How to Mount and Unmount Drives and Partitions in Linux

If you’re wondering how to mount and unmount drives, you’re not alone. Have you ever plugged in a USB drive, but it didn’t show up the way it does on Windows or macOS? That’s because Linux treats storage differently. In Windows, drives appear automatically as C:, D:, E:, etc., but in Linux, you need to mount the drive to access it and unmount it before removal.

Think of it like parking a vehicle in a designated spot. You can’t just leave it in the middle of the road, it needs a proper parking space (mount point)!

In this guide, we’ll break down everything you need to know about mounting and unmounting drives in Linux in a simple, conversational way, even if you’re new to Linux. Whether you’re trying to mount a USB drive, external HDD, or Windows partition, this guide covers everything about the Linux mount and unmount process. You’ll learn how to access your USB, HDD, SSD, or external drive, and safely remove it without losing data for Ubuntu/Debian systems.

What Does “Mounting” Mean in Linux?

Mounting in Linux means attaching a storage device to your system’s directory tree, allowing users to access its files. When you “mount” a device, you tell the system:

In simple terms: Mounting tells Linux where to place your drive so you can use it.

And when you’re done, you must unmount it to disconnect safely.

Simple Analogy:

Think of mounting like plugging a TV into a power socket.

• A TV without a socket won’t turn on.
• Similarly, a drive without mounting won’t be accessible.

Unmounting is like safely unplugging the TV, you avoid sparks (data loss).

How Linux Organizes Storage

Linux doesn’t assign drive letters like C: or D:. Instead, everything is part of a single directory structure, starting from the ‘root /‘.

Here’s a simple visual to understand how drives connect to Linux:

                    Linux Directory Tree
                              |
                              /
                     ┌───────────────┐
                     |               |
                   /home/         (Mount Points)
                                      |
                         ┌────────────┴────────────┐
                         |                         |
                      /media/                   /mnt/
                         |
              (Auto Mount Points for Drives)
                         |
                 ┌──────────────┴──────────────┐
                 |                              |
             USB Drive                      External HDD
          (/media/usb)                    (/media/hdd1)

What Is a Mount Point?

A mount point is simply a folder where the drive’s contents are shown once mounted.
Example: ‘/mnt/mydrive‘ or ‘/media/usb‘

Types of Drives You Can Mount

Linux allows the mounting of multiple types of storage devices:

Internal Storage

• SSDs / NVMe drives: High-speed storage for system and application files.
• SATA Hard Drives: Larger capacity, slower performance, great for backups.
• Linux and Windows dual-boot partitions: Mount Windows partitions to access files from Linux.

External Storage

• USB Pen Drives: Small, portable flash drives that can be easily connected via USB to transfer or access files.
• External HDD/SSD: Larger portable storage devices offering high capacity (HDD) or fast performance (SSD) for backups and file transfers.
• SD Cards: Memory cards commonly used in cameras, phones, and other devices, which can be mounted to access their data.
• Portable storage devices: General category including any external storage device (like USB drives, external SSDs/HDDs, or memory cards) that can be connected and mounted.

Network & Virtual Storage

• NFS (Network File System): Allows Linux systems to mount directories from other Linux/Unix servers over a network for shared access.
• CIFS/SMB (Shared Windows files): Enables mounting Windows-shared folders or network drives on a Linux system.
• ISO Image files: Mountable disk image files (like CD/DVD images) to access their contents without burning them to physical media.

How to Check Available Drives and Partitions

Before mounting anything, first list your drives.

Using lsblk (Most Common)

lsblk

lsblk

Sample Output:

NAME   MAJ:MIN RM   SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINTS
sda      8:0    0   256G  0 disk 
├─sda1   8:1    0   512M  0 part /boot
├─sda2   8:2    0   100G  0 part /
└─sda3   8:3    0 155.5G  0 part /home
sdb      8:16   1    32G  0 disk 
└─sdb1   8:17   1    32G  0 part /media/usb

NAME   MAJ:MIN RM   SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINTS
sda      8:0    0   256G  0 disk 
├─sda1   8:1    0   512M  0 part /boot
├─sda2   8:2    0   100G  0 part /
└─sda3   8:3    0 155.5G  0 part /home
sdb      8:16   1    32G  0 disk 
└─sdb1   8:17   1    32G  0 part /media/usb

Explanation of the Output:

What This Output Shows:

🔹sda is a 256GB internal disk with 3 partitions:

• sda1 mounted at ‘/boot‘
• sda2 mounted at ‘/‘
• sda3 mounted at ‘/home‘

🔹sdb is a 32GB external USB drive with 1 partition:

• sdb1 mounted at ‘/media/usb‘

To get more details like filesystem types, you can use the command ‘sudo fdisk -l‘

How to Mount and Unmount Drives in Linux (Step-by-Step)

Create a Mount Point

A mount point is the folder where your drive’s content will appear after mounting. Most users create it inside ‘/mnt‘ or ‘/media‘.

Create a folder for mounting:

sudo mkdir /mnt/mydrive

sudo mkdir /mnt/mydrive

(Replace mydrive with any name you prefer.)

Now that you know your device name and have a mount point, let’s mount it.

Mounting a Drive

Step 1: Identify the Partition

Example partition: ‘/dev/sdb1‘

Step 2: Mount the Drive
Use the command below to mount your drive:

sudo mount /dev/sdb1 /mnt/mydrive

sudo mount /dev/sdb1 /mnt/mydrive

Step 3: Verify Mount
Verify your mounted drive using the command below:

df -h

df -h

If mounted successfully, you will see ‘/dev/sdb1‘ listed with ‘/mnt/mydrive‘.

Mounting USB Drives in Linux

Most USBs are formatted as FAT32, exFAT, or NTFS.

Mount FAT32/EXT4 USB Drive:

sudo mount /dev/sdb1 /mnt/usb

sudo mount /dev/sdb1 /mnt/usb

Mount exFAT USB Drive (Install support dependencies first):

sudo apt install exfat-fuse exfatprogs -y
sudo mount /dev/sdb1 /mnt/usb

sudo apt install exfat-fuse exfatprogs -y
sudo mount /dev/sdb1 /mnt/usb

Mounting Windows NTFS or FAT32 Drives:
If you’re dual-booting with Windows or accessing a Windows drive, it’s probably NTFS.

Mount NTFS Drive:

sudo apt install ntfs-3g -y
sudo mount -t ntfs-3g /dev/sdb1 /mnt/win

sudo apt install ntfs-3g -y
sudo mount -t ntfs-3g /dev/sdb1 /mnt/win

How to Unmount a Drive Safely

Before unplugging a USB or external drive, always unmount it; otherwise, data may get corrupted.

Unmount Command
Use the command below to unmount your drive:

sudo umount /mnt/mydrive

sudo umount /mnt/mydrive

or

sudo umount /dev/sdb1

sudo umount /dev/sdb1

If You See “Device is Busy” Error

This means some files or processes are still using the drive.

Check which processes are using it:

sudo lsof /mnt/mydrive

sudo lsof /mnt/mydrive

Then close the listed programs and try again.

Force Unmount (only if required):

sudo umount -f /mnt/mydrive

sudo umount -f /mnt/mydrive

Common Mount & Unmount Errors (and Fixes)

Best Practices & Safety Tips

• Always unmount before unplugging
• Use clear mount point names, e.g., /mnt/photos
• Don’t mount with write permissions if drive is sensitive
• Avoid editing /etc/fstab unless confident
• Prefer UUID over device name to avoid wrong mounts
• Mount sensitive drives as read-only if needed:

sudo mount -o ro /dev/sdb1 /mnt/secure

sudo mount -o ro /dev/sdb1 /mnt/secure

Conclusion

Mounting and unmounting drives in Linux may feel unfamiliar at first, especially if you’re coming from Windows or macOS where drives show up automatically. But once you understand how Linux handles storage, the process becomes simple and logical. You now know what mounting means, how Linux organizes storage, how to identify your drives, and the correct way to mount and unmount them without risking data loss.

With a little practice, you’ll find it easy to access USBs, external drives, internal partitions, or even network storage on your Ubuntu/Debian system. Just keep one habit in mind, always unmount the drive before disconnecting it. As soon as this becomes part of your workflow, managing storage on Linux will feel natural and effortless.

Now you know how to handle Linux drive mounting like a pro, whether it’s a USB, SSD, or NTFS partition, without risking data loss!

FAQs