How to open exFAT SSD in Ubuntu 12.04?

Question

I have some files on my SSD and I want to put them on my Ubuntu 12.04(64bit) desktop , but Ubuntu cannot open the exFAT SSD when I connect it via USB. How can I make it work?

Answer 1

exFAT is a proprietary file system developed by Microsoft, and implementing it requires accepting a very restrictive license from Microsoft. However, there is a FUSE implementation of exFAT for linux.

Since you are on a Ubuntu system, you can install the above-mentioned exFAT implementation from their PPA.

1. Add the PPA to your sources list by running

   sudo add-apt-repository ppa:relan/exfat
   

   in your favourite terminal emulator

2. Install the fuse-exfat and the exfat-utils packages:

   sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install fuse-exfat exfat-utils
   

Now you should be able to use the SSD

Answer 2

To install exfat on Ubuntu 13.10 Saucy Salamander, you don’t need to add any extra PPA to your sources list. You only need exfat-utils package

$ sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install exfat-utils

Ubuntu and Linux Mint will not automatic mount exfat devince. To mount exfat device, plug in your device and run:

$ su -
# cat /proc/partitions
# cd /media
# mkdir usbdrive
# mount -t exfat /dev/sdd1 usbexfat

From http://namhuy.net/872/how-to-enable-exfat-on-ubuntu.html

Answer 3

If this is a one time copy of those "some files" then either:

• partition that SSD into two, the second one to FAT, meet any of your friend who have Windows and you are done (or have your FAT formatted pendrive along with you, and skip the partitioning advice), you can even drink a coffee or chat during the process, or:
• install VMWare, then download a Virtual PC image, convert it to VMDK, and pass through your USB port to the Windows Guest machine (and set up a shared folder between Guest and Host beforehand).

The second is for introverted geeks, or people with a 1 hour deadline in the middle of the night.