Reconnected USB harddirve is not available on ROCK

[Christopher_Martin1 (Christopher Martin)]

Since reconnecting my external hardrive I cannot access any of the music folders I usually access via Roon. Can’t access locally stored music.

What happened:

I closed the Roon app on my tablet, switched off the Intel NUC that has ROCK on it and then unplugged my external hard drives.

I then down hooked up this hardrive to my laptop and copied a new album I had just downloaded over the a folder on the external hardrive that is normally connected to the Intel NUC/Roon ROCK.

I switched on the Intel NUC and opened the Roon app on my tablet. I cannot access any of the music stored on the hard drive.

I see the message:

You don’t have any watched folders in your library.

For each music folder (e.g. jazz) it states

Drive not available. Check the drive or edit this folder if its been moved. I have disabled and enabled a folder and removed - then cannot add it back.

I go and upgrade my turntable and then this happens.
I hope I do not have to uninstall and reinstall the Roon Core.

[bearFNF]

Did you properly eject the drive when you disconnected it from your laptop?
What format is the hard drive?
What OS is on the laptop?

[Carl]

Hi @Christopher_Martin1

What format is the USB drive formatted to? I suspect it is NTFS.

NTFS file systems don’t like it when they are hot-unplugged. That’s why Windows has this:

Safely remove hardware in Windows - Microsoft Support

The file system is now probably flagged as unsafely removed and ROCK refuses to mount it.

However, once cleaned, Linux should be able to mount it normally..

Recommended Actions:

1. Connect the Drive to a Windows PC:

• Run the following in Command Prompt as Administrator:

chkdsk E: /f

Replace E: with the correct drive letter for the USB device.

2. Safely Eject the Drive from Windows:

• Always use the “Safely Remove Hardware” option before unplugging it. This helps avoid “dirty” NTFS volumes.

3. Replug into Linux System:

• After chkdsk repairs it and it’s clean, try connecting again.

4. (Optional) Force Mount on Linux (Not Recommended unless necessary):

• If you can’t access a Windows system:

—————

Additional Information.

Roon does not recommend NTFS for external USB disks connected to ROCK/Nucleus:

[Mike_O_Neill]

Reinsert the drive into a Windows, right mouse > properties

Find the tab Tools and repair the drive, then PROPERLY EJECT the drive as per the post above put back in NUC

Long term make a full BU of he drive and reformat as exFAT and copy the files back

NTFS is only a problem when you disconnect the drive, I have had a NTFS formatted drive in my NUC for y ears without an issue BUT I have never removed it. I am too lazy to do the recopy exercise above. I copy all new data across the network

One day I will do it