I've recently switched to using Linux full-time and set up a secondary SSD specifically for my Steam library. The drive is mounted at /mnt/steamlibrary, but every time I reboot, Steam forgets that it's there, and I have to manually add it back as a library. I've made sure the drive is set to mount on startup by unchecking 'user session defaults' in the disk settings. Can anyone help me figure out why this keeps happening?
3 Answers
You might need to edit your `/etc/fstab` file to ensure your drive mounts automatically on startup. Don't forget to back it up first! Also, make sure your SSD is formatted with a Linux-friendly filesystem like ext4 or btrfs, as NTFS can cause issues.
Just be careful with fstab; it can be tricky if you're not familiar with it. You can usually just set up the mount point using Gnome Disks instead.
It sounds like you might only be temporarily mounting the drive through your file explorer. That approach doesn't save the settings across reboots. I recommend using Gnome Disks to configure your mount. Find your drive in Gnome Disks, click the gear icon, and choose 'Edit Mount Options.' Just make sure to uncheck 'User Session Defaults' and set a simple mount point, like /mnt/gamedrive.
It's already set to /mnt/steamlibrary, but even though it mounts fine at boot, Steam just doesn't recognize it after a restart.
If you installed Steam directly from their website, it might not have the right permissions to access that drive. Make sure you've granted Steam access.
Check out the migration pages available in the Linux community for users switching over from Windows. They have tips that might help with your setup. Just make sure to avoid third-party repos and always verify your ISO checksums before downloads.
I already have it formatted as ext4 just for this purpose. I'll check the fstab settings as you suggested and see if that helps.