How to Mount an exFAT Drive on Ubuntu Linux?

exFAT (Extended File Allocation Table) is a file system that is used to store and access large files on removable drives, such as USB flash drives and SD cards. By mounting the exFAT drive, Linux can read and write to the drive, allowing for file transfer and storage between Windows and Linux systems.

This article demonstrates the step-by-step procedure to mount an exFAT drive on Ubuntu Linux.

Prerequisite: Install exFAT Driver

To mount an exFAT drive on Ubuntu, install the necessary exFAT driver first. If the drivers are already installed in the system, skip the prerequisite step and go to step 1: 

Enable Universe Repository 

To enable the universe repository in the system, add the “universe” repository with the “sudo” privilege as below:

$ sudo add-apt-repository universe

Update the Packages List

Open a terminal and update your package manager’s package list by running the below script:

$ sudo apt update

Install the exFAT Driver

To install the exFAT driver by running the below script. It will install all required dependencies and configured files:

$ sudo apt install exfat-fuse exfat-utils   #Debian/Ubuntu-based 
$ sudo yum install fuse-exfat exfat-utils   #CentOS
$ sudo dnf install fuse-exfat exfat-utils   #Fedora

How to Mount an exFAT Drive on Ubuntu Linux?

Once the prerequisites are installed on your system, head to the below steps to mount a drive on Ubuntu. 

Step 1: Create a Mounting Point 

To create a mount point for the drive, the mkdir command is utilized for making a directory. This is where the drive will be mounted in the file system. For instance, create a directory “exfat” in the /media/itslinuxfoss directory by running the below script:

$ sudo mkdir /media/itslinuxfoss/exfat

Step 2: Check the Drive Name 

Check the name of the drive by running the “lsblk” command. The name of the drives will be in the NAME column, so the user can pick one for mounting the drive:

$ lsblk

We choose the “sdb3” partition to mount an exFAT drive on Ubuntu.

Step 3: Mount the Drive

To mount the drive, specify the drive name from the above step where you want to mount it in the system. For instance, we choose the “/dev/sdb3” drive for mounting with the mount point “/media/itslinuxfoss/exfat” via the sudo privilege:

$ sudo mount -t exfat /dev/sdb3 /media/itslinuxfoss/exfat

The “sdb3” drive is mounted, and users can access its contents through the mount point “/itslinuxfoss/media/exfat”. 

How to Unmount an exFAT Drive on Ubuntu Linux?

For unmounting the drive, users can utilize the umount command. Before execution, the user must be sure that a particular drive is already mounted in the system:

$ sudo umount /media/itslinuxfoss/exfat

That’s how an exFAT drive can be mounted on Ubuntu. 

Conclusion

To mount the exFAT drive, first create a directory (mount point) using the “mkdir” command in Ubuntu. Afterward, get the drive name for mounting that can be displayed using the “lsblk” command. Finally, use the mount command to mount that specific drive/media/storage. This article has explained the step-by-step procedure to mount an exFAT drive on Ubuntu Linux.