MATE 20.1 query SOLVED

[wolseley2]

I have just started to use MATE 20.1 on a Dell Inspiron with an SSD and a 1TB hard drive. I have been using Mint for a few years but only as a means of easy access to the internet and I have never tried to get grips with the operating system. But now with this new laptop I would like to be able to investigate the hard drive as I could do in Windows and also make it the default location of My Documents. I’ll try to attach the output of ‘lsblk’.

[xenopeek]

I'm a bit unclear on what your question is with regards to this?

FYI you can copy text from the terminal. Through the Edit menu Select All then Copy, then click the </> button to insert code tags here (just above the text box) when typing a post and paste the copied text from the terminal in between.

A handier lsblk output is with command as lsblk -o +FSTYPE because that also includes the filesystem type (so you can see what is Linux / Windows partition). For looking at partitions you can also use Disks in your menu or optionally install GParted and use that.

[wolseley2]

Thanks xenopeek, I’m really just trying to find what’s on the SSD and what’s on the 1TB hard drive. This is a set up which I’ve never had before. I’m also wondering if it is possible or desirable to make the hard drive the default for saving Documents.
I should say I’m very much a newbie after my 85th birthday yesterday!

[Kev]

If I'm understanding the question correctly (and please correct me if not) there are at least a couple of ways that you could potentially make the second hard disk's partition (sda1) your default location for documents:

One would be to make it your 'home' partition, then all your user settings and documents would be located there by default (while the boot and root remained on the smaller, faster nvme SSD). Mint and its file managers would then see the second drive's partition as your home folder, and its contents could be browsed accordingly. Though of course this wouldn't be suitable if you happened to want only your documents to be on the second drive (or for home to remain on the SSD). I believe the home partition prefers to be on a native linux file system too, so also not ideal if you needed the second drive to be NTFS or similar.

Alternatively you could mount the second drive as a normal/generic partition, making it browsable with file managers etc from the mount point you chose. With small additional complexity (editing paths in a couple of text files), it is also possible to tell Mint that the default 'documents' location should be on the mounted partition (similar for some other standard places like 'downloads', 'pictures' and so on).

But as mentioned, please correct me if this isn't what you meant, and anyone else please feel free to correct my suggestions - I'm not the most technical of users.
Cheers,
Kev

[xenopeek]

Congratulations on the respectable age!

From your screenshot I can answer that Linux Mint is installed on the SSD and isn't using the 1TB hard drive currently.
I can't tell from it what is on the 1TB hard drive.

It's perfectly fine to have your documents on the SSD but — assuming you only have Linux Mint installed on this laptop — it would be useful if you can at least use the 1TB hard drive for storage as well. You can easily set this up with the Disks program. I think these are the steps:

1. Open the Disks program from your menu (it's in the Accessories category)
2. In the left sidebar of Disks you should see the 1TB hard disk (it may show as 931 GB hard disk), click it to select it (A in below screenshot)
3. The details for the 1TB hard disk should now show up on the right side; it's model, size, serial number and such and the volumes on it
4. It should show one partition under the Volumes heading, click that (B in below screenshot)
5. Underneath it you should see a gear wheel icon button, click that (C in below screenshot)



6. From the menu select Edit Mount Options
7. Untoggle "User Session Defaults" to be able to change settings on this screen (D in below screenshot)
8. Make sure "Mount at system startup" is checked and best to uncheck "Show in user interface" (E in below screenshot)
9. Finally set where to mount (make available) this storage device and for that set the mount point (F in below screenshot) to a not-yet-existing directory in your home directory. For example you could do the path /home/ken/HardDisk on something similar. (The /home/ken/ part you should not change.)
10. Now click OK button and then the play button underneath the volume (C in above screenshot) to mount it now. If you open your file manager you should see the HardDisk (or however you named it) directory in your home directory and you can put files there if all is okay.

[linux-rox]

You also can mount a data partition by editing /etc/fstab directly: viewtopic.php?f=42&t=320932
Personally, I find this method easier than the Disks method, but YMMV.

[wolseley2]

Thank you all so much for your help and suggestions especially to xenopeek, you obviously have taken considerable time and trouble to give me such detailed advice. I will most certainly try to follow your suggestions but you will understand that given my age and lack of linux experience I shall progress very slowly!
Just for the record, I confirm that only Linux Mint is installed on the laptop and what I’m aiming at is to have all the ‘Home’ stuff going by default to the 1TB hard drive with the hope that I can then access it as easily as now.
I will most certainly report back here but it may take some time and will probably require further intermediate queries!
Meantime I’m indebted to you.

[wolseley2]

Further, Kev thanks. I would need step by step guidance to do as you say. I don’t think at this time that I could accomplish it now.
And linux-rox also thanks. I shall bookmark the web site.
Many thanks both.

[wolseley2]

To xenopeek - Glory be! I do believe I can report success. Thank you again ever so much for your detailed instructions, it was so good of you to take the time to spell them out to me.
Best regards
Ken

[wolseley2]

Problem I find now that 'HardDisk' has now been added to my Home folder as if it were another directory alongside Documents etc. Surely this can not be correct? I am worried now that I have messed up my system.
Could I ask xenopeek to get back to me.

[xenopeek]

This is as I intended. It was just a way for you to easily (in your home directory) have a place where you can put files on the 1TB hard disk.

We can make it the standard location also. What types of files do you want to put there? You mentioned documents but I guess "My Documents" on Windows is more, also photos/videos/downloads?

[wolseley2]

Thanks for getting back to me: I'm relieved that this is the outcome you expected! It seemed to me very odd to see it listed as a Folder but if you're happy with that, so be it.
I have nothing special to store and at this time I'm using less than 10GB.
Perhaps you could explain to this old fogie what you mean by making it the standard location?

[wolseley2]

On 2nd thoughts xenopeek, I really would prefer that the folder "HardDisk" did not show when I go into ken's Home - if that can be accomplished easily!

[xenopeek]

Perhaps you could explain to this old fogie what you mean by making it the standard location?

I mean what kind of files do you have that you want on the big hard disk? Depending on what program you use to make / get those types of files you can make this HardDisk directory the default directory for those programs to place their files. Or you can redirect for example the Documents, Downloads, Music, Pictures or Videos directory in your home directory to store files actually on the 1TB hard disk.

I really would prefer that the folder "HardDisk" did not show when I go into ken's Home

Each hard disk needs a directory where it is "mounted", from where its contents are accessed. You can name it something else, you can put it somewhere else, but where do you want it if not in your home directory?

[wolseley2]

My intention was/is simply to make the 1TB hard disk the default location for all: Desktop, Documents, Music, Pictures etc and so leave the SSD for the OS.

[wolseley2]

I don't have any particularly large files or whatever that need special storage, I simply want everything connected with Documents, Downloads Music etc to be stored by default on the hard drive and so leave the SSD for the OS.
If I have your assurance that's what's happening now, I'll get used to seeing 'HardDisk' in Ken's Home.
Thanks again.

[xenopeek]

That's not what's happening now. If you put a file in Documents directory it goes to the 128GB SSD. Only if you put it in the HardDisk directory it goes to the 1TB hard disk.

It's easiest (though not trivial) to change this during installation of Linux Mint. You can opt for manual partitioning. Create a EFI system partition on the SSD, assign the rest to a root partition mounted to / directory and create a home partition on the 1 TB hard disk mounted on the /home directory. That way all the files of users on your laptop would be stored on the 1 TB hard disk. Changing this with the Linux Mint already installed is possible but gets ever more technical (you'll need to do stuff on the terminal). I don't have ready steps for this but it's possible to change on which disk the /home directory is located.

An alternative is to:
- Create a 'Documents' directory inside the HardDisk directory
- Delete the 'Documents' directory from your home directory
- And then create a link called 'Documents' in your home directory to the 'Documents' directory inside the HardDisk directory
And repeat for the other directories you want to put on the 1TB hard disk. I'm not too comfortable suggesting this as it can also mess things up.

The best solution is to reinstall Linux Mint and do manual partitioning to put the /home directory on the 1 TB hard disk but as I said not trivial.

[wolseley2]

O dear, what a disappointment. I have obviously completely misunderstood.
Let me ask this, when I open ken's Home and see the HardDisk folder can I then simply slide items into it?

[xenopeek]

Yes, you can put files in the HardDisk folder. You can also create folders in the HardDisk folder to further organize there.

[wolseley2]

Please explain how to put files in the HardDisk folder - it's evidently not possible just to slide files into it., so what do I need to do?