How to Mount a USB Drive Every Time Linux Boots Up

Mounting a USB drive manually every time you reboot Linux gets old fast. If you’re running a home server, using the drive for backups, or just want it available at startup, here’s how to set up automatic mounting that sticks.

Step 1: Plug in the USB Drive

Start by connecting your USB drive to your Linux machine. Open a terminal and run:

lsblk

This lists all connected block devices. Look for your USB drive—typically something like /dev/sdb1 or /dev/sdc1.

Step 2: Create a Mount Point

Create a folder where the system will mount the USB drive. You can name it whatever you like, just keep it somewhere logical (e.g., /mnt or /media):

sudo mkdir -p /mnt/usbdrive

Step 3: Get the UUID of the Drive

Using the UUID (Universally Unique Identifier) instead of the device name (/dev/sdX) is more reliable, because Linux device names can change between boots.

To find the UUID:

sudo blkid

Look for your USB drive and copy the UUID, which looks like:

UUID="1234-ABCD"

Step 4: Edit /etc/fstab

The fstab file controls what filesystems mount automatically at boot. Open it in a text editor with root privileges:

sudo nano /etc/fstab

Add a new line at the end like this:

UUID=1234-ABCD  /mnt/usbdrive  vfat  defaults,nofail  0  0

Breakdown of Options:

• UUID=...: Tells the system which drive to mount.
• /mnt/usbdrive: Where it should be mounted.
• vfat: Filesystem type. Use ntfs or ext4 if that’s what your drive uses.
• defaults,nofail: defaults sets standard mount options; nofail allows boot to continue even if the drive isn’t found.
• The 0 0 disables dump and fsck checks—fine for removable drives.

Save and exit (Ctrl+O, Enter, then Ctrl+X if you’re using nano).

Step 5: Test It

Before rebooting, test your fstab entry:

sudo mount -a

If you don’t see any errors, it worked. Now reboot your system and confirm the drive is mounted automatically:

df -h

You should see /mnt/usbdrive listed.

Wrapping Up

That’s it. Your USB drive will now be mounted automatically every time your Linux system boots up. If you remove the drive and later plug it back in, make sure it’s using the same UUID—or update the fstab file.

Need to make the drive writable for everyone or adjust permissions? You can tweak the mount options in fstab as needed.

Want a walkthrough for specific file systems like NTFS or exFAT? Drop a comment and I’ll cover it.