How to Fix an NTFS Drive Mounted Read-Only in Ubuntu Because of Windows Fast Startup

You connect your Windows drive or a shared NTFS partition in Ubuntu, you can open every folder and read every file, but the moment you try to save, delete, or rename anything, Ubuntu says no. The drive has mounted read-only. Nothing is wrong with your files, and your drive is not failing. In almost every dual-boot case, the reason is a Windows feature called Fast Startup.

This guide explains what Fast Startup does to an NTFS volume, why Ubuntu deliberately protects it, and how to fix the problem properly in Windows and in Ubuntu. It also covers the temporary read-only workarounds for the times when you only need to copy files off the drive.

Quick Answer

Shut Windows down completely instead of using its normal shutdown. Hold the Shift key while you click Shut down in Windows, or turn Fast Startup off in Control Panel under Power Options. Then boot Ubuntu and the NTFS drive will mount read-write again. Fast Startup leaves the volume hibernated and open, so Ubuntu mounts it read-only to avoid corrupting your data.

What Fast Startup Actually Does

Fast Startup was designed to make Windows boot faster. When you click Shut down on a modern Windows system with Fast Startup enabled, Windows does not fully close everything. It logs you out, then hibernates the core system state to a file called hiberfil.sys. On the next boot, it loads that saved state instead of starting from scratch, which feels quicker.

The side effect matters for dual booters. Windows has not finished with its NTFS volumes. They are left in an open, hibernated state, with data Windows expects to find exactly as it left it. The system drive is always affected, and other NTFS partitions can be left in the same state.

Ubuntu sees that flag and understands the risk: if Linux writes to a volume that Windows later resumes as if nothing changed, the resumed session can corrupt the file system. So the driver mounts the volume read-only or refuses it, and logs a message about hibernation.

How to Confirm Fast Startup Is Your Problem

• You dual boot, or the drive was last powered down by a Windows machine.
• Reading works perfectly. Only writing, deleting, and renaming fail.
• The file manager may show a lock or offer only a read-only mount.
• Running dmesg after a mount attempt shows words like “hibernated”, “unclean”, or a request to resume and shut down Windows properly.
• The problem returns after every normal Windows shutdown and disappears after a Windows restart, because Restart does a full shutdown while Shut down does not.

That last pattern is the giveaway: if a Windows restart fixes it for one session, Fast Startup is almost certainly the cause.

Fix 1: Turn Off Fast Startup in Windows (Permanent)

This is the best fix for anyone who dual boots regularly. Windows will take a few seconds longer to start, but every NTFS volume will be closed cleanly and Ubuntu will always get full access.

1. Boot into Windows and open Control Panel.
2. Go to Hardware and Sound, then Power Options.
3. Click “Choose what the power buttons do” on the left side.
4. Click “Change settings that are currently unavailable” near the top, and approve the administrator prompt if one appears.
5. Scroll to Shutdown settings and untick “Turn on fast start-up (recommended)”.
6. Click Save changes.
7. Shut Windows down normally, boot Ubuntu, and test writing a small file to the NTFS drive.

If the checkbox is missing entirely, hibernation may be disabled on your system, which also disables Fast Startup. In that case your read-only problem has a different cause, covered in the later sections.

Fix 2: Use Shift + Shut Down for a One-Time Full Shutdown

If you rarely boot Linux, or you are working on someone else’s Windows machine and should not change its settings, use the one-time method.

1. In Windows, save your work and close your programs.
2. Open the Start menu and go to the Power options as if shutting down normally.
3. Hold the Shift key and, while holding it, click Shut down.
4. Keep holding Shift until the machine is fully off.
5. Boot Ubuntu and mount the drive. It should now be writable.

The Windows Restart option also performs a full shutdown first, so choosing Restart and then selecting Ubuntu in the boot menu is another easy one-time path.

Our guide on setting up a Windows and Ubuntu dual boot safely covers shared data partitions and the settings that keep both systems happy together.

Fix 3: Check and Clear a Dirty Volume in Ubuntu

Sometimes the drive is read-only not because of hibernation, but because Windows crashed, lost power, or the drive was unplugged without ejecting. The volume is then marked dirty, and Ubuntu again chooses safety.

1. Unmount the partition first with sudo umount /dev/sdb1, using your real device name from lsblk -f.
2. Run sudo ntfsfix /dev/sdb1. This clears the dirty flag and fixes basic inconsistencies.
3. Mount the drive again and test writing.
4. Read the ntfsfix output carefully. If it reports the volume is hibernated, do not force it. Go back to Fixes 1 or 2 and shut Windows down properly.

For serious errors, boot Windows, open a command prompt as administrator, and run chkdsk D: /f with your drive letter. Then shut down cleanly before returning to Ubuntu.

The official Microsoft Windows support pages document power and shutdown settings for each Windows version if your menus look slightly different from the steps above.

Workaround: Copy Files When You Cannot Fix It Yet

If you cannot reboot into Windows right now, read-only access still lets you rescue or copy anything you need.

1. Mount the drive normally. If the file manager refuses, mount read-only by hand with sudo mkdir -p /mnt/data and sudo mount -t ntfs-3g -o ro /dev/sdb1 /mnt/data.
2. Copy the files you need to your Ubuntu home folder or another drive.
3. Unmount with sudo umount /mnt/data when finished.

A forced option, the remove_hiberfile mount option, deletes the hibernation file. Understand the cost: the saved Windows session and any unsaved work in it are lost. A proper Windows shutdown is cleaner and takes only a minute.

Also Check: Permissions That Look Like Read-Only

Not every write failure is a read-only mount. If the drive does mount read-write but your user still cannot save files, the mount options may have given ownership to root. This is common with manual mounts.

1. Check how it is mounted with mount | grep ntfs and look for rw in the options. If you see ro, the mount itself is the problem.
2. If it shows rw but writing fails, remount with your user ID: sudo mount -t ntfs-3g -o uid=1000,gid=1000,umask=022 /dev/sdb1 /mnt/data, using the IDs from the id command.
3. If the drive is listed in /etc/fstab, check that its line does not contain the ro option, and that it uses defaults or explicit user options instead.

The Arch Wiki NTFS guide has a clear table of mount options for both NTFS drivers, which helps when you are adjusting an fstab entry.

Common Mistakes and Useful Tips

• Forcing read-write over a hibernated volume: This is the one mistake that can truly corrupt data. The read-only behaviour is a safety feature, not a bug. Respect it.
• Expecting a Linux reinstall to help: The flag lives on the NTFS volume, not in Ubuntu. Reinstalling Linux changes nothing. Fix the shutdown state.
• Forgetting external drives: An NTFS USB drive unplugged from Windows can carry the same open state. Eject it properly every time.
• Tip: If you share one data partition daily, turning Fast Startup off permanently ends this entire class of problem. The slightly slower Windows boot is a fair trade.
• Tip: Keep one small FAT32 or exFAT partition for quick file swaps. Those formats carry no hibernation state and work in both systems without this issue.

Conclusion

An NTFS drive that mounts read-only in Ubuntu is usually a drive Windows never really let go of. Fast Startup hibernates instead of shutting down, and Ubuntu protects the volume by blocking writes. Turn Fast Startup off for a permanent fix, or hold Shift while shutting Windows down for a one-time fix. Use ntfsfix only for dirty volumes, copy files read-only when you are in a hurry, and never force a write over a hibernated session. Do that, and your shared drives will behave in both systems.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does Restart in Windows fix it but Shut down does not?

Because they do different things when Fast Startup is on. Shut down uses the hibernation shortcut to boot faster next time. Restart always performs a complete shutdown first, so the NTFS volumes are closed cleanly and Ubuntu can write to them.

Is Fast Startup dangerous to turn off?

No. Turning it off is safe and widely done by dual boot users. Windows will simply do a full cold boot, which may take a few seconds longer. Your files, programs, and Windows settings are not affected in any other way.

Can I make Ubuntu ignore the hibernation flag automatically?

Forced mount options exist, but using them automatically is risky if Windows later resumes expecting the volume to be unchanged. The safe setup is Fast Startup off in Windows plus a normal fstab entry in Ubuntu.

My drive is read-only and I do not dual boot. What else could it be?

The drive may have been removed from a Windows PC without ejecting, leaving it dirty. Run ntfsfix after unmounting, or repair it with chkdsk /f on a Windows machine. A failing drive or bad cable can also cause repeated dirty states and should be checked.

Does this affect the Windows C: drive too?

Yes. The Windows system partition is the volume most affected. Ubuntu will mount it read-only or refuse it for the same reason, and you should never force writes to it.