Which part of file system to store user's stuff?

Booting, installing, newbie
Post Reply
Message
Author
baffledbylinux
Posts: 29
Joined: Thu 22 Aug 2013, 10:21

Which part of file system to store user's stuff?

#1 Post by baffledbylinux »

To a windows user, the most baffling thing about Linux is the file system.

When I want to store things like letters, documents, pdfs, photos, zip files, audio files, video files, and so on, where is the most appropriate part(s) of the file system to store them in please?

And what parts of the Linux file system should I never put stuff in? What parts of the Linux file system should I leave well alone?

I'm trying to avoid doing the equivalent of storing word processor files in the WinXP windows folder.

Thanks.

User avatar
L18L
Posts: 3479
Joined: Sat 19 Jun 2010, 18:56
Location: www.eussenheim.de/

Which part of file system to store user's stuff?

#2 Post by L18L »

Users should store their stuff in $HOME

Code: Select all

echo $HOME
will show your actual HOME :)

Hope that helps

More on linux file systems: http://www.tldp.org/LDP/intro-linux/htm ... 03_01.html

User avatar
alphadog
Posts: 109
Joined: Tue 07 Dec 2010, 11:20
Location: Deepest Wiltshire UK

#3 Post by alphadog »

Hi and welcome to the kennels "baffled".
Here is what I do :-
1- Click on "file" icon (only once) no double clicking here unless you want to! This will open your root directory.
2- In here you will see some other directories such as my -documents, my applications etc. and voila you can put some of your stuff away already!
3- If there isn't a suitable directory available....... make one! It is as simple as this :- right click on an empty space in the root directory , scroll down to New ,click on directory in the box that opens just name it what you want i.e videos ,music whatever.
There is even an easier way to create a new directory using the terminal,or console, same thing.
Lets create a directory called STUFF

Code: Select all

mkdir STUFF
Although Linux is a learning curve don't give up! It is well worth the effort and this is one of the most friendliest forums there are. People here will take time to help you out . Even old braindead idiots like me!!
Have you tried the latest Precise 5.7.1 on your machine yet, it is pretty well damn good !!!
Dell Optiplex760 8Gb RAM 256Gb SSD+500Gb HDD(Now running Bionicpup64)

User avatar
6502coder
Posts: 677
Joined: Mon 23 Mar 2009, 18:07
Location: Western United States

#4 Post by 6502coder »

If you have a Puppy "frugal" installation, you might want to make folders in /mnt/home and put your large files there. By "large" I mean any file or collection of files that amounts to say 20Meg or more. By keeping this stuff in /mnt/home, they don't use up space in your personal save file.

Small files like letters and documents can go in your "my-documents" folder in your home directory, as alphadog suggested, although these too can of course be put in folders you create in /mnt/home

Until you become more familiar with Linux, I would avoid putting stuff anywhere other than either 1) your home directory, or 2) /mnt/home, and leave everything else alone unless you are following instructions from an expert.

User avatar
mikeb
Posts: 11297
Joined: Thu 23 Nov 2006, 13:56

#5 Post by mikeb »

To a windows user, the most baffling thing about Linux is the file system.
To a Linux user , the most baffling thing about Windows is the file system.

Documents in c:\documents and settings\Administrator\Local\documentsa\blah blip bloom..where the hell are the internet explorer cache files and are they real.. and those nice FLASRG~2.NIP that still pop up now and then. Full of virtual folders that anyone recovering files has to decifer.

Windows only seems easier since you learnt that first but the human tendancy is to make yer first experience the 'right' one.... eg your own language.

The good news is it gets easier (used to baffle me too) and theres help here.

Answer to your question... either /root which is usually referred to as Home ...or on a drive somewhere...good to get into the habit of storing things throgh the icons on the desktop... then you KNOW where things are regardless of the system you are using.

man that was a long waffly answer

Mike

baffledbylinux
Posts: 29
Joined: Thu 22 Aug 2013, 10:21

#6 Post by baffledbylinux »

Thanks. On the second hard drive of my defunct Windows computer I had a folder f:/mystuff which grew to about 20 or 30 GB and went down very deep with lots of nested sub-folders. Using my own folder for exclusively my stuff made backing-up and searching for things much simpler.

Would it be a good idea to have a similar gigantic and very deep folder in the Puppy Linux root, or should I put it somewhere else please?

User avatar
darkcity
Posts: 2534
Joined: Sun 23 May 2010, 19:16
Location: near here
Contact:

#7 Post by darkcity »

6502coder wrote:If you have a Puppy "frugal" installation, you might want to make folders in /mnt/home and put your large files there. By "large" I mean any file or collection of files that amounts to say 20Meg or more. By keeping this stuff in /mnt/home, they don't use up space in your personal save file.
...
I would recommend not storing any documents, regardless of size, in /root/ or /root/my-documents on a Frugal installation of Puppy. This is because any files not under /mnt/ are actually stored in the PupSave file. The problem with this is that those files won't be in the same place if you use a different PupSave file.

If you are frugally installed you will have been prompted to create a PupSave file on shutdown/reboot.
Would it be a good idea to have a similar gigantic and very deep folder in the Puppy Linux root, or should I put it somewhere else please?
If you are frugally install no it would not be a good idea. Also, always have a back up, of course.

The /mnt/ directory gives you access to mounted storage devices. For example.

The boot partition is /mnt/home (in windows C:\)
a second partition could be /mnt/sda2 (in windows could be D:\)
a partition on second drive could be /mnt/sdb1 (in windows could be E:\)
a USB stick could be /mnt/sdc1 (in windows could be F:\)
an optical drive maybe /mnt/sr0 (n windows could be G:\)
etc.

more info here:
Pupsave file
http://puppylinux.org/wikka/SaveFile
Linux directory structure
http://puppylinux.org/wikka/RootFs

User avatar
Galbi
Posts: 1098
Joined: Wed 21 Sep 2011, 22:32
Location: Bs.As. - Argentina.

#8 Post by Galbi »

Hi, and welcome. You know, the more information you give us, the more we can help you, so please tell us: which flavor of Puppy are you using? it's full or frugal installed?
baffledbylinux wrote:Would it be a good idea to have a similar gigantic and very deep folder in the Puppy Linux root, or should I put it somewhere else please?
If it's a frugal installation, what you put in /root/xxx/yyy/zzz will be stored in the pupsave file. It's a very bad idea to have a pupsave file so big. Pupsave file can get corrupted for i.e power failure.
So, like said above big files should be stored in /mnt/home/xxx those files/folder will be outside the pupsave file.

It's healthy to regularly make a copy of the pupsave file just in case it gets unrecoverable. A 512mb or even 1Gb it's easy to deal with.

User avatar
mikeb
Posts: 11297
Joined: Thu 23 Nov 2006, 13:56

#9 Post by mikeb »

Would it be a good idea to have a similar gigantic and very deep folder in the Puppy Linux root, or should I put it somewhere else please?
similar... used yer drives as your storage medium so do such things there... easy to find and you will not hit the limitations injherent in the pup_save system. /mnt/sda(n) or the desktop drive icons..whatever you are comfortable with.

Some refer to /mnt/home which is a link to wherever puppy is saving to... That can be confusing and is not always clear where it is.

Even on windows I always use a separate partition or drive for storage...easy to use with different windows and linux varients that way and less prone to fragmentation.
As you mention you then have your OWN file structure that you are comfortable with.

mike

mike

User avatar
Galbi
Posts: 1098
Joined: Wed 21 Sep 2011, 22:32
Location: Bs.As. - Argentina.

#10 Post by Galbi »

Wait a moment... F:\ was your second drive, so, why not to let it untouched and as your store drive? Puppy will read and write it, and a new Windows too. (both installed in the other disk).

:)

User avatar
davids45
Posts: 1326
Joined: Sun 26 Nov 2006, 23:33
Location: Chatswood, NSW

Yes, create a sharable data partition on your 2nd drive

#11 Post by davids45 »

G'day,
To add to previous advice, I would set up a separate partition (for example, using GParted) of at least 30GB for you to keep all your personal data & files. If your second hard drive is a good one, do it there. The existing ntfs should be an easy starting point - just make it as big as possible and use it for everything.

It is possible to get Windows (XP anyway) to read Linux partitions so on my older desktop, I made my data partition ext3 and installed an .exe program to enable XP to read & write to this partition when needed.

This computer I'm using now doesn't have any Windows and its 500GB hard-drive is partitioned into 15 Linux partitions (1 small swap of about 500MB, 1 partition of about 30GB for lots of Puppy Frugals, 12 partitions of about 3GB for trying different Full Puppy installs, and the rest of the drive is a simple data partition of about 400GB which gets auto-mounted (by a script in /root/Startup) when a Puppy boots so its data are readily accessible whichever Puppy I feel like using.

Good luck.

David S.

baffledbylinux
Posts: 29
Joined: Thu 22 Aug 2013, 10:21

#12 Post by baffledbylinux »

Thanks for replies.

My specs: Dell Dimension L700CXE, currently with WinMe installed, CPU 698Mhz, 20 GB HD, RAM 384MB (more than I thought earlier). This is an old computer someone gave me; my usual computer - WinXp - has stopped working, probably due to the motherboard failing.

Currently I am using Precise Puppy with the CD stuck in my only CD drive. I would like to install to hard disk on this old computer, overwriting everything on this computer, but I have found this to be fiendishly difficult. So difficult that it is impossible. I would like to install Precise Puppy, but due to the fiendishly difficult install process, which requires a lot of knowledge which I as an average Windows user do not have, I am sorry to admit that I am downloading Lubuntu in the hope that that will be easier to install.

I do not know what a "frugal" install is. All I want to do is erase everything on the HD and start again with a nice clean Precise Puppy Linux installation, but this seems to be impossible to do unless you have a degree in computers.

I've only got a vague idea of what mount means and do not understand the Linux file system at all.

Thanks.

Edit: what would be useful is a file manger that hides those folders you are not supposed to tamper with.

User avatar
darkcity
Posts: 2534
Joined: Sun 23 May 2010, 19:16
Location: near here
Contact:

#13 Post by darkcity »

Actually all the files beginning with "." are hidden in the ROX filer. 'Frugal' is a standard method for installing Puppy Linux. The Linux system files are stored in a single compressed file. http://puppylinux.org/wikka/Frugal

In the 'Full' installation the Linux system file are stored in directories on the partition.

It doesn't matter which method you use, the differences are listed here-
http://puppylinux.org/wikka/FrugalOrFul ... Comparsion

Puppy is easier in some ways, believe it or not. You are the administrator by default - less permission errors. Plus it boots straight to desktop - no login holdups.

EDIT

which method for install Puppy did you try?

User avatar
mikeb
Posts: 11297
Joined: Thu 23 Nov 2006, 13:56

#14 Post by mikeb »

Hmm for a beginner its usually recommended to chose a frugal install to an existing file system and use grub4dos to set up booting. The more conventional install does involve repartitioning usually though someone made a one click installer.

Many actuaslly run using a live cd or usb stick and just save to the hard drive...at least until they are more familiar.

I don't think anyone here has a degree (in anything lol) and there is lots (too much?) help available.

mike

Post Reply