/dev directory
 

With so many files in the /dev directory, how does one find out which are actually connected to real devices?
I'm referriing to the situation where you might be testing a new pc using a Live Linux CD, and you want to quickly see where the HD, modem, and USB devices may be connected.
Sure, the HD is always on hda or hdc, but what ahppens when it gets connected to a nonstandard /dev file. How can I find out (quickly) which?
Thanks/cs

dmesg is the command that will tell you most of that stuff. /etc/fstab is usefull to read too.

Thanks for the answer. Yep, I know of those commands, I was hoping for some sort of "lsdev" (in the style of "lsmod" or "lspci" which identifies dev files with something behind them.
I suppose I could just script it ...