Talk:NTFS

ntfsfix is bad

See this thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/archlinux/comments/11qezjd/correctly_checking_ntfs_partitions_dont_use/

TL;DR: We should NOT be recommending installing `ntfsfix` in any way, e.g. in this note:

> Paragon Software, the author of the kernel module, has not yet released userspace utilities for NTFS3. You can use NTFS-3G userspace utilities without NTFS-3G driver via ntfsprogs-ntfs3^AUR. Teohhanhui (talk) 17:47, 28 April 2024 (UTC)

The dirty bit could be set without real fs corruption, e.g. partition simply wasn't unmounted cleanly due to unexpected shutdown / power loss.

Of course it is always better to perform chkdsk on it, but it is totally possible to get in a situation where you don't have a Windows system to solve the problem immediately.

So I think this information is useful, but we could slap a warning into the section.

Hanabishi (talk) 08:11, 29 April 2024 (UTC)

The Reddit thread suggests a viable alternative to `chkdsk` which is `chkntfs` (actually `chkufsd`) which has been found to be available on both Linux (x86 static build, found through an old Android apk of Paragon UFSD Root Mounter) and macOS (bundled in the free trial of Paragon NTFS for Mac and can be used even after the license has expired).

The Linux version could probably be packaged in AUR. The person who found it has uploaded it to archive.org: https://archive.org/details/tools_202401 Teohhanhui (talk) 12:41, 29 April 2024 (UTC)

Well, if you can actually pull this off - find a reliable distribution source and make an AUR package - it will be great. I'm not sure about legal implications though.

Hanabishi (talk) 13:35, 29 April 2024 (UTC)

I haven't gone through the license yet, but judging from Ufsd#Installation - the kind of hurdle they have to make the user jump through - it's probably not re-distributable.

But I really think a warning about the dangers of `ntfsfix` is warranted in any case. Teohhanhui (talk) 14:00, 29 April 2024 (UTC)

PKGBUILD is just a recipe to install software. Not a package.

I wonder why https://aur.archlinux.org/cgit/aur.git/tree/PKGBUILD?h=ufsd-pro-dkms was removed.

It is based on Pro version with manual installation needed.

But https://dl.paragon-software.com/free/ntfs_for_linux-10.7.0-express.tar.gz contains sources of userspace tools and modules (UNTESTED). oech3 (talk) 14:54, 29 April 2025 (UTC)

I missed

Information provided in this README file applies to all of the products

unless otherwise noted.

No, it does not have tools. Sorry. oech3 (talk) 15:16, 29 April 2025 (UTC)

Real example apps slould not use udev rules to use ntfs3

[1] is missing real example apps should not use udev rules to use ntfs3. oech3 (talk) 15:24, 29 April 2025 (UTC)

Moving to NTFS3

Nl6720:

This page is specifically about the NTFS3 driver.

It isn't really. It is this way just because ntfs3 was the only kernel driver. But I think the article should simply be changed to account for multiple drivers than making another separate article. There is standalone NTFS-3G because it is kinda special, but the kernel drivers won't differ much from user's standpoint.

Hanabishi (talk) 11:35, 28 April 2026 (UTC)

Alright. Sounds reasonable. --nl6720 (talk) 15:12, 29 April 2026 (UTC)