Trying to mount a Windows NTFS HDD on linux errors, "The disk contains an unclean file system"

I had a friend ask me to copy files from her old dying laptop of a spec that was only suitable for Windows XP. She had upgraded it to Windows 8.1 and it was struggling. She got hold of a newer laptop and wanted me to copy her files across.

Being the always cautious techie, I took the old HDD out and tried mounting it on my Ubuntu 14.04LTS, to virus and Rootkit scan it first, before backing up her files. The HDD would not mount and error with:

"The disk contains an unclean file system...."

A bit of research concluded that the Windows 8.1 system was probably set for Fast Startup.

How to disable or enable Fast Startup in Windows 8.1

I started the old laptop in Safe Mode and navigated to the Control Panel to 'Power Options' -> 'System Settings' -> 'Advanced'. I then unticked the box, 'Turn on fast startup (recommended)' thus disabling Fast Startup. Then, shutdown the laptop.

I was then able to mount the drive and access her files.

How to protect your Samba from the latest ransomware SambaCry Vulnerability (CVE-2017-7494)

In May 2017 systems worldwide were hit by the WannaCry ransomware. If you get infected then, then your personal files will be encrypted and a pop up message appears to say that you must pay a ransom (usually BitCoins) or, risk losing your precious files. If you have backed up your files recently then, congratulations. Wipe and reinstall your infected PC / system and recover your backups. If you didn't back up recently, too bad. You don't expect the criminals to really give you your files back after paying the (first) ransom do you!?

Stay ahead of the criminals and ensure your PC / systems are security patched automatically, before you get hit by the latest flavour of virus / ransomware.

Below are link and tips on how to protect yourself against WannaCry 2017.

Debian / Ubuntu

Well, if you have set up automatic security updates on your Debian or, Ubuntu as I mentioned in my Dirty COW exploit and Automatic Security Updates article then, you're already fixed for this exploit.

Whether you just want to check that you've patched or, want to patch your systems yourself, head over to the Tecmint article, How to Fix SambaCry Vulnerability (CVE-2017-7494) in Linux Systems.

In a nutshell

Check if you are already patched.

aptitude show samba

Image from tecmint.com

Visit my blog page above and configure your Debian / Ubuntu system to automatically install security updates.

Windows

Check out BitDefender's article, WannaCry wreaks havoc. How to keep your business safe.

In a nutshell

Visit, Microsoft Security Bulletin MS17-010 - Critical and ensure you download and patch your Window's version. Configure your Windows systems to automatically install Security Updates.