I installed Zorin OS on a new drive on a desktop with Windows 10, leaving the original Win10 drive as a 2nd drive. I also used the Disks app and mounted the main partition on the Windows10 disk. All folders and files are visible and I can open them, but they open in read-only. Trying to write a new file or update existing file tells me: "The destination in read only".
This began a few weeks after I installed Zorin. At the beginning I was able to read/write on the windows disk, but then began to get these errors.
I ran chkdsk (on windows reboot), it repair a few issues, but almost no errors.
This didn't help.
Is there a safe way to resole this issue and write to the windows disk from Zorin, or should I use it for read only?
thanks
After setting it up for the auto mount, then you need to take the ownership to get both R&W access.
Open the Disks app again and select that partition, click the gear icon and you will find the "Take Ownership" option. Use that and proceed with the on-screen instructions.
Is the Windows drive formatted NTFS?
In Windows check Settings>Power is Fast Start-Up is disabled.
Also in BIOS check Fast-Boot is disabled.
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Windows doesn't like to play nice with others. If you plan on keeping a dual boot system, at least disable Fast Boot on the BIOS as suggested above.
If you are only experimenting with Linux, I'd suggest using a virtual machine instead. That'd be much easier to set up and maintain, with no issues like this to worry about. Same thing if you just need Windows for a few tasks: spin up a virtual machine where you can install it, and access it through there.
For me personally, dual boot is a lot more trouble than it's worth, especially since Windows 10.
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- "Take Ownership" is gray, disabled.
- Yes Windows drive is NTFS. My BIOS is from 2010, I see no Fast-Boot there. I disabled Windows Fast Startup, now the windows disk seems to be OK, I'm able to read and write.
I wonder, if this fast-boot option was a cause, why? - I'm planning to completely migrate to Zorin OS because my processor is not supported on Win11. But, I want to preserve the windows drive because I have a lot of important stuff on it and need to make sure all data is updatable. I also may have to occasionally use Windows, but not sure at this point if I want to deal with VMs, at least for now. Since Win10 will be de-supported, I will disable its internet access and will use it only localy. For example, I may have to send faxes, and it doesn't seem to be working with my printer/fax on Zorin.
Could you please attach a screenshot?
There is also an option called "Repair Filesystem". Try that as well and then check if the Take Ownership option works or not.
And Fastboot in BIOS is different than Fast Startup in Windows. You only checked the fast boot. Please also make sure that Fast startup is disabled inside Windows.
I did, see my previous response. And as I stated, after that, the windows drive is in read/write. Why?
Because MS does not want you to use any other OS. Personally, I have only recently learned that writing to a Windows drive or writing back to a Windows drive can potentially lead to file corruption so I would advise against writing back to Windows partition.
What do you mean that MS does not want you to use any other OS? If I'm in Zorin, how can MS even want or not want anything? Did you mean that all windows file systems is proprietary and cannot be shared across OSs?
After a couple of reboots, even with fast-restart disabled, my Windows disk is again in read-only after rebooting Zorin.
This may turn me away from continuing with Zorin or any other Linux.
I'm not planning to test ChromeOS Flex as an alternative.
Microsoft for some time claims to "Love (GNU/)Linux" (Steve Balmer former CEO of Microsoft after Uncle Bill Gates vacated the post). They only love it for what they can steal from it. Someone once mentioned that the Windows 7 bootloader was taken from GNU/Linux. They even did not want to have dual-boot scenarios when EFI was introduced. Various GNU/Linux distributions went down the route of having to make an EFI-shim in order to get it installed alongside Windows. Now with Windows 11 and TPM 2.0 they don't want anything else to run alongside it.
See this thread on askubuntu:
I think I actually found a solution, this is a youtube video showing how to resolve most typical issues with NTFS under Linux.
- In Disks app, identify the mounted fs device name: /dev/sda
- In terminal, run:
ntfsfix /dev/sda
I think in my case the Windows disk went to read-only after I shut down windows with a power switch instead of shutdown. I had to do this because it hung.
But now its fine.
From reading a little about ntfsfix command, I do believe I should stay away from updating Windows drive from Linux. Who knows...
Hope this will help others.
Everyone on this thread: thanks for your help.
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