Heya peeps,
I just want to make this thread so people can find this and recommend external drives that are fully compatible with linux, or have limited or no support. I’ve come into some which have questionable support so I’ll start the table in order of manufacturer then drive and model; Already filled with ones I’ve personally owned and tested, or ones similar to ones that I have owned but may differ slightly; And in some cases, the joys of having failed on me.
Where Encryption does not work, generally you can use either veracrypt or LUKS in the case of external drives. Only use LUKS if you expect it to be used only on linux installs.
Here’s the key for supporting linux:
- Does not work on linux, may only be detected but cannot be mounted
- Partial, Can be mounted, but some features normally supported on Mac or Windows may not be available.
- Basic to Full support, Same as above but most if not all features work, no speed reductions, and supported without any potential issues.
Testing Steps
Currently this section is blank until concrete useful tests can be made.
External Drives
This section is now following the format as follows, make sure you adhere to it. This is to enable to be available to be properly viewed on mobile. Tables are iffy on mobile.
## Manufacturer
### Listed Product Name
* Linux Support: ✅ Full Support | ⚠️ Partial | ❌ Cannot be Mounted
* Product Numbers:
* {{ Product P/N }}
* ...
* Interface: <host> ↔ <drive>
{{ Notes / Important information about drive }}
Samsung
T5 EVO
- Linux Support: Partial
- Product Numbers:
- MU-PH2T0S
- Interface: USB C ↔ USB C
Samsung Magician is no longer supported on Linux, Use FSTRIM. This drive is also not in partaking in LVFS, so firmware updates will likely not be possible on linux, as the vendor tools is not available on linux either. Hardware encryption is not available. You might be able to read SMART data but not sure.
Seagate
One Touch Slim
- Linux Support: Partial
- Product Numbers:
- 3FPAPD-500
- Interface: USB-A 3.1 ↔ USB Micro-B Superspeed
Toolkit software is not supported on linux, so most features are unavailable, such as hardware level encryption. Please note that this drive has the possibility of failing due to a bridge controller failure. You can only replace this drive ONCE as you’ll be given a recertified drive wherein the warranty is listed as expired. SeaTools is available for diagnostics, but use DMESG to check if the bridge controller has failed; It shouldn’t happen often but it has happened twice in a row with me. It will appear as a “bad cable.” Hardware encryption is not available.
One Touch
- Linux Support: Partial
- Product Numbers:
- Not Known
- Interface: USB-A 3.1 ↔ USB Micro-B Superspeed
For issues, due to model similarity, refer to the One Touch Slim Model for further information.
Western Digital
Passport
- Linux Support: Partial
- Product Numbers:
- Not Known
- Interface: USB-A 3.1 ↔ USB Micro-B Superspeed
No software is officially supporting linux. Drive comes pre-formatted with NTFS which can be iffy on linux.
Elements 14TB
- Linux Support: Partial
- Product Numbers:
- WDBWLG0140HBK-NESN
- Interface: USB-A 3.1 ↔ USB Micro-B Superspeed
The software that came with the drive was only available for Windows and Mac. The drive is preformatted to NTFS. Note SmartCTL will report the internal information about the drive, not the produce details as sold. No firmware is available.
Elements 5TB
- Linux Support: Partial
- Product Numbers:
- WDBU6Y0050BBK-WESN
- Interface: USB-A 3.1 ↔ USB Micro-B Superspeed
Refer to the Elements 14TB.
Toshiba
Canvio Basics 3TB
- Linux Support: Partial
- Product Numbers:
- HDTB330XK3CA
- Interface: SuperSpeed USB-A cable
Preformatted with NTFS so NTFS-3G is needed to write to it. Software is for windows only. Originally reported to fail often.
, hopefully I can get contributions from others to add to the list; I don’t have a lot of money to test like… thousands of drives XD.