[hblug] Even More on File Systems

[Michael Adams]

On Sun, 27 Aug 2006 21:11:50 +1200
Perry Spiller wrote:

> 
> Michael, (et al)
> 
> Thanks for the assistance, Michael, Chris, Rene, Daniel
> and others. Some background seems to be needed to get
> this matter into perspective (as it were).
> 
> Daniel was 'here' on Sunday, engaged in the perplexing
> pursuit of finding out more about the inferior quality of
> products purchased from DSE. Not the cheapest, but also
> nowhere near the most functional or reliable.
> 
> However, I digress. . . . .
> 
> Daniel told me that I was mistaken; that there was only
> hard drive (on my wife's Linux/Xandros PC) and that it
> was partitioned. This is what you've commented on, Michael.
> He also fixed the access 'permissions' (or whatever they're called).
> 
> The dilemma that was more than just a technicality and
> was something that the earlier post made me think of.
> It was perhaps more than just "sharing files."
> 
> My wife's PC runs Xandros. Mine and my grand-daughter's
> are W2kP. My wife is a newbie, so (typical male) I decided
> she could cut her teeth on Linux. However, there are times
> when she needs help with a particular word processor document.
> 
> For that reason, I need to be able to access her WP files, using
> either Word or OOv2, so that I can tweak whatever it is that she
> wants and the s/ware allows.
> 
> Sometimes, I will sit at her PC and want to save her currently
> open OOv1 WP file to my W2kP PC, so I can leave her at her
> PC to carry on with something else, while I "go fix" whatever
> is her WP file problem, working from my PC, using either Word
> or OOv2.
> 
> So, if you've followed me this far, I need to have an "arrangement"
> that allows the Xandros PC to read and write from the W2kP PC
> and vice versa. And that was what was set-up from the beginning,
> as my (faulty) recollection had it.
> 
> Because it was so long ago, I thought the techie had set up the
> Xandros PC in that certain way. Although my recollection on the
> hardware arrangements (2 hard drives, when there is only one)
> is obviously wrong, the ability for each machine to read and write
> WP files to the other one was the important criteria.
> 
> Which is what works today, as I type this. Daniel is largely
> responsible because we have had some major changes in our little home
> LAN, to accommodate extra terminals, as and when needed. The
> relocation of the modem and switch and the extra cabling required, and
> so on . . . has meant some disturbance to the previous status quo, but
> that now seems to be resolved.
> 
> Daniel said that the network 'allowed' such R/W access, something
> that Rene covered in his reply post of a while ago. I was under the
> impression that OO v xx on a Linux OS could read from, but would
> not be able to write to a NTFS hard drive on the network, but I seem
> to be quite wrong, there.

How it actually goes. With windows and linux on the one computer you
have to go through hoops and set up some dodgy (legality is so-so)
software to read/write a NTFS disk.
http://www.jankratochvil.net/project/captive/

On a network, if you want to save from computer A to computer B.
Computer A sends the data to computer B. Computer B then completes the
save. So your Win2k box saves it as instructed from the network, thus
the linux machine doesn't need to know how to save on the win2k box.





> Anyways, here's the output you asked for:
> 
> # /etc/fstab -- static file system information
> # auto generation: on
> # generated by: /sbin/etcdev2fstab
> #
> # NOTE: to make this file readable, it has been formatted for 132
> # columns
> #
> #<device>   <mountpoint>   <fstype>  <options>   <dbg> <pass>
> /dev/hda1   ext3   defaults   0     0
> /dev/hda3   /home  ext3   defaults   0   0
> /dev/cdroms/hdc   /media/cdrom0   iso9660  
> ro,nosuid,nodev,exec,user,noauto,async,unhide   0   0/dev/floppy/0  
> /media/floppy0   auto   rw,nosuid,nodev,exec,nouser,noauto,async   0  
> 0/dev/hdb1   /mnt/reiserfs   vfat   rw   0   0
ah-ha          ^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> proc   /proc   proc      rw   0   0
> usbfs   /proc/bus/usb   usbfs   rw,devmode=0666   0   0
> /dev/hda2   none   swap   sw   0   0
> 

Theres the guilty party! That is strange.

Before i tell you how to change that, is the read/write to the windows
side of this computer an issue. Do you save things in Windows on this
box from Linux. In other words if it aint broke lets not fix it.

To fix it, if it is an issue.
1 - su to root or login as root.
2 - start konqueror, if you are in a terminal, type "konqueror"
3 - type "/mnt" into the address bar
4 - make a new directory called "windows" Edit - Create New - Folder
5 - type "/etc" into the address bar
6 - right click on "fstab" and Open With - KWrite
7 - edit the line i have highlighted to read as follows:
0/dev/hdb1   /mnt/windows   vfat   rw   0   0
  - Or copy and paste the above into fstab instead of the line that is
there.
8 - Reboot (i know, so windowsy, but i forget how to make mount reload
from fstab)
9 - redo steps 1 - 4
10 - open the windows folder and see if it all looks windowsy
 (ie has "windows" and "documents" directories)
10 - If there is still a /reiserfs directory in /mnt it can be safely
deleted

Set up an icon on the desktop if it isn't there automatically. Shouldn't
need to be root to do this.

I am pretty certain nothing else needs to be sorted. After all the only
part of linux communicating with the windows partition is the user. 

-- 
Michael
 Those that can, do; those that can't, teach.