How to mount a hibernated Windows drive

Question

I was hoping I'd never need it, but I kept a Ubuntu boot USB stick just in case, and the case has arrived. This morning, my Windows 10 system would not boot, the SSD apparently no longer recognized. So I booted the system using my stick. Of course the Ubuntu version is a little outdated (it wants to install 16.04.2 LTS), but I was hoping I'd still be able to rescue some files from the SSD. Unfortunately, I seem unable to mount the SSD, as it is in Windows hibernation mode (I would prefer not to delete the hiberfile.sys), and my GNU abilities are too rudimentary to get around this limitation. The automated mount yields

Error mounting /dev/nvme0n1p1 at /media/ubuntu/JMW AMD Boot: Command-line `mount -t "ntfs" -o "uhelper=udisks2,nodev,nosuid,uid=999,gid=999" "/dev/nvme0n1p1" "/media/ubuntu/JMW AMD Boot"' exited with non-zero exit status 14: Windows is hibernated, refused to mount.
Failed to mount '/dev/nvme0n1p1': Operation not permitted
The NTFS partition is in an unsafe state. Please resume and shutdown Windows fully (no hibernation or fast restarting), or mount the volume read-only with the 'ro' mount option.

which I can recreate by entering

sudo mount -t "ntfs" -o "uhelper=udisks2,nodev,nosuid,uid=999,gid=999" "/dev/nvme0n1p1" "/media/ubuntu/JMW AMD Boot"

But replacing "-o" with "-ro" gives

ntfs-3g-mount: failed to access mountpoint /media/ubuntu/JMW AMD Boot: No such file or directory

Replacing "-o" with "-r" or "-o ro" gives generic help on "mount" command usage.

Would anyone know how I can get to my files? Thanks a bunch!

Please change your title to reflect the question. This is a Q&A site, not a user forum for individual help. Please also apply code formatting to code. Use "edit" — vanadium, Dec 05 '21 at 17:44
@Pilot6 op is trying to mount a disk, doesn't seem off topic to me. — kurja, Dec 05 '21 at 17:48
Antediluvian, it's not your exact scenario but maybe answers here could help: https://askubuntu.com/questions/145902/unable-to-mount-windows-ntfs-filesystem-due-to-hibernation — kurja, Dec 05 '21 at 17:52
Thanks, I saw that, but could not translate it to my problem — Antediluvian, Dec 05 '21 at 17:53
What do you mean "he SSD apparently no longer recognized"? - Boot drive not found? This would be a BIOS config. - OS not found? BIOS read the boot sector, so drive is recognized but boot partition isn't. Try using gparted. ...or somethine else? — VXDguy, Dec 05 '21 at 18:39
You're right, that's not quite correct. The BIOS identifies all drives, otherwise I would likely not be able to mount that drive under Ubuntu. But before messing with the OS, I'd rather save a few documents first. Never heard of gparted, I'll look it up. Any ideas for .. something else? — Antediluvian, Dec 05 '21 at 18:57
Does this answer your question? [Unable to mount Windows (NTFS) filesystem due to hibernation](https://askubuntu.com/questions/145902/unable-to-mount-windows-ntfs-filesystem-due-to-hibernation) — karel, Dec 06 '21 at 03:28

Antediluvian · Answer 1 · 2021-12-06T13:06:04.893

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Similar to the method described in

Unable to mount Windows (NTFS) filesystem due to hibernation

as "Workaround for all versions of Windows", I succeeded as follows

sudo mkdir /media/windows

sudo mount -t ntfs-3g -o ro /dev/nvme0n1p1 /media/windows

Why this is more successful, I have no idea. While many a commentator found time to correct my formal mistakes in posting, none bothered to explain.

edited Dec 06 '21 at 13:06

answered Dec 05 '21 at 18:23

Antediluvian

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As it’s currently written, your answer is unclear. Please [edit] to add additional details that will help others understand how this addresses the question asked. You can find more information on how to write good answers [in the help center](/help/how-to-answer). – ChanganAuto Dec 05 '21 at 18:52
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A general method to mount a hibernated Windows drive is to **reboot** Windows instead of shutting it down (and catch to reboot process to boot into Ubuntu). Then the drive will no longer be hibernated, no longer *dirty* (some buffers not flushed), so it can be read and written correctly. See also [this link](https://askubuntu.com/questions/11840/how-do-i-use-chmod-on-an-ntfs-or-fat32-partition/956072#956072), if you need more details for mounting: If you want to dual boot Ubuntu + Windows, it is a good idea to **turn off *fast startup* in Windows**. – sudodus Dec 05 '21 at 20:32
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mount failed because target path /media/windows did not exist, after it was created with mkdir then mount succeeded? – kurja Dec 05 '21 at 21:14
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Dear Sudodus, I had no intention to dual Ubuntu + Windows. It so happens that my Ubuntu stick is the only way I can think of to get to the data stored on a Windows machine that I am unable to reboot. I am unaware of ways to get Windows back up and running at tzhis point, so I'm trying to save data. Kurja, yes, that is what seemed to make the difference. It did not seem to like "/media/ubuntu/JMW AMD Boot" as the target. Don't ask me why. – Antediluvian Dec 05 '21 at 23:53

How to mount a hibernated Windows drive

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