[SOLVED] New installation - Data partition

[Pretty Pixel]

I have just carried out a new install of LM20 Cinnamon. During installation, I created an ext4 Data partition, with the mount point /data. However, when I open Nemo the only way I can access the Data partition, is if I select Filesystem in the Sidebar, then click on the Data partition directory. I am also unable to create new files/folders in the Data partition directory.

I would like the Data partition to be listed in the Sidebar, to automount on boot, and be able to store, and create files there.

Help in resolving this issue would be appreciated. Thank you.

[Hoser Rob]

Is there any reason the standard /home partition isn't working for you?

[blockhead47]

To add /Data to the Nemo sidebar, in Nemo open the /Data folder then select Bookmarks from the menu bar, then select "Add Bookmark".

You probably can't add files to /Data because you do not own that /Data mount point. To confirm show us the output of this command:

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ls -al /

[Pretty Pixel]

Is there any reason the standard /home partition isn't working for you?

It works fine. But in case I need to re-install, or upgrade, I prefer to have a dedicated partition for my files - to save having to backup, then copy back etc.

[Pretty Pixel]

To add /Data to the Nemo sidebar, in Nemo open the /Data folder then select Bookmarks from the menu bar, then select "Add Bookmark".

You probably can't add files to /Data because you do not own that /Data mount point. To confirm show us the output of this command:

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ls -al /

Thank you for the reply. Here is the output:

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wendy@IdeaPad-530S:~$ ls -al /
total 108
drwxr-xr-x  24 root root  4096 Aug 26 04:35 .
drwxr-xr-x  24 root root  4096 Aug 26 04:35 ..
drwxr-xr-x   2 root root  4096 Aug 26 04:47 bin
drwxr-xr-x   4 root root  4096 Aug 26 04:50 boot
drwxr-xr-x   2 root root  4096 Aug 26 04:35 cdrom
drwxr-xr-x   3 root root  4096 Aug 26 04:34 data
drwxr-xr-x  19 root root  4320 Aug 26 04:51 dev
drwxr-xr-x 145 root root 12288 Aug 26 04:58 etc
drwxr-xr-x   3 root root  4096 Aug 26 04:36 home
drwxr-xr-x  23 root root  4096 Aug 26 04:38 lib
drwxr-xr-x   2 root root  4096 Jun 24 19:11 lib64
drwx------   2 root root 16384 Aug 26 04:34 lost+found
drwxr-xr-x   2 root root  4096 Jun 24 19:10 media
drwxr-xr-x   2 root root  4096 Jun 24 19:10 mnt
drwxr-xr-x   2 root root  4096 Jun 24 19:10 opt
dr-xr-xr-x 247 root root     0 Aug 26 04:51 proc
drwx------   6 root root  4096 Aug 26 04:44 root
drwxr-xr-x  35 root root   920 Aug 26 05:31 run
drwxr-xr-x   2 root root 12288 Aug 26 04:48 sbin
drwxr-xr-x   2 root root  4096 Jun 24 19:10 srv
dr-xr-xr-x  13 root root     0 Aug 26 04:51 sys
drwxrwxrwt  18 root root  4096 Aug 26 06:07 tmp
drwxr-xr-x  11 root root  4096 Jun 24 19:10 usr
drwxr-xr-x  11 root root  4096 Jun 24 19:50 var
wendy@IdeaPad-530S:~$ 

For information, I went to Disks application - selected the data partition - Gears icon - Edit Mount Options. Here I selected, show in user interface, and also chose a display name. I now see the partition in Nemo's sidebar. However, I am still unable to copy/create files to this partition. Is this because, as you say, I do not own that /Data mount point? If so, how do I take ownership? Many thanks.

[blockhead47]

From the ls -l listing I assume that the data directory is where you have the mounted the disk you are trying to access. If so, execute this command and you should be able to write to the /data directory/mountpoint.

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sudo chown -R your_login_name /data

It might also be helpful if you show us the contents of your /etc/fstab.

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cat /etc/fstab

[Pretty Pixel]

From the ls -l listing I assume that the data directory is where you have the mounted the disk you are trying to access. If so, execute this command and you should be able to write to the /data directory/mountpoint.

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sudo chown -R your_login_name /data

It might also be helpful if you show us the contents of your /etc/fstab.

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cat /etc/fstab

Here is the contents of my /etc/fstab:

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wendy@IdeaPad-530S:~$ cat /etc/fstab
# /etc/fstab: static file system information.
#
# Use 'blkid' to print the universally unique identifier for a
# device; this may be used with UUID= as a more robust way to name devices
# that works even if disks are added and removed. See fstab(5).
#
# <file system> <mount point>   <type>  <options>       <dump>  <pass>
# / was on /dev/nvme0n1p2 during installation
UUID=c40a51a8-b2d1-4fc4-8141-710de4e71645 /               ext4    errors=remount-ro 0       1
# /boot/efi was on /dev/nvme0n1p1 during installation
UUID=EF0C-CE80  /boot/efi       vfat    umask=0077      0       1
# /data was on /dev/nvme0n1p3 during installation
# swap was on /dev/nvme0n1p4 during installation
UUID=13a37ac8-e117-4524-b0cd-5b96db0b0b46 none            swap    sw              0       0
UUID=d9486037-cf10-4298-a469-2d5cb2213e7a /data ext4 defaults,x-gvfs-show,x-gvfs-name=Files 0 2
wendy@IdeaPad-530S:~$ 

Am I safe to excecute the command you gave me, to write to the partition?

[blockhead47]

You should be safe.
What the command "chown" is going to do is change the owner of everything in /data ( -R operate on files and directories recursively) to your_login_id instead of root, who currently own everything in /data. That is why you cannot write to /data as yourself.

[Pretty Pixel]

You should be safe.
What the command "chown" is going to do is change the owner of everything in /data ( -R operate on files and directories recursively) to your_login_id instead of root, who currently own everything in /data. That is why you cannot write to /data as yourself.

Thank you for explaining the command, as I am wanting to learn about Linux I entered the command, and am now able to create files/folders. I notice there is a, Lost + Found folder present. Can I delete it, or should I leave it there?

[blockhead47]

It is best to leave it. If there was ever any file corruption this is where files are recovered to, lost+found.

[Pretty Pixel]

It is best to leave it. If there was ever any file corruption this is where files are recovered to, lost+found.

OK makes good sense to leave it. Thank you for your help