Debian cannot mount USB external disks with NTFS file system automatically

After Debian Wheezy installation I noticed a strange problem that prevented USB disks with NTFS file system to be automatically mounted. USB sticks with FAT 32 file system were mounted correctly without any intervention. Using Google to find a solution I realized that other users experienced the same problem once they had installed Debian from USB stick.

In fact, I used two USB sticks during Debian Wheezy installation. The first USB stick was loaded with Debian Wheezy installation ISO image. The second one I used to upload a wireless network card firmware - iwlwifi-4965-2.ucode to get a wireless card working during installation.

Below is the error message that is displayed every time NTFS USB disk is inserted to USB slot. In this case, check the content of the file /etc/fstab.

pic3_ntf_mount_problem

Picture 1 - Error Mount Message

The output of my /etc/fstab is displayed on the second picture. Notice the last two lines that contain information about devices /dev/sdb1 and /dev/sdc1. These are the USB devices that had been used during Debian installation.

pic4_fstab
Picture 2 - Content of file /etc/fstab

Delete the last two lines and insert external USB disk with NTFS file system to USB slot. Your disk should be automatically mounted now.

Reference:
http://forums.debian.net/viewtopic.php?t=103033

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