Which Hard Drive is Storing my Files - SOLVED

Quick to answer questions about finding your way around Linux Mint as a new user.
Forum rules
There are no such things as "stupid" questions. However if you think your question is a bit stupid, then this is the right place for you to post it. Stick to easy to-the-point questions that you feel people can answer fast. For long and complicated questions use the other forums in the support section.
Before you post read how to get help. Topics in this forum are automatically closed 6 months after creation.
enjohn
Level 3
Level 3
Posts: 162
Joined: Mon Jun 24, 2019 4:46 am

Which Hard Drive is Storing my Files - SOLVED

Post by enjohn »

Hello - I am a total novice to Linux and really need some help, please. I have just completed a clean install of Linux Mint 20.2 Cinnamon on my PC, which went fairly smoothly. I have been finding my way around and adding software, doing updates etc. enjoying what I am finding. What I can't seem to find is which of my two hard drives are being used for my main storage and which is being used by Linux. I have a 240GB Sata3 SSD and a 1TB Sata3 HDD. I have been using Windows since the late '80s so I know nothing about how to work with Linux. Please be gentle - I never even knew what a 'Terminal' was until after I had installed Linux! Thank you in advance for your help.
Last edited by LockBot on Wed Dec 28, 2022 7:16 am, edited 2 times in total.
Reason: Topic automatically closed 6 months after creation. New replies are no longer allowed.
djph
Level 7
Level 7
Posts: 1869
Joined: Thu Jun 27, 2019 5:43 am
Location: ::1

Re: Which Hard Drive is Storing my Files

Post by djph »

barring you having done anything special, everything is saved to the root filesystem, which is contained on the drive you installed LM to.
enjohn
Level 3
Level 3
Posts: 162
Joined: Mon Jun 24, 2019 4:46 am

Re: Which Hard Drive is Storing my Files

Post by enjohn »

Thank you for your reply. I just followed the instructions on installing Linux Mint. During the install I was asked if I wanted to set up any partitions, but I didn't. The system drive for my Windows installation was a 500GB SSD and my files were stored on a 1TB HDD. I don't know if Linux works in a similar way to Windows and installed on the SSD, or the HDD. I really don't know what to do next. Apologies for being a bit dim, but as I mentioned, I am a total novice!
djph
Level 7
Level 7
Posts: 1869
Joined: Thu Jun 27, 2019 5:43 am
Location: ::1

Re: Which Hard Drive is Storing my Files

Post by djph »

It installed where-ever you told it to install.
Are you asking how to determine what you told the installer to do, because you don't remember?
User avatar
zcot
Level 9
Level 9
Posts: 2781
Joined: Wed Oct 19, 2016 6:08 pm

Re: Which Hard Drive is Storing my Files

Post by zcot »

Judging by that info:
500GB Windows system drive
240GB SSD for data
1TB SSD for data

If you simply used automated install, not selecting "Something else" or changing any other options, I would assume you dragged the slider bar to downside the Windows partition and create enough room for the Mint install, then Linux would've installed to that 500GB drive.

You can use this terminal command, and it will show you a web page at termbin.com, you can show us that link. command is upload-system-info
User avatar
Daisuke
Level 3
Level 3
Posts: 179
Joined: Fri Jun 21, 2019 6:29 pm
Location: San Diego CA

Re: Which Hard Drive is Storing my Files

Post by Daisuke »

You can also go to your LM menu, where the "start" menu for Windows would be in lower left corner, and type in "syst" (no quotes) then choose "System Monitor". This will show you which devices (drives) your / and /home partitions are on. A drive is designated as /dev/sda or /dev/sdX where X is a, b, c, etc A partition on a drive is /dev/sda1, /dev/sda2 etc. Use the info in System Monitor in conjunction with the info from Disks, as @ChickyNugglez suggested, and you should have your system layout.

As to what you mean by your "main storage" is anybody's guess. The non-Linux drive will not show up in Nemo, the FileViewer app, if it is not mounted. Read up on Linux file systems, mounting partitions, and fstab. This will be well worth your time if you plan to stick with Linux :)
Last edited by Daisuke on Mon May 16, 2022 10:09 pm, edited 2 times in total.
enjohn
Level 3
Level 3
Posts: 162
Joined: Mon Jun 24, 2019 4:46 am

Re: Which Hard Drive is Storing my Files

Post by enjohn »

Thank you all for your replies. I will have to work on this later in the week and try to sort out what I have or haven't done. Answering the comment on what I meant by main storage, I guess once again this is from my Windows days. I always had a separate storage drive to a system drive. I will let you know how things are working out at the weekend. Thanks again.
User avatar
Daisuke
Level 3
Level 3
Posts: 179
Joined: Fri Jun 21, 2019 6:29 pm
Location: San Diego CA

Re: Which Hard Drive is Storing nomy Files

Post by Daisuke »

I edited my last reply so please have another quick peek. Welcome to Linux Mint!
User avatar
Coggy
Level 5
Level 5
Posts: 608
Joined: Thu Mar 31, 2022 10:34 am

Re: Which Hard Drive is Storing my Files

Post by Coggy »

The command lsblk will show the information you need in a compact form. lsblk -fmap gives more info, some of which can be very useful. The output of those is easy to copy and paste into a post in this forum if needed. System Moniotor (as Daisuke suggested) shows much the same info in graphical form.
Feel free to post and ask questions about it. You have something of a learning curve ahead of you, but everyone here likes to help.


One thing that may confuse you is that in Linux, you have one "root" drive, like the system drive in Windows, but rather than other drives having separate drive letters with their own tree structure, they appear as the contents of folders within the one-and-only root filesystem. For example, if you plug a CD in it will likely appear in /media/yourname/CDROM, not as a separate drive letter. So other drives are just a branch/sideshoot of the tree. In fact I suspect that Linux actually boots with and empty / filesystem and then reads and mounts the system drive into that totally empty root (I'm guessing).
enjohn
Level 3
Level 3
Posts: 162
Joined: Mon Jun 24, 2019 4:46 am

Re: Which Hard Drive is Storing my Files

Post by enjohn »

Thank you to everyone who has been kind enough to reply to my questions. I am now back in my office for at least 10 days now, so hopefully, I can get this sorted with everyone's help. I have opened Disk and Disk Usage Analyser. Looking at the analyser, my 1TB Hard Disk isn't mounted. I have taken screenshots of both, although not sure if it is permitted to add these to a post? Please advise. Thank you.

I have also tried to update to Linux Mint 20.3 without success. Receiving Error Messages - I have screenshots of these as well!
djph
Level 7
Level 7
Posts: 1869
Joined: Thu Jun 27, 2019 5:43 am
Location: ::1

Re: Which Hard Drive is Storing my Files

Post by djph »

sure, you can post images (although they need to be smallish -- might be better to use a picture hosting site or similar).


Or just use terminal commands and post the ouput in [ code ] tags (the </> button).
enjohn
Level 3
Level 3
Posts: 162
Joined: Mon Jun 24, 2019 4:46 am

Re: Which Hard Drive is Storing my Files

Post by enjohn »

Daisuke wrote: Mon May 09, 2022 1:24 pm You can also go to your LM meno, where the "start" menu for Windows would be in lower left corner, and type in "syst" (no quotes) then choose "System Monitor". This will show you which devices (drives) your / and /home partitions are on. A drive is designated as /dev/sda or /dev/sdX where X is a, b, c, etc A partition on a drive is /dev/sda1, /dev/sda2 etc. Use the info in System Monitor in conjunction with the info from Disks, as @ChickyNugglez suggested, and you should have your system layout.

As to what you mean by your "main storage" is anybody's guess. The non-Linux drive will not show up in Nemo, the FileViewer app, if it is not mounted. Read up on Linux file systems, mounting partitions, and fstab. This will be well worth your time if you plan to stick with Linux :)
Thanks for your guidance. System Monitor shows two drives /dev/sda5 - the details are identical apart from one showing a /run/timeshift/t Directory. The third drive is /dev/sda1 (Directory /boot/efi Type vfat) I have taken your advice and have started to look into mounting partitions and fstab. Thanks again.
enjohn
Level 3
Level 3
Posts: 162
Joined: Mon Jun 24, 2019 4:46 am

Re: Which Hard Drive is Storing my Files

Post by enjohn »

djph wrote: Mon May 16, 2022 9:34 am sure, you can post images (although they need to be smallish -- might be better to use a picture hosting site or similar).


Or just use terminal commands and post the ouput in [ code ] tags (the </> button).
Thanks for the information. Unfortunately, I am a total novice, particularly on Linux. I used to consider myself 'computer literate' - then I switched to Linux! Total numpty now! I have only used Terminal when inputting suggested commands from Linux users. Such a long way to go....
djph
Level 7
Level 7
Posts: 1869
Joined: Thu Jun 27, 2019 5:43 am
Location: ::1

Re: Which Hard Drive is Storing my Files

Post by djph »

enjohn wrote: Mon May 16, 2022 10:11 am Thanks for your guidance. System Monitor shows two drives /dev/sda5 - the details are identical apart from one showing a /run/timeshift/t Directory. The third drive is /dev/sda1 (Directory /boot/efi Type vfat) I have taken your advice and have started to look into mounting partitions and fstab. Thanks again.
/run/timeshift is the mountpoint for timeshift backups, when saving to a secondary drive / partition.
/boot/efi is necessary for UEFI-style (i.e. modern) boot sequences.

enjohn wrote: Mon May 16, 2022 10:16 am
djph wrote: Mon May 16, 2022 9:34 am sure, you can post images (although they need to be smallish -- might be better to use a picture hosting site or similar).


Or just use terminal commands and post the ouput in [ code ] tags (the </> button).
Thanks for the information. Unfortunately, I am a total novice, particularly on Linux. I used to consider myself 'computer literate' - then I switched to Linux! Total numpty now! I have only used Terminal when inputting suggested commands from Linux users. Such a long way to go....
Don't worry too much about it -- we all started at the beginning. You'll find that if you've used Windows "cmd" utility (or even DOS) for things, a lot of the commands will be semi-familiar (e.g. CMD's dir command is now ls, cd is the same (albeit paths are less insane), CMD's ipconfig is now ip a, and so on)

The lsblk command will give you the listing of partitions and (if mounted), their current mount points. For example, my laptop:

Code: Select all

NAME        MAJ:MIN RM   SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINT
nvme0n1     259:0    0 465.8G  0 disk
├─nvme0n1p1 259:1    0   512M  0 part /boot/efi
├─nvme0n1p2 259:2    0 464.3G  0 part /
└─nvme0n1p3 259:3    0   976M  0 part [SWAP]
Note that I have an NVMe drive, whereas your SATA-connected drives will be sda and sdb
enjohn
Level 3
Level 3
Posts: 162
Joined: Mon Jun 24, 2019 4:46 am

Re: Which Hard Drive is Storing my Files

Post by enjohn »

Thanks once again. The information regarding the WIndows "cmd" dir and ipconfig is very helpful and will help me get my head around things later on.

I did as you suggested with the lsblk command which produced the following:

NAME MAJ:MIN RM SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINT
sda 8:0 0 223.6G 0 disk
├─sda1 8:1 0 512M 0 part /boot/efi
├─sda2 8:2 0 1K 0 part
└─sda5 8:5 0 223.1G 0 part /run/timeshift/backup
sdb 8:16 0 931.5G 0 disk
├─sdb1 8:17 0 16M 0 part
└─sdb2 8:18 0 931.5G 0 part
sr0 11:0 1 1024M 0 rom

Apologies for the text - I tried copying and pasting from the terminal based on other posts, but afraid this is the best I can do!
enjohn
Level 3
Level 3
Posts: 162
Joined: Mon Jun 24, 2019 4:46 am

Re: Which Hard Drive is Storing my Files

Post by enjohn »

djph wrote: Mon May 16, 2022 10:46 am
enjohn wrote: Mon May 16, 2022 10:11 am Thanks for your guidance. System Monitor shows two drives /dev/sda5 - the details are identical apart from one showing a /run/timeshift/t Directory. The third drive is /dev/sda1 (Directory /boot/efi Type vfat) I have taken your advice and have started to look into mounting partitions and fstab. Thanks again.
/run/timeshift is the mountpoint for timeshift backups, when saving to a secondary drive / partition.
/boot/efi is necessary for UEFI-style (i.e. modern) boot sequences.

enjohn wrote: Mon May 16, 2022 10:16 am
djph wrote: Mon May 16, 2022 9:34 am sure, you can post images (although they need to be smallish -- might be better to use a picture hosting site or similar).


Or just use terminal commands and post the ouput in [ code ] tags (the </> button).
Thanks for the information. Unfortunately, I am a total novice, particularly on Linux. I used to consider myself 'computer literate' - then I switched to Linux! Total numpty now! I have only used Terminal when inputting suggested commands from Linux users. Such a long way to go....
Don't worry too much about it -- we all started at the beginning. You'll find that if you've used Windows "cmd" utility (or even DOS) for things, a lot of the commands will be semi-familiar (e.g. CMD's dir command is now ls, cd is the same (albeit paths are less insane), CMD's ipconfig is now ip a, and so on)

The lsblk command will give you the listing of partitions and (if mounted), their current mount points. For example, my laptop:

Code: Select all

NAME        MAJ:MIN RM   SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINT
nvme0n1     259:0    0 465.8G  0 disk
├─nvme0n1p1 259:1    0   512M  0 part /boot/efi
├─nvme0n1p2 259:2    0 464.3G  0 part /
└─nvme0n1p3 259:3    0   976M  0 part [SWAP]
Note that I have an NVMe drive, whereas your SATA-connected drives will be sda and sdb
Thanks once again. The information regarding the WIndows "cmd" dir and ipconfig is very helpful and will help me get my head around things later on.

I did as you suggested with the lsblk command which produced the following:

NAME MAJ:MIN RM SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINT
sda 8:0 0 223.6G 0 disk
├─sda1 8:1 0 512M 0 part /boot/efi
├─sda2 8:2 0 1K 0 part
└─sda5 8:5 0 223.1G 0 part /run/timeshift/backup
sdb 8:16 0 931.5G 0 disk
├─sdb1 8:17 0 16M 0 part
└─sdb2 8:18 0 931.5G 0 part
sr0 11:0 1 1024M 0 rom

Apologies for the text - I tried copying and pasting from the terminal based on other posts, but afraid this is the best I can do!
djph
Level 7
Level 7
Posts: 1869
Joined: Thu Jun 27, 2019 5:43 am
Location: ::1

Re: Which Hard Drive is Storing my Files

Post by djph »

enjohn wrote: Mon May 16, 2022 11:59 am
I did as you suggested with the lsblk command which produced the following:

Code: Select all

NAME      MAJ:MIN RM    SIZE   RO   TYPE   MOUNTPOINT
sda                8:0        0  223.6G     0    disk 
├─sda1         8:1        0    512M      0    part /boot/efi
├─sda2         8:2        0        1K      0    part 
└─sda5         8:5        0 223.1G      0   part /run/timeshift/backup
sdb                8:16      0 931.5G      0   disk 
├─sdb1         8:17      0      16M     0   part 
└─sdb2         8:18      0 931.5G     0   part 
sr0               11:0        1  1024M     0   rom 
Apologies for the text - I tried copying and pasting from the terminal based on other posts, but afraid this is the best I can do!
You just missed sticking it in [ code ] tags (again, that </> looking button). I've done so in the quoted text.

Are you perhaps running this command from the live session (i.e. the USB install media) ?
enjohn
Level 3
Level 3
Posts: 162
Joined: Mon Jun 24, 2019 4:46 am

Re: Which Hard Drive is Storing my Files

Post by enjohn »

djph wrote: Mon May 16, 2022 12:25 pm
enjohn wrote: Mon May 16, 2022 11:59 am
I did as you suggested with the lsblk command which produced the following:

Code: Select all

NAME      MAJ:MIN RM    SIZE   RO   TYPE   MOUNTPOINT
sda                8:0        0  223.6G     0    disk 
├─sda1         8:1        0    512M      0    part /boot/efi
├─sda2         8:2        0        1K      0    part 
└─sda5         8:5        0 223.1G      0   part /run/timeshift/backup
sdb                8:16      0 931.5G      0   disk 
├─sdb1         8:17      0      16M     0   part 
└─sdb2         8:18      0 931.5G     0   part 
sr0               11:0        1  1024M     0   rom 
Apologies for the text - I tried copying and pasting from the terminal based on other posts, but afraid this is the best I can do!
You just missed sticking it in [ code ] tags (again, that </> looking button). I've done so in the quoted text.

Are you perhaps running this command from the live session (i.e. the USB install media) ?
I did try to paste it into the code tags but it produced the same mess! Need to practice! I don't think I'm running from the live session. Where should I look to check?
djph
Level 7
Level 7
Posts: 1869
Joined: Thu Jun 27, 2019 5:43 am
Location: ::1

Re: Which Hard Drive is Storing my Files

Post by djph »

if you open terminal and the prompt is mint@mint then you're on the live session. Reboot / pull the USB when it tells you to, and boot off the main HDD.

(or when the LM USB menu comes up, select the "boot off primary disk" option).
User avatar
Daisuke
Level 3
Level 3
Posts: 179
Joined: Fri Jun 21, 2019 6:29 pm
Location: San Diego CA

Re: Which Hard Drive is Storing my Files

Post by Daisuke »

enjohn wrote:
Daisuke wrote: You can also go to your LM meno, where the "start" menu for Windows would be in lower left corner, and type in "syst" (no quotes) then choose "System Monitor". This will show you which devices (drives) your / and /home partitions are on. A drive is designated as /dev/sda or /dev/sdX where X is a, b, c, etc A partition on a drive is /dev/sda1, /dev/sda2 etc. Use the info in System Monitor in conjunction with the info from Disks, as @ChickyNugglez suggested, and you should have your system layout.
Thanks for your guidance. System Monitor shows two drives /dev/sda5 - the details are identical apart from one showing a /run/timeshift/t Directory. The third drive is /dev/sda1 (Directory /boot/efi Type vfat) I have taken your advice and have started to look into mounting partitions and fstab. Thanks again.
Here is a screenshot of my SystemMonitor taken a while ago. If you click on the screenshot, you will get a larger, easier to read view.

Notice the first two column headings: Device and Directory. For your question, these are the important ones. Using this as an example, the most important lines for any Linux system are in the first row and the fourth row. In this screenshot, the first row is highlighted. The device (i.e. partition on the /dev/sda drive) is /dev/sda1. It is mapped to the / directory. The fourth row is the partition /dev/sda3 which is mapped to the /home directory. All the devices starting with /dev/sdaX are on the same physical hard drive. You should have something similar I think.
SysMon-FileSys-02-23-22.png
Now when you open nemo, the file browser on Linux Mint Cinnamon, on the left hand side navigation pane, you should see directories labeled Home and File System. If you click on Home, and look in the text bar at the top of the window, it will give the full path to YOUR home directory which should be something like /home/enjohn or whatever your user name is. Similarly, if you click on the File System entry on the left, and then look in the text bar at the top of the window, it will show the path /. Linux operating system files are in / and your personal configuration files and data files are in /home/enjohn.

Please take a screenshot of your SystemMonitor with the FileSystems tab selected. The Screenshot tool is also in the Menu. Save it to your desktop for now. Then use the attachments tab to paste it here so we can see all the relevant info.

Don't give up!
Locked

Return to “Beginner Questions”