Volumio HDD Install and Store Music on Second HDD

samsashikj · September 22, 2020, 3:42am

How to install a Second HDD in Volumio and Point that to the music directory
sda - Second HDD (3TB) Look for the correct drive (mine is SDA, yours may be different)
Label - TESTHDD ( give your fav name as per your convinence)

volumio@volumiotest:~$ sudo fdisk -l

list all the disk drives in your volumio either it is formatted or non allocated (not formatted)

volumio@volumiotest:~$ lsblk
NAME MAJ:MIN RM SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINT
sda 8:0 0 2.7T 0 disk
sdb 8:16 0 59.6G 0 disk
|-sdb1 8:17 0 487M 0 part /boot
|-sdb2 8:18 0 2.8G 0 part /imgpart
`-sdb3 8:19 0 56.4G 0 part
loop0 7:0 0 586.8M 0 loop /static

1st Step

Format the partition with ext3

volumio@volumiotest:~$ mkfs.ext3 -L TESTHDD /dev/sda

2nd Step

List the partitions with the detailed label, file system type and mount point

volumio@volumiotest:~$ sudo lsblk -o NAME,FSTYPE,LABEL,UUID,MOUNTPOINT
NAME FSTYPE LABEL UUID MOUNTPOINT

sda ext3 TESTHDD
sdb
|-sdb1 vfat volumioboot /boot
|-sdb2 ext4 volumioimg /imgpart
`-sdb3 ext4 volumio_data
loop0 squashfs /static

3rd Step

Making a Mount point 1

volumio@volumiotest:~$ sudo mkdir -p /mnt/TESTHDD

4th Step

Making a mount point 2

volumio@volumiotest:~$ sudo mount -o defaults /dev/sda /mnt/TESTHDD

5th Step

Changing Read / Write Permission

volumio@volumiotest:~$ Sudo chmod 777 /mnt/TESTHDD

6th Step

Permanent Mounting drives even after reboot

volumio@volumiotest:~$ sudo nano /etc/fstab

Add the line at the end

LABEL=datapartition /mnt/data ext4 defaults 0 2

Save and close the file when you are finished.

7th Step

We can check if the the disk is available in the output from the df command:

volumio@volumiotest:~$ df -h -x tmpfs -x devtmpfs

volumio@volumiotest:~$ df -h -x tmpfs -x devtmpfs
Filesystem Size Used Avail Use% Mounted on
overlay 55G 202M 52G 1% /
/dev/sdb2 2.7G 1.3G 1.4G 49% /imgpart
/dev/loop0 587M 587M 0 100% /static
/dev/sdb1 487M 32M 455M 7% /boot
/dev/sda 2.7T 222G 2.4T 9% /mnt/TESTHDD

Important: you should see your HDD mounted like this
****** /dev/sda 2.7T 222G 2.4T 9% /mnt/TESTHDD ******

8th Step

volumio@volumiotest:~$ sudo nano/etc/samba/smb.conf

[global]
netbios name = Volumio
server string = Volumio Audiophile Music Player
workgroup = WORKGROUP
security = user
map to guest = Bad User
encrypt passwords = yes
wins support = yes
local master = no
preferred master = no
os level = 30

[Internal Storage]
comment = Volumio Internal Music Folder
path = /data/INTERNAL
read only = no
guest ok = yes

[Internal Storage2]
comment = Volumio Internal Music Folder
path = /mnt/TESTHDD
read only = no
guest ok = yes

[USB]
comment = Volumio Internal Music Folder
path = /mnt/USB
read only = no
guest ok = yes

[NAS]
comment = Volumio Internal Music Folder
path = /mnt/NAS
read only = no
guest ok = yes

Save and close the file when you are finished.

Also if you

\192.168.1.2 in your windows pc on your file explorer you can see the folder listing in the Volumio machine

your HDD will be in the Internal Storage 2

You can copy all your digital music files from PC to Volumio music server 2nd HDD

\192.168.1.2 ( Eg: Static IP for Volumio Machine) the below will be folder listing for your 2nd HDD

\192.168.1.2\Internal Storage2\

9th Step

volumio@volumiotest:~$ ls -l /mnt/TESTHDD
total 48
drwxr-xr-x 2 nobody nogroup 4096 Sep 2 01:05 folder 1
drwxr-xr-x 50 nobody nogroup 12288 Sep 2 01:37 folder 2
drwxr-xr-x 4 nobody nogroup 4096 Sep 2 01:04 folder 3
drwxr-xr-x 2 nobody nogroup 4096 Sep 2 01:47 folder 4
drwxr-xr-x 5 nobody nogroup 4096 Sep 2 02:00 folder 5
drwxr-xr-x 3 nobody nogroup 4096 Sep 22 01:47 folder 6
drwx------ 2 root root 16384 Sep 22 00:35 lost+found

folder 1, folder 2, folder 3, folder 4, folder 5, folder 6, lost+found are the folder that you created in your TESTHDD

10th Step

create symbolic link

volumio@volumiotest:~$ sudo ln -s /mnt/Audiophile /var/lib/mpd/music/TESTHDD

volumio@volumiotest:~$ mpc update
Updating DB (#3) …
volume: n/a repeat: off random: off single: off consume: off

volumio@volumiotest:~$

That’s it now you can see your TESTHDD ( give your fav name as per your convinence) in your MEDIA LIBRARY

Enjoy

VladHede · April 21, 2021, 7:29pm

Hi! I have a problem with /etc/fstab after reboot not mount the disk. /etc/fstab not apply the changes.
System Volumio 2.837 (x86). Thank You for help!

chsims1 · April 21, 2021, 8:36pm

Hi Vlad, welcome to Volumio.

Please, you need to give as many details as possible …"/etc/fstab after reboot not mount the disk" tells us nothing. As a starter, you might like to show your fstab, and state what kind of disk is not being mounted.

VladHede · April 21, 2021, 8:49pm

If I add to fstab line at the end: LABEL=datapartition /mnt/data ext4 defaults 0 2
this line save and i see this, but after reboot this line go missing. I am trying to edit /etc/fstab on my volumio installation, to mount a new partition.It works fine ; however when I reboot /etc/fstab is overwritten.

VladHede · April 22, 2021, 6:23am

I found the same problem with overwriting /etc/fstab, but this in raspberry pi system. editing etc/fstab raspberry pi

chsims1 · April 22, 2021, 7:57am

‘fstab’ is indeed overwritten on reboot by design. If you want to make permanent changes then you can add an additional file fstab.tmpl containing changes that you want adding to fstab.

VladHede · April 22, 2021, 8:15am

Thank You Ian for help! I try this and will say solved or not.

VladHede · April 22, 2021, 6:26pm

Thank You Ian for help! It’s work!!! Solved.

moretty · October 4, 2021, 2:25pm

Thanks so much for the explanation. a question.
where it says LABEL = datapartition / mnt / data ext4 by default 0 2.
datapartition is dev / sdaX or you put the line as you wrote it.Thank you

moretty · October 4, 2021, 5:51pm

Could you explain how you did to solve it? Thanks.

m.kastel · October 27, 2022, 12:33am

10th Step, create symbolic link

sudo ln -s /mnt/Audiophile /var/lib/mpd/music/TESTHDD

why not sudo ln -s /mnt/TESTHDD /varlib/mpd/music/TESTHDD ?

where does Áudiophile come from?

gurusto · October 29, 2025, 10:56am

Look down

Wheaten · October 29, 2025, 11:05am

Please post in English, otherwise the support will be very limited, You can’t expect that everyone is going to translate this.

Thanks

gurusto · October 29, 2025, 11:31am

Good morning, I’m reviving this thread because of a problem I believe with the connection to the additional hard drive. My installation is on an AsRock mini-ITX motherboard in an x86 PC.

This is the list of commands I’ve executed, keeping in mind that my hard drive is an Sdb and its label is Extraible.

sudo su

fdisk -l

lsblk

Format the disk in ext3

mkfs.ext3 -L Extraible /dev/sdb

Create a detailed partition list

lsblk -o NAME,FSTYPE,LABEL,UUID,MOUNTPOINT

Create mount point 1

mkdir -p /mnt/Extraible

Create a second mount point

mount -o defaults /dev/sdb /mnt/Extraible

Create read/write permissions

chmod 777 /mnt/Extraible

Create permanent mount points, even after a reboot

nano /etc/fstab

At the end of the file, edit:

LABEL=Extraible /mnt/Extraible ext3 defaults 0 2

– the data partition (the one corresponding to the label) –

Save and exit

Verify that the disk is correct and visible

df -h -x tmpfs -x devtmpfs

Edit Samba

nano /etc/samba/smb.conf

and add:

[Internal Storage2]
comment = Volumio Internal Music Folder
path = /mnt/Extraible
read only = no
guest ok = yes

folders

ls -l /mnt/Extraible

Create a symbolic link

ln -s /mnt/Audiophile /var/lib/mpd/music/Extraible

Next…

mpc update

Result…

Updating DB (#3) …
volume: n/a repeat: off random: off single: off consume: off

The problem is this: I have the hard drive mounted, and I can see it from Windows in Network - \Volumio without any issues, but the program won’t recognize it as a source in the library, nor will it index the files I burn to the drive.

I think the problem is with the created link. Specifically, I don’t understand why the link is labeled “Audiophile,” and I’m not sure if this is the problem or something else, since everything else seems to be working, and the fstab file isn’t deleted upon restarting.

Thanks for the quick response. Could you please tell me where the error is? Thanks.

nerd · October 29, 2025, 2:02pm

Hey @gurusto @samsashikj ,

Forgive my complete ignorance, since I am a novice, why these:

instructions would not work for you?

There is an entire process safeguarding permissions, mounts and automation for mounting additional disks by label.

Kind Regards,

gurusto · October 29, 2025, 4:19pm

Thanks for your reply. After changing the symbolic link to this one:

ln -s /mnt/Extraible /var/lib/mpd/music/Internal2

for example, I can now see the folder in Volumio and open the folders and files, but I can’t get them to play. And I think you’re right, it must be a permissions issue. The symbolic link didn’t seem to be set up correctly; I’m mentioning this to help anyone who comes across this thread. I had to change it. Anyway, I’m still investigating. Thanks for the replies and information, and anyone who wants to comment is welcome. When I get it working, I’ll post my results here as a contribution for those who come after. Cheers.

nerd · October 29, 2025, 7:11pm

Hey @gurusto,

I was reading through some old forum posts and got confused. I found something in the Volumio code:

github.com

volumio/volumio3-backend/blob/b5a4a000e056eaff366fbb6591bf2240b12246d0/app/plugins/system_controller/networkfs/index.js#L1230


      
                return false;
              }
            } catch(e) {
              self.logger.error('Failed USB identification: ' + e);
              return false;
            }
          };
          
          ControllerNetworkfs.prototype.checkLabelForInternalDiskToBeMounted = function (label) {
            var self = this;
            // Those labels if set to an hard drive, will result in it mounting as internal drive
            var internalMemoryAllowedLabelsArray = ['issd', 'ihdd', 'Internal SSD', 'Internal HDD'];
          
            var internalLabelIndex = internalMemoryAllowedLabelsArray.findIndex(element => {
              return element.toLowerCase() === label.toLowerCase();
            });
          
            if (internalLabelIndex > -1) {
              return true;
            } else {
              return false;

It looks like if you name your hard drive “Internal HDD” or “Internal SSD”, Volumio mounts it by itself. You don’t need to edit fstab or make symbolic links.

I’m probably missing something obvious. Why are you doing all the manual mounting steps? Does the automatic mounting not work on x86? Or does it not work with your hard drive for some reason?

Just trying to understand because I might need to do this too and I want to know which way is correct.

Thanks!

Kind Regards,

Wheaten · October 29, 2025, 7:22pm

I repurposed an old laptop and added a second drive, no need to mess with fstab or symlinks. Just label the disk as issd or ihdd, connect it to Volumio, and boot.
The drive mounts automatically, and music scanning kicks in right away.

volumio@volumio:~$ lsblk
NAME   MAJ:MIN RM   SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINTS
loop0    7:0    0   1.1G  0 loop /static
sda      8:0    0 111.8G  0 disk
|-sda1   8:1    0   366M  0 part /boot
|-sda2   8:2    0   5.3G  0 part /imgpart
`-sda3   8:3    0 106.1G  0 part
sdb      8:16   0 119.2G  0 disk
`-sdb1   8:17   0 119.2G  0 part /data/INTERNAL
                                 /data/INTERNAL

gurusto · October 30, 2025, 10:52am

bash-5.0# lsblk
NAME MAJ:MIN RM SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINT
loop0 7:0 0 847.6M 0 loop /static
sda 8:0 0 447.1G 0 disk
|-sda1 8:1 0 171M 0 part /boot
|-sda2 8:2 0 3.4G 0 part /imgpart
`-sda3 8:3 0 443.6G 0 part

sdb 8:16 0 931.5G 0 disk
`-sdb1 8:17 0 931.5G 0 part
sr0 11:0 1 1024M 0 rom

I’m so envious of your luck, because I’ve tried to do the same thing and it just won’t mount the drive, no matter how many times I label it as internal HDD or IHD. I built the Volumio system in a custom-made enclosure and installed the hardware. I put in a Blu-ray player, which it detects without any problems, a 500GB SSD for the system, Volumio, and music, and finally a removable SATA hard drive bay, which is the one giving me trouble. It might be the hard drive, I don’t know. I’m going to try something else: I’ll install Volumio on the removable drive and see if it recognizes the SSD when I label it. For now, I appreciate your input, which is helping me figure out the problem. Thanks to both of you, and I’ll keep you updated.

NAME MAJ:MIN RM SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINT
loop0 7:0 0 847.6M 0 loop /static
sda 8:0 0 447.1G 0 disk
|-sda1 8:1 0 171M 0 part /boot
|-sda2 8:2 0 3.4G 0 part /imgpart
`-sda3 8:3 0 443.6G 0 part

sdb 8:16 0 931.5G 0 disk
`-sdb1 8:17 0 931.5G 0 part /mnt/ihhd
sr0 11:0 1 1024M 0 rom

nerd · October 30, 2025, 11:04am

Hey @gurusto,

From what you are showing here is seems ihhd → ihdd typo is hindering your effort.

What does sudo blkid show?

Kind regards,