The rest of your post has already been answered, but as for the last
question:
> how /dev/file is related to the device when not mounted?
Well, first of all, not every /dev/file corresponds to any device at
all. /dev/null is your computer's 'black hole,' and there are quite a
few devices that you probably don't have but are included because some
people do.
When you talk about "mounting" a drive, really all that means is that
the OS scans that device for a filesystem, and if it finds one, it adds
that to the rest of your file system under a directory. So /dev/file is
related to the device when not mounted in exactly the same way it is
when the device _is_ mounted. Any data sent to /dev/hda1 will be
directly sent to the first partition of my first IDE hard drive, and
written starting with the first bit.
Andy Cowan
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
