Software⏱️ 3 min read📅 2026-06-11

How to Fix: mounting share in fstab error

Temporary vs permanent fstab mount issues with cifs share.

Quick Answer: The issue is due to the use of special characters in the fstab entry. Try using double quotes instead of single quotes or dollar signs.

📋 Table of Contents

  1. 🔍 Why This Happens
  2. 🛠️ Step-by-Step Verified Fixes
  3. 🎯 Final Words

The issue of mounting a share in fstab with error is a common problem that affects Ubuntu Server users. It occurs when the fstab entry fails to mount a CIFS share, causing it to only mount temporarily until reboot.

This can be frustrating, especially for those who rely on automated script executions or scheduled tasks that require persistent network connections. In this guide, we will explore the root causes of this issue and provide two primary fix methods to resolve the problem.

🔍 Why This Happens

  • The fstab entry is not properly formatted due to the presence of special characters such as $, '', or other non-ASCII characters. These characters can cause issues with the mount command, leading to a failed mount attempt.
  • Another possible reason for this issue is that the username and domain specified in the fstab entry do not match the credentials used in the CIFS mount command. This mismatch can prevent the share from mounting correctly.

🛠️ Step-by-Step Verified Fixes

Using a Custom fstab Entry with Proper Character Encoding

  1. Step 1: To resolve this issue, you will need to create a custom fstab entry that properly encodes the special characters used in the CIFS mount command. You can do this by using the following syntax: //IPTOSHARE/DriveLetter/Folder/ /mnt/Folder cifs credentials=/home/username/.smbcredentials,uid=username,gid=sharegroup 0 0
  2. Step 2: Make sure to remove any special characters that may be causing issues, such as $ or '', and replace them with their escaped equivalents (e.g., "). Also, ensure that the username and domain specified in the fstab entry match the credentials used in the CIFS mount command.
  3. Step 3: Save the custom fstab entry to a file, for example, /etc/fstab.custom, and then update the fstab database by running the command `sudo update-fstab -f /etc/fstab.custom`.

Using the smbmount Command with a Temporary Entry

  1. Step 1: Alternatively, you can use the smbmount command to mount the share temporarily without modifying the fstab entry. To do this, run the following command: sudo smbmount //IPTOSHARE/DriveLetter/Folder/ /mnt/Folder -o username=username,domain=domain,gid=sharegroup
  2. Step 2: This will mount the share temporarily until you stop the mounting process with `sudo umount /mnt/Folder`. Note that this method does not persist the mount across reboots.

🎯 Final Words

To summarize, mounting a share in fstab can fail due to improper character encoding or mismatched credentials. By using a custom fstab entry with proper character encoding or by employing the smbmount command with a temporary entry, you should be able to resolve this issue and achieve persistent network connections for your Ubuntu Server.

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