The root filesystem is the filesystem that is contained on the same partition on which the root directory is located, and it is the filesystem on which all the other filesystems are mounted.

In a multi-OS desktop, having Windows, Ubuntu and Fedora, what is the root filesystem as the root directory is located on at least 2 of the OS.

I would think it depends on which of the two Linuxes you're running...when the filesystem is set up, the root directory is simply the stem of all the other directory structures in the running system. For example, when Fedora is running, the drive/partition containing Ubuntu would/could be mounted as a directory under /mnt or /media, whereas the opposite is true for when Ubuntu is running (i.e. the Fedora drive/partition would be mounted under a subdir).

I think under Windows you would mount the Linux drives/partitions as separate drive letters (e.g. E:, F:, etc.), assuming the filesystem is even compatible, which it isn't if you're using ext3/4 with it.

Is this your own desktop installation, or are you trying to ask a general question? Windows and Linux get different partitions for their own filesystems and don't normally share. If they do it's by mounting the other OS's partitions as another drive/directory on the current system, but a windows install does not run out of an ext[234] filesystem.

It is possible to have separate / directories for various linux distributions, and have one single /home partition which all distributions share, if that is what you are talking about.

-AM

Thanks. I got that.

But when we install a Linux distribution, and choose '/' as the mount point, the /home and /bin and all other directories get automatically created for that installation. Similarly, If I install another Linux, its /home and other directories will also be automatically created. How is it possible then, to have a separate / directories for the same /home directory ?

I am interested in the answer to this, too. How do you install multiple Linux OS that share the same home directory, or is that even possible?

Thank you.

If you put /home on its own partition it can be shared between distributions. However, there can be conflicts in that if you run the same app in both distributions and save different settings the config files will over-write each other.

gilead speaks truth.

All you have to do is mount the home partition from the (other) Linux distro to /home. Don't expect it to work terribly well, though unless you're dual-booting the same or very similar Linux distro for some reason.

What happens when 1 system updates?

System updates shouldn't affect /home surely. /home should only hold your data, pictures, documents, etc. Your "." files should still hold your local config stuff (Which may cause weird problems when you switch between the different OSs)

Play Bonny!