fstab options set by Disks GUI [SOLVED]

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alderny

fstab options set by Disks GUI [SOLVED]

Post by alderny »

I have Linux Mint 18.3 running on an SSD, with 2 internal mechanical HDDs, each with 2 ntfs partitions to store my files. To mount these partitions at startup I used the Disks GUI to edit the mount options, which works fine. My only concern is that the GUI set the options field to "nosuid,nodev,nofail,x-gvfs-show,x-gvfs" which I do not fully understand. Are these the best options, or should I edit the fstab file to use just the "default" option?
Last edited by LockBot on Wed Dec 28, 2022 7:16 am, edited 2 times in total.
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altair4
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Re: fstab options set by Disks GUI

Post by altair4 »

I will use the following to explain why I don't use Disks:

First I will run a command to find out facts about my NTFS partition:

Code: Select all

sudo blkid -c /dev/null | grep ntfs
/dev/sda5: LABEL="DataN" UUID="40F76A4E40B0C5CB" TYPE="ntfs"
Then I will use Disks to create an entry into /etc/fstab and this is what it does:
/dev/disk/by-uuid/40F76A4E40B0C5CB /mnt/40F76A4E40B0C5CB auto nosuid,nodev,nofail,x-gvfs-show 0 0

/dev/disk/by-uuid/40F76A4E40B0C5CB is used to make the line in /etc/fstab longer.
/mnt/40F76A4E40B0C5CB is used to make the mount point meaningless to the user.
auto is used so that the system has to work harder at boot time since it has to determine the filesystem itself.
nosuid and nodev could play a role if your system was a server attached directly to the internet.
x-gvfs-show is just plain stupid. If you want it to do that change the mount point to something under your home directory or /media.
nofail tells the system at boot time to not stop booting if the specified partition did not mount successfully.

This is how I mount ntfs partitions:
UUID=40F76A4E40B0C5CB /mnt/DataN ntfs defaults,uid=altair,windows_names 0 0
That will mount the partition (40F76A4E40B0C5CB) to a mount point that has meaning to me (/mnt/DataN) as an NTFS filesystem (ntfs), which is owned by me (uid=altair) not root. windows_names is there to prevent me in Linux from saving a file with a name that has characters in it that Windows cannot interpret.

If I want it to mount so that it shows up automatically on the side panel of my file manager ( what Disks calls "show in user interface" and which induces the x-gvfs-show thing ) I would change the mount point location from /mnt/DataN to /media/DataN. or /home/altair/DataN
Please add a [SOLVED] at the end of your original subject header if your question has been answered and solved.
alderny

Re: fstab options set by Disks GUI

Post by alderny »

Thank you for your comprehensive explanation. I will edit the fstab file according to your recommendations. :D

I have now done as you suggested and all works fine. The only thing I noticed is that the names of the discs are shown as per the disc label, rather than as specified in the fstab file:

Here are my 4 lines in the fstab file:

UUID=01D081BB06B61C90 /media/steve/Video ntfs defaults,uid=steve,windows_names 0 0
UUID=01D081BA222318D0 /media/steve/Documents ntfs defaults,uid=steve,windows_names 0 0
UUID=01D093299C266AD0 /media/steve/Media ntfs defaults,uid=steve,windows_names 0 0
UUID=01D0930EFFC83340 /media/steve/eXtra ntfs defaults,uid=steve,windows_names 0 0
altair4
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Re: fstab options set by Disks GUI

Post by altair4 »

I didn't realize you added content to your last reply.
I have now done as you suggested and all works fine. The only thing I noticed is that the names of the discs are shown as per the disc label, rather than as specified in the fstab file:
Use gparted to change the label of the partition so that they match.

I really really hate ... did I mention that I really hate ... to invoke any gvfs options in fstab because I believe them to be flaky but ... on paper ... you can also add a x-gvfs-name option to your list:
UUID=01D081BB06B61C90 /media/steve/Video ntfs defaults,uid=steve,windows_names,x-gvfs-name=Video 0 0
For my money I would use gparted to change the label. Um ... looks like Disks can do that as well if you don't want to install gparted: Disks > Edit Filesystem:
ChangeLabel.png
Please add a [SOLVED] at the end of your original subject header if your question has been answered and solved.
alderny

Re: fstab options set by Disks GUI

Post by alderny »

altair4 wrote: Mon Apr 09, 2018 6:20 pm I didn't realize you added content to your last reply.

Sorry, it looks like I should have made a new post rather than edit the existing one - I'm not used to this forum.

I'm happy with things as they are, and will leave the labels alone, as the discs are shared with my Windows installation (which I use as little as possible).

Many thanks.
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