32 bit partition at end of drive

[wpshooter]

If I create a 32 bit partition with the remaining portion (that not used for /, /home & swap)
on my Linux Mint hard drive, how do I access (use) that partition ?

So far, I have found no way to access that partition from within Linux Mint, i.e.
how can I copy some of the info say in my /home partition to that 32 bit partition ?

Is there something I need to do to mount that partition or do I need to install
some accessory application in order to access it ?

Thanks.

[gm10]

There are no 32bit partitions. Do you mean a FAT32 partition? Be aware that that's not a good file system to backup up Linux data to since all extended file attributes including permissions and ownerships will get stripped away.

As to mounting a partition, Menu > Disks > click on the partition you wish to mount > click on the triangle button. The location it gets mounted to is shown as a link at the bottom. To make it a permanent mount click the gears icon > Edit Mount Options > check "Mount at system startup"

[wpshooter]

Thanks for your reply.

Sorry, yes FAT32.

You say problems with saving to FAT32 hard drive partition, so is there something different
with doing this to hard drive partition as opposed to doing it to USB thumb drive formatted
to FAT32, because I have been saving my data, etc. onto 2 USB thumb drives and returning it to
my computer when reinstalling new versions of Linux Mint for years with no problems.

Thanks.

[gm10]

Oh your data will still be backed up successfully, FAT32 is just not the best choice, so I thought to point it out. If you don't need FAT32 for compatibility with Windows then I suggest to use an ext4 file system, and in the Windows case probably NTFS, but if you want to stick to FAT32 you are of course free to do so.

[phd21]

Hi wpshooter,

I just read your post and the good replies to it. Here are my thoughts on this as well.
It would help to know more about your system setup. If you run "inxi -Fxzd" and "lsusb" and "sudo lsblk -f" from the console terminal prompt, highlight the results, copy and paste them back here, that should provide enough information.

As was already stated, drive partitions are not 32-bit or 64-bit required because of hardware like your operating system (I don't think) and there are various file systems that can be installed and used whether you use a 32-bit or 64-bit operating system. What size is this partition? If you want a shared data partition, you probably want to use "ext4" filesystem for Linux or the "NTFS" filesystem which other operating systems can easily read and you will not have to deal with Linux permission issues.

One of the easiest methods for making sure that a partition is always available and "mounted" is to use the "Drives" application which will update the "fstab" drive and configuration file, or manually edit the "fstab" file. If the "Drives" application is not installed, search the Software Manager or Synaptic Package Manager SPM for "gnome-disk" and install it. Then, bring up "Drives" app, click the drive on the left and the partition on the right, click the gear icon below (additional partition properties), select edit mount options, turn off the first option (automount or session), then check (enable) mount at startup, apply/ok. From then on when you boot into your system this partition will be available.


Hope this helps ...

[wpshooter]

Oh your data will still be backed up successfully, FAT32 is just not the best choice, so I thought to point it out. If you don't need FAT32 for compatibility with Windows then I suggest to use an ext4 file system, and in the Windows case probably NTFS, but if you want to stick to FAT32 you are of course free to do so.

Running Linux Mint Mate 19, hard drive formatted as EXT4, /, /home, swap - just normal everyday Mint 19 installation.

That sure does not seem to be the case for me.

Because I just took a USB thumb drive and formatted it to EXT4 and tried copying a test file from my computers hard drive
(which is formatted as EXT4) and it would not do the copy. I then took that very same USB stick and formatted it to FAT32,
same file copied from my hard drive to FAT32 stick with NO problem.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm !!!!

[gm10]

In your OP you were talking about about a partition on your harddrive.

And your USB stick was possibly mounted as root so you couldn't write to it as a normal user. If you format as ext4 it behaves just like any other partition on your HDD. That was the point I was making - FAT32 strips all that away. If that is an advantage to you, then by all means.

[wpshooter]

So as I queried, there is a difference between doing this on hard drive and doing it
on a USB thumb drive.

Thanks.

[gm10]

So as I queried, there is a difference between doing this on hard drive and doing it
on a USB thumb drive.

There is no technical difference, no. USB thumb drives are formatted as FAT32 or exFAT by default since those are compatible with all operating system, but compatibility/portability aside there is no technical limitation to the file systems you can use.

[wpshooter]

There may not be any technical difference however there sure seems to be a practical difference
because you can copy back and forth from Linux Mint ext4 formatted hard drive to a FAT32
USB key just fine but you can NOT do so under the same/normal method to and from an ext4 formatted
USB key.