USB Disabled After Video File Conversion Using Format Lab and File Transfer

[Zygoth]

Installed Format Lab today, and converted an MP4 file to AVI, and everything seemed to work fine.

Then transfered the AVI file to a USB stick to watch on the telly.
Then came a No Data message - no files on the USB stick
even though there were 54 GB of video files.

Reconnected the USB to the Zorin laptop, and the USB volume is empty.

What on earth happened to the files on the USB stick?

The USB stick is formatted with NTFS, but in Properties
it says the drive now has a Fuse abstraction layer (?)

[Aravisian]

Have you ensured you have ntfs-3g and libfuse2 installed?

sudo apt install ntfs-3g libfuse2

There likely was some other error with the USB stick. It is really hard to know at this early stage. That is an aggravatingly large amount of data to lose track of.

I would ensure the selected packages are installed above, then test with One Video, transferring it and then trying it on the Television, next.

[Zygoth]

@Aravisian

sudo apt install ntfs-3g libfuse2

I ran the test and these are installed.
the fuse abstraction layer is something Linux has changed on the USB
I need to revert the USB to normal NTFS

The files are still there, I can see the volume data remaining.
but no files are visible when opening the USB.

Can no longer transfer files to the USB Read Only

So Linux has locked the USB with fuse?
There is no way to restore the permissions back to read write?

I will not risk plugging another USB into the Zorin laptop
until this USB is restored. These are important files..

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Tried to change permissions back to Read Write (in properties)
this did not make any difference.

I cannot overstate the seriousness of this situation.
If I am unable to fully restore the USB and regain access to the files,
then I can no longer risk connecting any drives to the Zorin laptop,
in case this would happen to an external SSD.

This could actually be the end of my Linux transition experiment.

[Aravisian]

It is possible that removing a USB stick before unmounting it or before the write cycle has completed can corrupt the ability to read its contents.

I generally use FAT, not NTFS, on my USB sticks, in order to ensure full compatibility.

What you can try:
Insert the USB stick in your Zorin OS machine and open a terminal.
Run

lsblk -f

Using this information, replace sdX with your actual drive I.D.

sudo ntfsfix /dev/sdX

This will repair any fuse layer compatibility issues. So if that is the cause, it should fix it.

It is also possible to use file recovery software.

sudo apt install testdisk

This is launched, oddly enough with:

sudo photorec

I am guessing that photorec is one component included in a larger package called Testdisk...

[swarfendor437]

You should take a look at the post with 4 votes here:

Can Linux corrupt the data on an NTFS partition?

I too prefer FAT32 over NTFS when it comes to thumb drives.

[Zygoth]

@Aravisian

It is possible that removing a USB stick before unmounting it or before the write cycle has completed can corrupt the ability to read its contents.

I believe this is exactly what happened - I pulled out the USB without unmounting it. Fortunately I could repair the damage in Windows 10 (on another laptop), then it worked normally again, and I can see the files.

An extra file appeared called Trash-1000 or something like that.
I deleted the file, and now the USB is back to normal.

I will not connect another NTFS USB to the Zorin laptop ever again!
Quite relieved all those files are still there, and no damage done.

Meanwhile.. I will use another (empty) USB stick formatted with FAT32
to shift files between devices.

@swarfendor437

You should take a look at the post with 4 votes here:

filesystems - Can Linux corrupt the data on an NTFS partition? - Unix & Linux Stack Exchange

Scary stuff

[Aravisian]

Don't pull them until you click the Unmount button.

[14nd]

My ex used to say that too ...
Unmount before eject lol

[Zygoth]

@14nd

My ex used to say that too ...
Unmount before eject lol

XD

.....

[swarfendor437]

Check my post here too:

How to read & write data between zorin os & windows partition

NTFS Write Access from Linux Based on the provided search results, here are some reasons why it’s not recommended to write to an NTFS drive from Linux: Windows Disk Write Caching: NTFS uses disk write caching, which can cause issues when writing to the drive from Linux. This caching can lead to data corruption or loss if the Linux system crashes or is powered off unexpectedly. (Source: Unix & Linux Stack Exchange) NTFS-3G limitations: The NTFS-3G driver, which allows Linux to read and write …

Which really explains that NTFS is a poor journaling system compared to Ext4.

[StarTreker]

@swarfendor437

Which really explains that NTFS is a poor journaling system compared to Ext4.

200% Agreed SWARF, 200%

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[Zygoth]

@swarfendor437

Which really explains that NTFS is a poor journaling system compared to Ext4.

Also.. NTFS is only meant for Windows NT

[Zygoth]

For anyone experiencing the same problem..

It should be noted that this NTFS flash drive disabling effect can only be resolved by connecting the USB stick to a Windows machine, and taking "scan and repair" from the popup menu. Then deleting any 'trash' folder' found on the drive.

Then the USB stick will be fully restored.

Use only FAT32 formatted USB media for shifting files between Linux and Windows. and remember to unmount drives before ripping them out of the USB port, Klingon style! :Z

[swarfendor437]

True, but there are journaling systems, and there are better OS's that come with better journaling systems. It's all about design. ;>

[Zygoth]

Microsoft is all about naff design.