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This is my fstab file:

# /etc/fstab: static file system information.
#
# Use 'blkid' to print the universally unique identifier for a
# device; this may be used with UUID= as a more robust way to name devices
# that works even if disks are added and removed. See fstab(5).
#
# systemd generates mount units based on this file, see systemd.mount(5).
# Please run 'systemctl daemon-reload' after making changes here.
#
# <file system> <mount point>   <type>  <options>       <dump>  <pass>
# / was on /dev/sdb2 during installation
UUID=b0bc0b3f-3ae9-45e9-a3e9-72a3a811910a /               ext4    errors=remount-ro 0       1
# /boot/efi was on /dev/sdb1 during installation
UUID=E751-7DC9  /boot/efi       vfat    umask=0077      0       1
# swap was on /dev/sdb3 during installation
UUID=f7e7486c-a58e-4c34-9127-ba0aa08147e5 none            swap    sw              0       0
/dev/sr0        /media/cdrom0   udf,iso9660 user,noauto     0       0
# DATA
/dev/sdc1       /mnt/harddrive  ntfs    defaults        0       0
(END)

I mounted the partition with my data into /mnt/harddrive. Normally Debian 13 starts but rarely the system does not boot and the error of the attached image is displayed. Does anyone know the reason? What can I do to correct it?enter image description here

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  • Is the NTFS partition shared with Windows? If so Windows will turn fast startup on with updates, which sets the hibernation flag. The Linux NTFS driver will not default mount hibernated partitions to prevent damage. See: askubuntu.com/questions/1460440/… askubuntu.com/questions/843153/… Commented Aug 17 at 20:38
  • The NTFS partition is not shared with Windows, but it comes from an old Windows installation. I have overridden the Windows installation with Debian. In one of the links you shared, I read someone that suggests the following: "You can format it using GParted to the 'EXT4' or 'BTRFS' format. Then write down the UUID of that disk. Then you can change your 'Fstab' file." Backing up my data and formatting the partition and then restoring the files might be a good idea. It is suggested to write the UUID, but I guess I can also leave the partition name "sdc1" and just change the type to "ext4." Commented Aug 17 at 21:45
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    Whether you reformat it or not, use the UUID in /etc/fstab, not /dev/sdc1. UUIDs never change (at least, not unless you reformat it again), while drive device names like /dev/sdc are not guaranteed to be the same across reboots. All it takes is for the kernel to identify the drives in a different order at boot time, or for you to add another drive to the system, and now sdc is sda or sdb. Commented Aug 18 at 2:04
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    As for whether you should reformat it or not, that depends on whether you ever intend to use the drive in a windows system again. If yes, keep it as NTFS. If not, reformat it as ext4 or xfs or some other linux filesystem (after backing it up or copying any files you want to keep). NTFS is good for windows, but terrible for Linux - it's really only useful for exchanging files between windows & linux. Commented Aug 18 at 2:09

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The most likely reason is that the ntfs wasn't cleanly shut-down (flagged dirty).

If you're dual-booting boot windows, fix the error, reboot.

I also recommend not using ntfs, but ntfs-3g. Also add the nofail,nobootwait options to the line in fstab.

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  • I do not have Windows anymore. The options nofail and nobootwait are interesting in order not to hang the boot if it cannot be mounted. Who makes the flagged dirty? Usually, the OS boots and mounts correctly, and rarely, the mount error is prompted. What about reformatting the partition to ext4? Commented Aug 17 at 22:07
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    If you have no windows using a linux-native filesystem like ext4, xfs or such is definitely the more sane approach. @birdman Commented Aug 17 at 22:18
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    On some distros there's also the ntfsfix command available. @birdman (if you need to mount it to backup/rescue data off it before the reformat). Commented Aug 17 at 22:34
  • I will format to ext4 instead of xfs, because I have mainly small files. Commented Aug 18 at 9:17
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    @birdman - looks like that option is being deprecated - it's possible that debian 13 has gotten rid of it. Commented Aug 19 at 7:37

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