Immich - Add External Drive via Samba

Posted Feb 24, 2025 Updated Sep 4, 2025

By Calabi Yau

4 min read

Objective:

To mount an external NTFS hard drive (previously attached to a Windows 10 PC) on a Proxmox server, share it via Samba, and make it accessible to an IMMICH VM, allowing for fast and efficient photo uploads.

Step-by-Step Guide

🟢 Step 1: Identify & Verify the External Drive on Proxmox

1️⃣ List all available drives to identify the external one:

bash
Copy
lsblk -o NAME,FSTYPE,SIZE,MOUNTPOINT,UUID

✅ Expected output: The external drive (e.g., sdc1, NTFS formatted) should be listed, with a UUID assigned.
✅ In our case: sdc1 (NTFS, UUID: F474B7AA74B76DCC) was identified.

🟢 Step 2: Mount the External NTFS Drive on Proxmox

1️⃣ Check if the drive is already mounted:

bash
Copy
mount | grep sdc1

✅ If no output appears, manually mount it:

bash
Copy
mount -t ntfs-3g /dev/sdc1 /mnt/external_drive_k

2️⃣ Confirm the mount was successful:

bash
Copy
mount | grep sdc1

✅ Expected output: /dev/sdc1 on /mnt/external_drive_k type fuseblk (rw,...)

🟢 Step 3: Ensure the Drive Mounts at Boot

1️⃣ Edit /etc/fstab to automatically mount the drive on reboot:

bash
Copy
nano /etc/fstab

2️⃣ Add this line at the bottom:

ini
Copy
UUID=F474B7AA74B76DCC /mnt/external_drive_k ntfs-3g defaults,uid=1000,gid=1000,dmask=027,fmask=137 0 0

✅ Why?

Ensures read/write access for Samba.
Prevents permission issues when accessing files.

3️⃣ Test the /etc/fstab entry:

bash
Copy
mount -a

✅ No errors? The drive will now auto-mount on reboot.

🟢 Step 4: Install & Configure Samba on Proxmox

1️⃣ Install Samba (if not installed):

bash
Copy
apt update && apt install -y samba

2️⃣ Backup the Samba config (optional but recommended):

bash
Copy
cp /etc/samba/smb.conf /etc/samba/smb.conf.bak

3️⃣ Edit the Samba config file:

bash
Copy
nano /etc/samba/smb.conf

4️⃣ Add this section at the bottom:

ini
Copy
[External_Drive_K]
path = /mnt/external_drive_k
read only = no
browsable = yes
guest ok = yes
force user = root
create mask = 0777
directory mask = 0777

5️⃣ Restart Samba to apply changes:

bash
Copy
systemctl restart smbd

6️⃣ Confirm Samba is running correctly:

bash
Copy
systemctl status smbd

✅ Expected output: "active (running)"

1️⃣ On the IMMICH VM (192.168.1.141), install smbclient (if not already installed):

bash
Copy
sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y smbclient

2️⃣ List available shares on the Proxmox Samba server:

bash
Copy
smbclient -L //192.168.1.125 -N

✅ Expected output:

Sharename Type
--------- ----
External_Drive_K Disk

3️⃣ Test access to the shared folder:

bash
Copy
smbclient //192.168.1.125/External_Drive_K -N

✅ Expected result: An smb: \> prompt appears, allowing you to list files with ls.

1️⃣ Open IMMICH’s web interface (http://192.168.1.141).
2️⃣ Go to the Upload section and check for network locations:

If External_Drive_K doesn’t appear automatically, go to Other Locations.
Select root on 192.168.1.125.
Navigate to /mnt/external_drive_k and verify that files are visible.
3️⃣ Test Uploading Photos! 🎉

✅ Expected outcome: IMMICH successfully browses and uploads photos from External_Drive_K.

Troubleshooting & Fixes

❌ Problem: “The folder contents could not be displayed” in IMMICH

✅ Fix: Manually navigate to Other Locations → root on 192.168.1.125 → mnt → external_drive_k

❌ Problem: Old Windows network shortcut still appears

✅ Fix: Right-click and remove the old shortcut from Nemo or the file manager cache:

bash
Copy
rm -rf ~/.cache/gvfs
nautilus -q

Final Outcome

🎉 IMMICH now sees and uploads photos from the NTFS external drive, just like it did when it was connected to the Windows 10 machine. Wireless bottlenecks are eliminated, and transfers are much faster.

📝 Summary of Key Commands

Final Thoughts

This guide provides a straightforward, step-by-step solution to mounting, sharing, and accessing an NTFS external hard drive on Proxmox, allowing IMMICH to upload photos exactly like it did when the drive was attached to Windows 10.

This post is licensed under CC BY 4.0 by the author.