My Raspi 3B+ just updated Libreelec on its own to version 12 and now for some reason I can no longer find my external USB hard drive in the path tree. I have researched online to what the path should be to my videos but it doesn't show up. The drive is formatted with NTSF and it used to work fine but no longer post update. I can see it in Windows fine. I read a lot of people have had this problem as well with newer builds. I tried reformatting the NTSF drive and that didn't work. Is there another format I should be using other than NTSF for access by both libreelec and Windows. Others have reported NTSF works fine in OSMC media center. Is there a fix or an older version of libreelec that doesn't have this problem? I am at a loss how to get my raspi to mount my hard drive. Do I just need to install OSMC and call it a day? I only watch saved videos to my TV with this setup from the Pi no streaming.
External USB hard drive not showing up in Libreelec.
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hy_tek -
February 26, 2026 at 9:46 PM -
Thread is Resolved
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My Raspi 3B+ just updated Libreelec on its own to version 12
That's a false statement. LibreELEC will auto-update to a new minor release, e.g. 12.0.0 to 12.0.1, but never to a new major release, e.g. 11.0.0 to 12.0.0 or 12.0.0 to 12.2.0; so either someone manually updated using the LE settings add-on, or manually updated by downloading the newer release image file to the /storage/.update folder and rebooting.
In LE 12.0+ the NTFS filesystem drivers changed from the userspace NTFS-3G driver to a native in-kernel driver and this is sensitive towards a dirty filesystem state; typically caused by not ejecting the drive cleanly in Windows before moving over to the RPi or by hard power pulls on the RPi. Linux will not mount a dirty filesystem to prevent data loss. Unlike native Linux filesystems like EXT4 which can be checked/fixed on boot using "fsck" there are currently no equivalent tools so clearing a dirty filesystem state can only be done on Windows using chkdsk.exe.
So, try clearing the dirty state on Windows first. If this doesn't work something else is up/bad/broken with the drive and we'll need to see the system log (not Kodi log) to look for error messages. If it does work but the issue keeps repeating, you can revert to the NTFS-3G driver by installing the NTFS-3G driver add-on from the LE add-on repo.
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Is there a fix or an older version of libreelec that doesn't have this problem?
Hi, unfortunately perfect solution isn't exist (yet?). It's few options you can try (if you want).
Older LE version. The huge advantage of the RPi is running OS from a SD card. So, take an anther card and try an older release.
Switching to another format type. The best compatibility for linux is the EXT4, but in that case that HDD will be a bit harder accessible with Windows. Workaround exist, like EXT4 "driver" for Windows, or using Linux on the PC: Dual boot or just a live linux from USB. You probably isn't "walk" with that HDD daily between RPi and PC. I'm using EXFAT for this purpose as it's a "portable format" type and didn't had any serious problem with that.
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That's a false statement. LibreELEC will auto-update to a new minor release, e.g. 12.0.0 to 12.0.1, but never to a new major release, e.g. 11.0.0 to 12.0.0 or 12.0.0 to 12.2.0; so either someone manually updated using the LE settings add-on, or manually updated by downloading the newer release image file to the /storage/.update folder and rebooting.
In LE 12.0+ the NTFS filesystem drivers changed from the userspace NTFS-3G driver to a native in-kernel driver and this is sensitive towards a dirty filesystem state; typically caused by not ejecting the drive cleanly in Windows before moving over to the RPi or by hard power pulls on the RPi. Linux will not mount a dirty filesystem to prevent data loss. Unlike native Linux filesystems like EXT4 which can be checked/fixed on boot using "fsck" there are currently no equivalent tools so clearing a dirty filesystem state can only be done on Windows using chkdsk.exe.
So, try clearing the dirty state on Windows first. If this doesn't work something else is up/bad/broken with the drive and we'll need to see the system log (not Kodi log) to look for error messages. If it does work but the issue keeps repeating, you can revert to the NTFS-3G driver by installing the NTFS-3G driver add-on from the LE add-on repo.
My libreelec OS was set to auto update and I saw it on the TV screen saying it was updating Libreelec. When I booted the system it started updating on its own. Nothing else was done by me to run an update. I have no idea what version it updated to that didn't work although I assume it was the latest 12 version loaded by the RasPi windows app SD installer or what the previous version was. So it was not a false statement. All I know is the previous version I had installed worked.
As far as a dirty drive I ran scandisk/repair on the hard drive on my PC numerous times and it still wouldn't mount the hard drive. So I'm not sure I buy this dirty drive excuse I have been reading about. Windows scandisk showed no errors or problems anyway. I never just pull a drive without removing it cleanly as you suggested.
Thirdly I used the exact same Micro SD card and loaded an older version of libreelec 10.0.4 and low and behold the drive is now mounted and visible again. So in my mind the only issue here was the software tanking the ability to mount my external 3.0 USB hard drive automatically anymore in the new version. Everything is working as it should now so I am done here and thanks everyone for the help comments.
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Your initial description implied the OS auto-updating from an older LE major version to LE12 and this is 100% not possible. LE (and OE before it) have never supported major version auto-update. I've also checked the update back-end that controls this and nothing has been misconfigured.
Auto-updating from an older LE12 release to the current LE12 release is of course possible, but in this scenario the NTFS drivers do not change between releases (both use in-kernel NTFS3) so a difference in mount behaviour is unlikedly to be kernel/driver related and more more likely to be the result of a change in drive state; and the perennial problem with NTFS formatted drives (which is not an excuse and happens no matter which driver is used) is a dirty filesystem. The second most popular reason with external drives is the power/current draw on the USB ports/bus and that can be challenging to triage. You can try connecting to different USB ports; ideally placing the drive on a different internal hub to other USB connected devices. If the drive is not externally powered, also try using an external (powered) hub.
If everything just magically works on an older LE release (using NTFS-3G) this implies the driver change that occured between older releases and LE12, but this is only possible via manual update which you are adamant didn't happen. Regardless; as mentioned in a previous post, you can revert to using the NTFS-3G driver by installing the add-on from the LE12 repo and rebooting.
NB: Linux intentionally fails to mount at the merest hint of a drive issue to avoid potential damage. Windows generally makes every attempt to keep mounting the drive to keep data available and users happy, and rarely flags any problems until the drive just stops working completely. Hopefully that's not the case though. If you want any further comment run "dmesg | paste" on the LE12 system so we can see what mount failure message are in the system log.
