[linux-help] Re: Best way to have Linux automatically mount a volume on bootup

[Tom Hull <thull@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

John Lucas wrote:
> 
> Hello, all
> 
> Just a quick question...
> 
> I recently upgraded the hard drive in my Windows system, and I have
> installed the old Windows drive in my Linux box (running RedHat 7.2 enigma).
> 
> I would like to be able to access the files on this drive without having to
> mount it each time I log in, and I would also like to make use of the
> remaining free space for installing Linux apps. (I know, I don't ask for
> much... :)
> 
> Basically, what I'm asking is if there is a quick-and-easy way to have this
> FAT volume mounted each time the system boots so that any user can have
> access to it without having to mount it each time.

Add a line to the /etc/fstab file, something like:

  /dev/hdb1 /c vfat rw 0 0

Replace "/dev/hdb1" with the Linux filename of the raw disk partition
(/dev/hdb1 means the 2nd IDE disk drive, 1st partition).

Replace "/c" with an empty directory in your Linux filesystem (I usually
use /c); do a mkdir /c if the directory does not exist.

"vfat" is the file system type; I think this works for all FAT file systems.

"rw" is the mount options; check man 8 mount for some more ideas here. As
long as you do _not_ use "noauto" the file system will be mounted on boot.

"0 0" has to do with fsck checking; I don't think there's a fsck for vfat,
so "0 0" disables this checking.

If you have any additional unused disk partitions, you will need to run
mkfs on the disk partition, then add a line to /etc/fstab as above. (The
file system type should probably be efs2.) There may be some smarter tools
to help you do this sort of thing, but they ultimately depend on mkfs,
/etc/fstab, and mount.

If you need to create a new partition on the disk, you can use fdsk, but
I can't try to explain that here. If you wish to defragment your FAT
partition, then reduce its size and create a new partition with the
unused space, there's a way to do that too, but I've never done it,
and offhand don't recall what the program is.

> Thanks!
> --John Lucas

-- 
/*
 *  Tom Hull * thull at kscable.com * http://www.tomhull.com/
 */
-- This is the linux-help@xxxxxxxxx list.  To unsubscribe,
visit http://www.complete.org/cgi-bin/listargate-aclug.cgi