I have World of Warcraft installed on an external NVMe SSD formatted as NTFS so I can use it with Windows. The game already works on Linux through Proton, but I usually switch back to Windows because that is where the drive is set up. I also sometimes take the SSD to other PCs. Would running the game from this drive on CachyOS risk damaging or corrupting the filesystem? The drive also contains game-development projects and music files that sync to cloud storage, so restoring everything from backup would be a major hassle if something went wrong.
4 Answers
For the most reliable setup, use a Linux-native filesystem such as ext4 for the Linux game library and keep Windows games on a separate NTFS partition or drive. If the same files must be readable and writable by both systems, exFAT is a simpler shared-storage option, but it still lacks some filesystem features that Linux game tools may expect, so it isn't automatically ideal for a Proton library.
The biggest risk is filesystem trouble when switching between operating systems. Windows Fast Startup or hibernation can leave an NTFS volume marked as still in use, causing Linux to refuse the mount or mount it read-only. If the filesystem becomes inconsistent, you may need Windows to repair it before using the drive again. Keep anything important backed up regardless.
It probably won't physically damage the SSD, but NTFS is a troublesome choice for Linux gaming. Proton and Steam expect Linux-style permissions, links, and file behavior, so games may fail to launch or behave unpredictably unless the partition is mounted with carefully chosen options.
Some people use NTFS drives successfully, especially for internal storage, but that usually depends on consistent mount options and avoiding Windows hibernation or Fast Startup. USB connection speed may affect loading times, but the main concern here is filesystem and Steam compatibility rather than wearing out the SSD.
NTFS can work for ordinary file storage, but I wouldn't trust it as a shared Steam library for Proton. The problems tend to appear after updates, different mount settings, or switching between Windows and Linux.