MX Linux Forum

Hi, I have MX 23.6 installed. Using gparted I recently reformatted two hard disks. They appear to be enabled in file manager and in disk manager. But I can't access them to store files. When I right click in the disk folder the first 3 options (create folder, create document and paste are greyed out). Maybe it's a problem with the mount point or the file format. I've attached lsblk and quick system info. Please let me know what else you need to diagnose the problem. I'm not very advanced in linux so I appreciate it if you can keep it simple. Thanks.

$ lsblk
NAME MAJ:MIN RM SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINTS
sda 8:0 0 447.1G 0 disk
├─sda1 8:1 0 256M 0 part /boot/efi
├─sda2 8:2 0 402.2G 0 part /
└─sda3 8:3 0 44.7G 0 part /home
sdb 8:16 0 465.8G 0 disk
└─sdb1 8:17 0 465.8G 0 part /media/shalom/2bbc8f93-7b97-4017-8032-9818f6c7c5f4
nvme0n1 259:0 0 238.5G 0 disk
└─nvme0n1p1 259:1 0 238.5G 0 part /media/shalom/8fef46d1-e6cf-490c-ae44-def1c058ddba
shalom@mx:~
$ lsblk -f
NAME FSTYPE FSVER LABEL UUID FSAVAIL FSUSE% MOUNTPOINTS
sda
├─sda1
│ vfat FAT32 EFI-SYSTEM
│ 6E09-BF76 251.8M 0% /boot/efi
├─sda2
│ ext4 1.0 rootMX23
│ 5f6acc69-1728-44fa-8635-3c4cfb1af75d 362.1G 3% /
└─sda3
ext4 1.0 homeMX
40641964-f5b1-4869-bf3d-1d42591babe8 28.3G 30% /home
sdb
└─sdb1
ext4 1.0 2bbc8f93-7b97-4017-8032-9818f6c7c5f4 434.1G 0% /media/shalom/2bbc8f93-7b97-4017-8032-9818f6c7c5f4
nvme0n1

└─nvme0n1p1
ext4 1.0 8fef46d1-e6cf-490c-ae44-def1c058ddba 221.7G 0% /media/shalom/8fef46d1-e6cf-490c-ae44-def1c058ddba




Code:

System:
Kernel: 6.1.0-35-amd64 [6.1.137-1] arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 12.2.0
parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-6.1.0-35-amd64 root=UUID=<filter> ro quiet splash
Desktop: Xfce v: 4.20.0 tk: Gtk v: 3.24.38 info: xfce4-panel wm: xfwm v: 4.20.0 vt: 7
dm: LightDM v: 1.32.0 Distro: MX-23.6_x64 Libretto April 13 2025 base: Debian GNU/Linux 12
(bookworm)
Machine:
Type: Desktop System: HP product: HP 290 G4 Microtower PC v: N/A serial: <superuser required>
Chassis: type: 3 serial: <superuser required>
Mobo: HP model: 877E v: A (SMVB) serial: <superuser required> UEFI: AMI v: F.23
date: 04/01/2021
CPU:
Info: model: Intel Core i5-10500 bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Comet Lake gen: core 10 level: v3
note: check built: 2020 process: Intel 14nm family: 6 model-id: 0xA5 (165) stepping: 3
microcode: 0xFC
Topology: cpus: 1x cores: 6 tpc: 2 threads: 12 smt: enabled cache: L1: 384 KiB
desc: d-6x32 KiB; i-6x32 KiB L2: 1.5 MiB desc: 6x256 KiB L3: 12 MiB desc: 1x12 MiB
Speed (MHz): avg: 800 min/max: 800/4500 scaling: driver: intel_pstate governor: powersave
cores: 1: 800 2: 800 3: 800 4: 800 5: 800 6: 800 7: 800 8: 800 9: 800 10: 800 11: 800 12: 800
bogomips: 74399
Flags: avx avx2 ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx
Vulnerabilities:
Type: gather_data_sampling mitigation: Microcode
Type: itlb_multihit status: KVM: VMX disabled
Type: l1tf status: Not affected
Type: mds status: Not affected
Type: meltdown status: Not affected
Type: mmio_stale_data mitigation: Clear CPU buffers; SMT vulnerable
Type: reg_file_data_sampling status: Not affected
Type: retbleed mitigation: Enhanced IBRS
Type: spec_rstack_overflow status: Not affected
Type: spec_store_bypass mitigation: Speculative Store Bypass disabled via prctl
Type: spectre_v1 mitigation: usercopy/swapgs barriers and __user pointer sanitization
Type: spectre_v2 mitigation: Enhanced / Automatic IBRS; IBPB: conditional; PBRSB-eIBRS: SW
sequence; BHI: SW loop, KVM: SW loop
Type: srbds mitigation: Microcode
Type: tsx_async_abort status: Not affected
Graphics:
Device-1: Intel CometLake-S GT2 [UHD Graphics 630] vendor: Hewlett-Packard driver: i915 v: kernel
arch: Gen-9.5 process: Intel 14nm built: 2016-20 ports: active: HDMI-A-1 empty: DP-1
bus-ID: 00:02.0 chip-ID: 8086:9bc8 class-ID: 0300
Display: x11 server: X.Org v: 1.21.1.7 compositor: xfwm v: 4.20.0 driver: X:
loaded: modesetting unloaded: fbdev,vesa dri: iris gpu: i915 display-ID: :0.0 screens: 1
Screen-1: 0 s-res: 1920x1080 s-dpi: 96 s-size: 509x286mm (20.04x11.26") s-diag: 584mm (22.99")
Monitor-1: HDMI-A-1 mapped: HDMI-1 model: Dell SE2417HG serial: <filter> built: 2017
res: 1920x1080 hz: 60 dpi: 94 gamma: 1.2 size: 521x293mm (20.51x11.54") diag: 598mm (23.5")
ratio: 16:9 modes: max: 1920x1080 min: 720x400
API: OpenGL v: 4.6 Mesa 22.3.6 renderer: Mesa Intel UHD Graphics 630 (CML GT2)
direct-render: Yes
Audio:
Device-1: Intel Comet Lake PCH cAVS vendor: Hewlett-Packard driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel
alternate: snd_sof_pci_intel_cnl bus-ID: 00:1f.3 chip-ID: 8086:06c8 class-ID: 0403
API: ALSA v: k6.1.0-35-amd64 status: kernel-api tools: alsamixer,amixer
Server-1: PipeWire v: 1.0.0 status: active with: 1: pipewire-pulse status: active
2: wireplumber status: active 3: pipewire-alsa type: plugin 4: pw-jack type: plugin
tools: pactl,pw-cat,pw-cli,wpctl
Network:
Device-1: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet vendor: Hewlett-Packard
driver: r8169 v: kernel pcie: gen: 1 speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 1 port: 4000 bus-ID: 01:00.0
chip-ID: 10ec:8168 class-ID: 0200
IF: eth0 state: down mac: <filter>
Device-2: Realtek RTL8821CE 802.11ac PCIe Wireless Network Adapter vendor: Hewlett-Packard
driver: rtw_8821ce v: N/A modules: rtw88_8821ce,wl pcie: gen: 1 speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 1
port: 3000 bus-ID: 02:00.0 chip-ID: 10ec:c821 class-ID: 0280
IF: wlan0 state: up mac: <filter>
Bluetooth:
Device-1: Realtek Bluetooth 4.2 Adapter type: USB driver: btusb v: 0.8 bus-ID: 1-14:5
chip-ID: 0bda:b00a class-ID: e001 serial: <filter>
Report: hciconfig ID: hci0 rfk-id: 1 state: up address: <filter> bt-v: 2.1 lmp-v: 4.2
sub-v: f098 hci-v: 4.2 rev: 75b8
Info: acl-mtu: 1021:8 sco-mtu: 255:12 link-policy: rswitch hold sniff park
link-mode: peripheral accept service-classes: rendering, capturing, object transfer, audio,
telephony
RAID:
Hardware-1: Intel SATA Controller [RAID mode] driver: ahci v: 3.0 port: 5060 bus-ID: 00:17.0
chip-ID: 8086:2822 rev: class-ID: 0104
Drives:
Local Storage: total: 1.12 TiB used: 25.78 GiB (2.2%)
SMART Message: Unable to run smartctl. Root privileges required.
ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 maj-min: 259:0 vendor: Toshiba model: KBG40ZNV256G KIOXIA size: 238.47 GiB
block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 31.6 Gb/s lanes: 4 type: SSD serial: <filter>
rev: HP00AE00 temp: 21.9 C scheme: MBR
ID-2: /dev/sda maj-min: 8:0 vendor: KIOXIA model: EXCERIA SATA SSD size: 447.13 GiB block-size:
physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s type: SSD serial: <filter> rev: 18.1 scheme: GPT
ID-3: /dev/sdb maj-min: 8:16 vendor: Western Digital model: WD5000AAKX-00ERMA0 size: 465.76 GiB
block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s type: N/A serial: <filter> rev: 1H15
scheme: MBR
Partition:
ID-1: / raw-size: 402.19 GiB size: 394.81 GiB (98.16%) used: 12.61 GiB (3.2%) fs: ext4
dev: /dev/sda2 maj-min: 8:2
ID-2: /boot/efi raw-size: 256 MiB size: 252 MiB (98.46%) used: 274 KiB (0.1%) fs: vfat
dev: /dev/sda1 maj-min: 8:1
ID-3: /home raw-size: 44.69 GiB size: 43.68 GiB (97.76%) used: 13.17 GiB (30.2%) fs: ext4
dev: /dev/sda3 maj-min: 8:3
Swap:
Kernel: swappiness: 15 (default 60) cache-pressure: 100 (default)
ID-1: swap-1 type: file size: 3 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) priority: -2 file: /swap/swap
Sensors:
System Temperatures: cpu: 30.0 C pch: 41.0 C mobo: N/A
Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A
Repos:
Packages: pm: dpkg pkgs: 2160 libs: 1067 tools: apt,apt-get,aptitude,nala,synaptic pm: rpm
pkgs: 0 pm: flatpak pkgs: 0
No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list
Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian-stable-updates.list
1: deb http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm-updates main contrib non-free non-free-firmware
Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian.list
1: deb http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm main contrib non-free non-free-firmware
2: deb http://security.debian.org/debian-security bookworm-security main contrib non-free non-free-firmware
Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/google-chrome.list
1: deb [arch=amd64] https://dl.google.com/linux/chrome/deb/ stable main
Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/megasync.list
1: deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/meganz-archive-keyring.gpg] https://mega.nz/linux/repo/Debian_12/ ./
Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mx.list
1: deb http://ftp.linux.org.tr/mx/repo/mx/repo/ bookworm main non-free
Info:
Processes: 303 Uptime: 1h 1m wakeups: 1 Memory: 7.58 GiB used: 3.14 GiB (41.4%) Init: SysVinit
v: 3.06 runlevel: 5 default: graphical tool: systemctl Compilers: gcc: 12.2.0 alt: 12
Client: shell wrapper v: 5.2.15-release inxi: 3.3.26
Boot Mode: UEFI

Using code tags here in the forum helps for readability. ( The </> symbol in the editor )

In Thunar, I usually right click and then "Open root thunar here". Then select the mount / drive and under properties } Permissions, assign your user the Group access read and right permissions.

You need to enter your bios and change this:

2 things here, let's start by making things easy for you. Label your partitions. Your partitions with no label make the possibility of user error very high when they're mounted and the system uses each partitions UUID code as their mount point.

If the drives are mounted, unmount them, open Gparted, select each storage device in turn and give each of your new storage volumes a human-friendly label by right clicking the filesystem and selecting the Label File System option. I like to keep them short and sweet and indicative of their intended purpose.

For example, sdb, your Western Digital 500GB magnetic drive is mounted as below If you gave it the label wd500s, it would not only be immediately recognisable, but easier to manage in every aspect. So a minutes worth of work can make a huge difference to years of potential confusion. Let computers do their thing, but make it as human friendly as possible for your own benefit.

Now to make a filesystem owned by root R/W for your user account, you only need to issue a single very easy to remember command as below, after the filesystem is mounted of course.
Take careful notice of the trailing . (period) in the command above. This tiny . (period) character is hidden to a graphical file manager, but visible in the terminal/console and used very much by those who utilise CLI interfaces. We call this the "dot" file and when a new Unix type filesystem is added to a Unix type machine, root takes ownership of it, so that is why you can not simply open a new Unix type filesystem and start writing to it immediately.

Taking ownership of the dot file in any new partition any Unix-type filesystem gives you near complete ownership of the full storage capacity of the drive/partition. With the command above, you are simply changing ownership of the dot file to yourself, and this dot file carries the permissions template from which all content added to the drive thereafter will inherit, therefore the right click actions will become available when you're working within the mounted location of the filesystem.

Many folk in the Linux community will tell you to do much the same as what I have, but they will use the wildcard * (asterix) instead of a . (period) and here's why that is a very, very bad idea.

When a filesystem is created, a hidden lost+found directory and some metadata files are added, the types of which no user should have to ever have to deal with because they exist solely for the purpose of filesystem management at the deepest system level, in other words, root only access.

Using a wildcard * (asterix) instead of a . (period) when changing permissions can mess with the finely tuned balance thereby introducing a potential vulnerability into their machine that would otherwise not have existed.

So this was a bit of a long winded post to show two2 things,
1) how incredibly easy it is to make full use of a new storage media formatted with a native Linux type filesystem, and
2) how to do it properly so as to avoid introducing potentially unwanted bugs within a finely tuned system.

m_pav thanks so much for your detailed answer. I was wondering how to change the label name of the partitions. All those numbers made my head swim. And that's before understanding that it would potentially create problems. So as to my particular example, in gparted after right clicking the filesystem and selecting the Label File System option, when the box opens I can just type for example "wd500s" for the western digital disk and it will automatically supply the "/media/shalom/". Is that right?

After changing the label name, and mounting the file system, I only need to use the command "sudo chown shalom:shalom /media/shalom/wd500s/." With the dot at the end? And that should be it?

What about Charles V recommendation: "In Thunar, I usually right click and then "Open root thunar here". Then select the mount / drive and under properties } Permissions, assign your user the Group access read and right permissions." Is that an alternative?" I very much want to not screw this up! Thanks again

The method that m_pav outlined for properties changes the ownership of the folder, where the method I showed keep root the owner, but changes the Group rights. (You could just move up to the top entry in that same dialog and choose Owner and then choose you.)

Most linux peeps will prefer the chown method. Being a GUI guy and since many newbies get twitchy at a terminal... I tend to lean in using gui. If you change ownership in the gui, it does the same thing as the terminal command.

CharlesV wrote: Thu May 22, 2025 11:41 am Most linux peeps will prefer the chown method. Being a GUI guy and since many newbies get twitchy at a terminal... I tend to lean in using gui. If you change ownership in the gui, it does the same thing as the terminal command.

It may do the same thing, but different Linux distros offer different GUIs so switching between, say, Xfce and KDE or Mate or Budgie later on is going to involve relearning how to change permissions for that specific desktop environment.

Meanwhile the chown(1) syntax will be consistent everywhere except in Windows and has been that way for decades.

It also helps to know how to fix permissions on things when they cause a problem that prevents you from being able to start the GUI in the first place.

Very true. Thank you for pointing that out

CharlesV wrote: Thu May 22, 2025 4:57 pm Very true. Thank you for pointing that out

By all means, use (and learn) the permissions GUI of Thunar or Nautilus or whatever file manager utility you like and use most often, but as a new user expect to get a lot of suggestions for running something from the command line. It's not that changing permissions must be done from the command line, rather that there is the least amount of ambiguity in it out of all possible options. Not everyone here is an Xfce expert, or a KDE expert, or a Fluxbox expert. The generalized solution can be used by anyone.

I got a suggestion to use Gnome-Disk-Utility. It worked great on MX and much easier for me as a basic user than other approaches. But I learned much from the various proposed solutions. Appreciate all your help.