I"ve learned something that needs to be "put on the record." As I am encountering more ransomware and hard disk failure issues with Windows 8-10 computers, I find that my usual method of fixing these problems- to use Ubuntu Linux disk tools- is not working. I get an error that says I can't mount the hard drive partition due to "hibernation" by Windows- the disk was not shut down correctly and I can't mount it.
I want to emphasis this as a problem for all those readers who are stretching their computer's life beyond 3 years by using the Windows 10 free upgrade. Beyond 3 years, and if your computer was made after about 2008, hard drive failure is going to be increasingly likely. If your hard drive fails, then recovery of data and programs without spending a lot of money is going to be the likely outcome due to this new Windows feature. You don't have to know anything about Ubuntu... You just have to know you are at risk and should consider turning off this new feature or you should replace your hard drive, even if it seems to be working just fine.
I want to emphasis this as a problem for all those readers who are stretching their computer's life beyond 3 years by using the Windows 10 free upgrade. Beyond 3 years, and if your computer was made after about 2008, hard drive failure is going to be increasingly likely. If your hard drive fails, then recovery of data and programs without spending a lot of money is going to be the likely outcome due to this new Windows feature. You don't have to know anything about Ubuntu... You just have to know you are at risk and should consider turning off this new feature or you should replace your hard drive, even if it seems to be working just fine.
I found a fix to the problem at https://askubuntu.com/questions/145902/unable-to-mount-windows-ntfs-filesystem-due-to-hibernation
{from that article:}
There is a new feature in Windows 8-10 called Fast Startup. If this feature is enabled (which it is by default), Windows 8-10 does not actually completely shutdown when you choose shutdown. Instead, it does a "hybrid shutdown". This is something like hibernating; it makes booting Windows 8-10 back up faster. So, you need to disable this feature to be able to shut it down properly, and be able to mount the Windows partitions. To do this, boot into your Windows 8-10 and:
There is a new feature in Windows 8-10 called Fast Startup. If this feature is enabled (which it is by default), Windows 8-10 does not actually completely shutdown when you choose shutdown. Instead, it does a "hybrid shutdown". This is something like hibernating; it makes booting Windows 8-10 back up faster. So, you need to disable this feature to be able to shut it down properly, and be able to mount the Windows partitions. To do this, boot into your Windows 8-10 and:
Note: disabling Fast Startup will most likely make your Windows 8-10 take a longer time to boot. There are no "exact" numbers, but let's say that if it took you 10 seconds to boot into Windows 8-10, it will now take you 50 seconds after disabling this feature.
1. Open Control Panel in the small icons view and click on Power Options.
2. Click on Choose what the power buttons do.
3. Click on Change settings that are currently unavailable.
4. Uncheck Turn on fast startup (recommended).
Click on the numbers above to see screenshots.
2. Click on Choose what the power buttons do.
3. Click on Change settings that are currently unavailable.
4. Uncheck Turn on fast startup (recommended).
Click on the numbers above to see screenshots.
Click on Save changes. Now, shutdown Windows 8-10 and boot back into Ubuntu.
If you still aren't able to mount without getting errors, you may need to turn off hibernation completely. Open an elevated Command Prompt (right click on the shortcut, click on “Run as Administrator”), and input:
powercfg /h off
In one case, when I was on that panel, I noted that the power button in both "On battery" and "Plugged in" modes was set to "Sleep." For safety purposes, I think both should be set to "Shut Down" and that is what I did. If you want to "sleep", then you can set a timer or "close the lid."
Also, if you want to actually use hibernate, then check that "Hibernate" box so that the Hibernate option is included in the options when you click the power button on the "start" bar. But note the comment at the end of the quote above that hibernate can result in problems if you have a disk crash.
When I used this method on a computer, Windows detected disk errors on start up and fixed a number of problems with the file system. This made some of the problems the user was having disappear. So, not only does it help when using Ubuntu to diagnose and fix disk errors, it also helps directly correct Windows errors.
Also, if you want to actually use hibernate, then check that "Hibernate" box so that the Hibernate option is included in the options when you click the power button on the "start" bar. But note the comment at the end of the quote above that hibernate can result in problems if you have a disk crash.
When I used this method on a computer, Windows detected disk errors on start up and fixed a number of problems with the file system. This made some of the problems the user was having disappear. So, not only does it help when using Ubuntu to diagnose and fix disk errors, it also helps directly correct Windows errors.
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