.
I notice you are using Zorin Pro which entitles you to support from Team Zorin directly via this support request form here:
Hi swarfendor437,
Thanks for the feedback.
I did indeed contact the support team with these questions.
Unfortunately, I'm receiving slow responses (sometimes with a wait time of over an hour per microcomponent) and incomplete responses (they forget what I initially stated during the communication).
They're probably too busy answering questions.
I asked if it's possible to log in to my PC remotely. I didn't receive a response to that question.
Anyway, I don't think this is the place to comment on the support team.
However, I'm frustrated and can't get any further.
The documents and images are stored on a Cruzer micro and also on a Freecom thoughleather external hard drive from Windows.
I don't know how those devices are formatted. I think it's mainstream.
I think the images are all saved as .jpg files.
Regards, Bart
Hi, just another thought, you haven't used BitLocker at all on any of the drives?
I did find this using Brave A.I. search engine via mojeek search engine (Zorin 18 is a fork of Ubuntu 24.04:
" The issue of a Cruzer drive showing no files when accessed from Ubuntu 24.04 after being used in Windows is commonly linked to Windows' "fast startup" feature, which uses hibernation instead of a full shutdown. This can leave the NTFS filesystem in an unsafe state, preventing Ubuntu from mounting it properly in read-write mode. The system may fall back to a read-only mount, and files may not appear or be accessible. To resolve this, disable fast startup in Windows via Power Options, ensuring a full shutdown before switching to Ubuntu.
Additionally, the drive might have filesystem corruption or dirty state issues. Running a filesystem check and repair in Windows (using the built-in tool when prompted) can fix underlying problems. If the issue persists, the newer ntfs3 kernel driver in Ubuntu 24.04 has been reported to cause instability with certain external drives. A workaround is to blacklist the ntfs3 driver by creating a configuration file:
echo 'blacklist ntfs3' | sudo tee /etc/modprobe.d/disable-ntfs3.conf
After rebooting, Ubuntu will use the older, more stable ntfs-3g driver. If the drive is not already formatted with a Linux-friendly filesystem like ext4, consider reformatting it to NTFS or exFAT for better cross-platform compatibility, but only after backing up any critical data. Always ensure the drive is safely ejected from one OS before switching to the other to prevent data loss or corruption.
AI-generated answer. Please verify critical facts."
Welcome to the Forum!
With Your Drives plugged in, open the ''Disks'' Program and there click on each Drive a look how it is formatted.
Hello swafendor437,
Thanks for the research! I think I need a Windows machine to follow up your advises.
That must be a pc from someone else, so I need some time to find me someone who can be thrusted in this matter.
I continue our comminication as soon as possible.
Thanks a lot.
Regards, Bart
Hmm ... that looks a bit weird because Your Drives are detected as Drives but also as CD and DVD Drives ...
What could that possible mean...?
That is a goode Question ... When You plug the Sticks in a Windows Machine, You don't have an Issue You said?
No, absolutely not. The Freecom has however a password security.
Is it encrypted?
Yes,, it requires a password to entry the stored files.
Can You disable that? If yes, try it without that.
I just found this:
´The Freecom ToughDrive's password protection feature is designed to secure data, and the associated software is only available for Windows.
When connected to a Linux system, the drive may appear as a virtual CD-ROM drive containing the password protection tool, but this tool is not compatible with Linux.
As a result, the password protection software cannot be launched from Linux, preventing access to the encrypted data on the drive.
The Freecom Hard Drive Protection Tool is only available as a Windows executable, and the company has confirmed that no Linux version is provided.
While the drive may be recognized by Linux, the inability to run the necessary software means the password-protected partition cannot be accessed or decrypted on a Linux system. The only way to access the data is to use a Windows machine to run the provided software and either remove the password protection
or access the files directly.
If the password has been forgotten, recovery is not possible through standard means, as the encryption is designed to be unbreakable.
In such cases, the only solution is to reset the drive to factory settings using the hardware reset button, which will erase all data.
This process does not require the password but results in complete data loss.´
I m affraid your suggestion is a no go on ZORIN 18
I think I need a Windows machine to follow up my effords.
That must be a pc from someone else, so I need some time to find me someone who can be thrusted in this matter.
I continue our comminication as soon as possible.
Thanks a lot.
Regards, Bart
