Yes, reading and writing NTFS is supported on more recent kernels. If
you're just reading data from existing drives it'll likely work ok, if
you want to read/write then it may be a bit rocky (as it's not as well
used as native filesystems, so there's more possibility of bugs). I
think you'll have a much easier time if you can switch to native Linux
disk formats, and remember that you can always use a Linux live image to
boot a machine to get data off of the disks. Also remember that Linux's
whole-disk encryption (called "LUKS") is not compatible with Windows
Bitlocker (and vice-versa).
I'd suggest OpenMediaVault to give you easier administration.
OpenMediaVault is Debian based, and the newest version "Sandworm" should
natively support NTFS disks. While you have time - maybe try it in a VM
and see how it installs, behaves, and ensure it'll give you what you need.
My guess when it comes to the "perfectly good Windows 10 computers" -
most people won't care until there's a big enough security problem that
it actually costs them in some way, or until browsers stop supporting
it, and there's something in an updated browser that doesn't work on
Windows 10 anymore. Browsers won't stop supporting Windows 10 for at
least 3 years, and then after we'll see what happens.
Jamie
On 2024-04-11 1:48 p.m., _ Winterlight wrote:
I want to use one of my old mini computers ....NUC quad core.... for a file
server, security cameras and HD homerun which front ends my TV antenna. Given
that windows 10 is 18 months away from ending I am thinking of turning to Linux
for the OS. Actually, I think October 2025 will be the best opportunity Linux
has ever had to capture a segment of the PC market both business and personal.
End users and business aren't going to want to throw away perfectly good
windows 10 computers. They may be willing to pay the $61 for one year of
updates but after that it gets expensive and you end up at the same starting
point. It is going to be a major issue come the end of Win 10
Linux Questions
Can I use a NTFS format for any drives ... this would be easier to deal with if
something went wrong and I had to access the drive from a windows PC?
I have on occasion installed various versions of Linux in virtual machines and
old PCs but I am a novice and I will struggle with it to learn how to manage it.
What current distribution of Linux would you recommend for this ?
Thanks <w>
