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I am using ubuntu 18.04 and i want to delete files on another drive installed with windows kindly need help

As i am using dual boot my windows crashed two days ago and i installed fresh windows in more than one hour time now loading windows is too slow and accessing files is also very very slow i think HDD is at the end now

"HDD partitions status" HDD is 500 GB two NTFS partitions of 60 GB and 200GB and one ubuntu partition 200 GB this is not NTFS

"Current status" windows was in 60 GB partition which is not accessible now, so i installed new fresh windows in 200 GB NTFS partition which is very slow as i said earlier

Strange thing is that UBUNTU loads normally accessing files in UBUNTU is also very normal even i can access 60 GB partition files very easily (which is not possible while using windows)

Anyone knows what may be the reason (how can i delete files from that 60 GB partition while using UBUNTU)

nanopilot
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  • Do you have ntfs-3g installed? And also, have you tried opening up your file-browser as root? – Eirik Nov 19 '20 at 13:29

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First i would check if you have ntfs-3g installed. This should give you permission to write in ntfs partitions.

sudo apt install ntfs-3g

The reason why you cannot delete any files on the partition from ubuntu, could be that there is a user difference between the ntfs partition and ubuntu. I normally override this by opening up nautilus (file-browser) as root.

Note, that this give you full control so be really careful and don't delete anything wrong. You can completely cripple your system easily by deleting the wrong files.

You can open nautilus by typing in terminal

 sudo nautilus

From there you should be able to write and delete on the ntfs partition.

If you wish to delete all the content on that partition, I would recommend to format the partition using gparted. This can be installed with the following command:

 sudo apt install gparted gpart

'gpart' gives some extra functionality to ntfs i believe.

When you open gparted it will ask you for your password.

After this you should be able to see your partitions. Select the one you want to format and click up top 'partition, and then unmount. select the partition again (if not already selected) and on top - partition, format to, ntfs. You can naturally format it to any format you like.

There are also ways of repairing an ntfs partition. For this, I refer you to this article: How to Fix a Broken Windows NTFS Partition in Ubuntu and Windows Dual Boot

Eirik
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  • sudo apt install ntfs-3g results in "E: dpkg was interrupted, you must manually run 'sudo dpkg --configure -a' to correct the problem." – nanopilot Nov 20 '20 at 11:05
  • sudo nautilus resulted in " Nautilus-Share-Message: 16:07:54.791: Called "net usershare info" but it failed: Failed to execute child process “net” (No such file or directory) " – nanopilot Nov 20 '20 at 11:12
  • file browser opened but ntfs partitions were not visible there – nanopilot Nov 20 '20 at 11:13
  • The errors i think is that it can't connect with shared folders on the network. says the same here. I don't think this is an issue you need to worry about (please anyone correct me if I am wrong).

    Regarding the install error. Did you install something else at the time? you can type in sudo dpkg --configure -a ... or reboot

     – Eirik Nov 20 '20 at 16:02
  • i repeated the process by using live usb and it worked as a browser opened after typing "sudo nautilus" but unable to delete anything – nanopilot Nov 23 '20 at 12:30
  • Maybe there is som solutions here that can help? https://askubuntu.com/questions/772459/why-cant-i-write-to-my-external-ntfs-hard-drive-even-though-my-permissions-are – Eirik Dec 11 '20 at 22:15
  • I can't delete file/folders in Ubuntu 22.04 with ntfs-3g installed (with both standard and root user). I could do it using a Windows virtual machine, after granting control rights to the folders. I think it is a matter of NTFS access security context. I don't know if this can be changed natively from inside Ubuntu. – igi Oct 09 '22 at 13:06
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Good morning, Mr. @nanopilot.

My the best can be use a Hiren's Boot CD, a Live Linux, or Live PE Windows to restore partition (maybe MBR is corrupted or was deleted). For me this solution allways works.

I don't recommend use dual boot with cross plataforms. You can use 2 HDDs, each with a different plataform OS: one with linux SO, other with Windows and so you change SO at boot's machine. You can use VMs too.

Have a nice day.

gmc_pecas
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