Jeff Malka wrote: > I am running Mandrake 10.1 > > I am confused because I see that some of my partitions (the 2 windows > partitions) are found as "folders" under /mnt/ and others (other linux > partitions) are found as "block devices" under /dev/ > > Why is that? What is the difference? > > I am essentially trying to access the files on some of these windows and > linux partitions through links on the desktop. When I created the links on > the desktop I quickly discovered the different types. > > I then went to Mandrake Control Center (Hardware/partitions) to see what was > happening and found that some partitions were mounted at "/". When I tried > to umount them I could not getting an error message "No such file or > directory". > > What do I do? > > Thanks. > The files in the /dev directory allow you to access the hardware, while the folders are where the filesystem on the hardware are accessed. One big point to keep in mind is that file systems can be mounted on ANY directory, and not just on /mnt. For example, your "root" file system is always mounted on /. If you have a seperate home partition, it is mounted on /home. There are some special file systems mounted in different places as well. The udev file system is mounted on /dev. This allows the system to create and remove devices on the fly as you plug and unplug things like USB and Firewaire devices,, as well as PCMCIA cards. It also allows you to control how other hardware is labled.
One thing that is confusing to Windows users is that there is not seperation of devices/partitions into drive letters. You can change to a different partition or drive by changing directories, and never notice it. Usualy, things like Windows file systems, CDs, floppies, and DVDs are mounted on a directory off of /mnt, but they do not have to be. A good example of this is when you mount a Windows or Samba share using smb4k. It will create a smb4k directory in your home directory, with the machine name and then share name created under it. When you access it, it is just like accessing any other directory in your home directory, except for the restrictions imposed by the limits of the Samba file system. As far as trying to unmount "/" - the system would not have let you do it because it was in use. Not that you would want to, because this is where all your programs are, and everythig else is mounted on top of it. The system will NOT function with without it being mounted. (It is like trying to unmount C: in windows.) Mikkel -- Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy and taste good with Ketchup!
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