How to Mount and Use an exFAT Drive on Linux – How-To Geek

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To mount and use an exFAT drive on Linux, you need to ensure that the necessary packages and drivers are installed on your system. exFAT is a proprietary file system developed by Microsoft, so native support for it may not be included in all Linux distributions. Here’s how you can mount and use an exFAT drive on Linux:

1. Check for exFAT Support:

  • Open a terminal on your Linux system.
  • Check if your system already has exFAT support by running the following command:
    sudo apt list exfat-utils
  • If it shows the “exfat-utils” package with a version number, exFAT support is available.

2. Install exFAT Support (if needed):

  • If exFAT support is not installed, you can install it using the following command:
    sudo apt-get update
    sudo apt-get install exfat-utils

3. Connect the exFAT Drive:

  • Connect the exFAT-formatted external drive to your Linux system. Ensure that it’s properly detected and recognized by the system.

4. Create a Mount Point (if needed):

  • You need to create a directory (mount point) where the exFAT drive will be mounted. For example, you can create a directory called “exfat_drive” in your home folder:
    mkdir ~/exfat_drive

5. Mount the exFAT Drive:

  • Use the mount command to mount the exFAT drive to the specified mount point. Replace /dev/sdXY with the actual device identifier of your exFAT drive (e.g., /dev/sdb1) and replace ~/exfat_drive with the path to your chosen mount point:
    sudo mount -t exfat /dev/sdXY ~/exfat_drive

6. Access the exFAT Drive:

  • After mounting, you can access the contents of the exFAT drive through the specified mount point (in this example, it’s ~/exfat_drive). You can browse, read, and write files to and from the drive using file managers or terminal commands.

7. Unmount the exFAT Drive:

  • Before disconnecting the exFAT drive, it’s essential to unmount it properly to avoid data loss or corruption. Use the following command to unmount the drive:
    sudo umount ~/exfat_drive

Remember to replace ~/exfat_drive with the actual mount point you used during the mounting process.

Please note that the steps above assume you are using a Debian-based Linux distribution like Ubuntu. If you are using a different Linux distribution, the package manager and commands may vary slightly. Always refer to your specific distribution’s documentation for package management and mount commands.

Additionally, some Linux distributions may have built-in exFAT support, while others might require you to install additional packages or drivers from third-party repositories. Always ensure that you have backups of your important data before working with file systems or storage devices to minimize the risk of data loss.