1

So, today I thought it would be clever to take some leftover free space from my hard drive and create a partition I could share between Linux and Windows, as I know that Windows is "protective" of it's system partition due to the Fast Startup system.

However Windows apparently had a different idea in mind.

The disk contains an unclean file system (0, 0).
Metadata kept in Windows cache, refused to mount.
Failed to mount '/dev/sda4': 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.

While I know this may be remedied by disabling Fast Startup, I would like to avoid doing so.

By using nftsfix I was able to get the partition mounted in RW mode.

Long Story Short:

Is it possible to prevent Windows from keeping a disk's Metadata in it's cache?

If not, how can I setup Linux to run nftsfix on the partition then mount it (preferably with fstab), and would any data be lost using this method?

EDIT: The main reason I wish to keep Fast Startup in tact is due to Startup times. I need to be able to switch to Windows and back quickly in my work setting, sometimes several times in an hour.

Lektonic
  • 862
  • 7
  • 17
  • disable fast Startup of windows 10 before shutting down to linux: https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/4189-fast-startup-turn-off-windows-10-a.html – magicandre1981 Feb 07 '17 at 17:17
  • @magicandre1981 I know that disabling Fast Startup is a solution, however it does not answer my questions. – Lektonic Feb 07 '17 at 17:20
  • use this safe way by disabling fast startup – magicandre1981 Feb 07 '17 at 17:22
  • If you don't mind me asking, is there a compelling reason that you don't want to disable Fast Startup? We have successfully resolved this issue before: http://superuser.com/q/1152001/650163 The article I referenced outlines the potential disadvantages: The Pros and Cons of Windows 10’s “Fast Startup” Mode – Run5k Feb 07 '17 at 17:35
  • @Run5k I have edited the answer to help shed some light on why I would prefer to keep Fast Startup Enabled. – Lektonic Feb 07 '17 at 17:52
  • "The main reason I wish to keep Fast Startup in tact is due to Startup times." There certainly isn't anything wrong with that, but have you considered testing it to see the difference? My team has tested the Fast Startup function rather thoroughly on our network. In my opinion, the cold startup speed difference with/without Fast Startup enabled really isn't that dramatic, and our conclusion is that the minimal time savings (several seconds) on a modern computer wasn't worth the potential drawbacks: dual-boot problems like this one, a wireless NIC that won't initialize, etc. – Run5k Feb 07 '17 at 17:56
  • 2
    ntfsfix does not "fix" anything and you should not ever think about using it routinely before mount. – Andrea Lazzarotto Feb 07 '17 at 18:54

1 Answers1

0

I'm sorry to tell you that you can't have Fast Startup and Linux living in the same hard disk.

However, you can turn off your computer completely to get into Linux, to do it open a Command Prompt and turn it off with:

shutdown -s -t 0

Where:

shutdown: Shutdowns your computer

-s: Parateter to shutdown your computer

-t 0: Turn it off programatically, wait 0 seconds to do it

You can do this everytime you want to start Windows after Linux and you don't have to disable the Fast Startup. The next time you restart Windows it will do a cold start-up, and a fast one after that, until you shut it down coldly again.

fernando.reyes
  • 968
  • 5
  • 16