Can't copy anything to second disk

General Help
1

So first drive is all Zorin. Second drive I erased with gparted and made two EXT4 partitions, one for backups and one to store important things like pics and docs.
Both partitions are mounted. But the Files app won't let me copy anything from drive 1 to drive 2. I don't have permission.

Screenshot from 2025-07-16 10-31-49
Screenshot from 2025-07-16 10-31-49937×181 16.8 KB

2

You could open disks, select the second drive you want to have access to, right click on a partition (or click on gear icon) and choose Take Ownership.

Don't run disks as root, only as normal user.

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3

Ubuntu 22.04 Drive Permissions

To get permission to access a second drive in Ubuntu 22.04, you can follow several methods depending on the file system and your specific needs. Here are the key steps:

  1. Check the Mount Point and Permissions : First, identify the mount point of your second drive. You can use the df -h command to see the mounted drives and their mount points.4 Once you know the mount point, you can check the current permissions using ls -l /path/to/mount_point .2
  2. Change Ownership : If the drive is mounted but you don't have permission, you can change the ownership of the mount point to your user. For example, if the mount point is /media/username/your_drive , you can use the command sudo chown -v your_username:your_username /media/your_external_drive .3
  3. Modify Permissions : You can modify the permissions of the mount point to allow read, write, and execute access. Use the chmod command, such as sudo chmod ugo+rwx /media/your_external_drive to grant all users read, write, and execute permissions.3
  4. Use chown and chmod Recursively : If you need to change the permissions of all files and directories on the drive, you can use the recursive options with chown and chmod . For example, sudo chown -R your_username:your_username /media/your_external_drive and sudo chmod -R 777 /media/your_external_drive .3
  5. Check File System Compatibility : If the drive is formatted with a file system like NTFS, ensure that the necessary drivers are installed. You can install ntfs-3g and ntfs-config to enable read/write support for NTFS drives.3
  6. Adjust Mount Options in fstab : If the drive is not mounting correctly, you can edit the /etc/fstab file to adjust the mount options. For example, you can set the mount options to defaults for ext4 file systems.5
  7. Use the Disks Tool : The Disks tool in Ubuntu can help you manage drive permissions. You can use it to change the ownership and permissions of the drive.4
  8. Check for Windows Fast Startup : If you are dual-booting with Windows, ensure that Fast Startup is disabled in Windows. This can prevent Ubuntu from mounting the drive in read-only mode.4

By following these steps, you should be able to gain the necessary permissions to access your second drive in Ubuntu 22.04. If you encounter any specific issues, additional troubleshooting may be required.

AI-generated answer. Please verify critical facts.


🌐
linuxsimply.com
How to Change Permissions on Mounted Drive in Linux

🌐
forum.level1techs.com
So apparently I do not have permissions on my 2nd physical drive in Ubuntu (help) - Linux - Level1Techs Forums

🌐
askubuntu.com
How do I set read/write permissions my hard drives? - Ask Ubuntu

🌐
askubuntu.com
partitioning - How do I get permission for my second internal HDD drive ? [22.04 LTS] - Ask Ubuntu

🌐
reddit.com
r/Ubuntu on Reddit: Best Practices for (Secondary) Hard Drive Permissions

🌐
stackoverflow.com
linux - Permissions for external drive with different users - Stack Overflow

🌐
ubuntuforums.org
[ubuntu] No permission

1 Like
4

Thanks guys @Forpli nailed it.

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