How do I get my second (250GB) hard drive to show in 'computer file browser'

VJohnM · 07-19-2009, 08:09 AM

I have set up my second hard drive and it shows as /dev/sdb in GParted. My question is, which format do I use and what process, to arrive in the 'computer file browser'???
Bearing in mind that the sda1 is formatted at ext3, I am unsure whether to format sdb at ext4 or simply fat 32?

repo · 07-19-2009, 08:13 AM

You need to mount the drive.
Something like
mount /dev/sdb /mount

tredegar · 07-19-2009, 08:54 AM

Quote:

I am unsure whether to format sdb at ext4 or simply fat 32?

You cannot format /dev/sdb
You need to create at least one partition on it first.
(As root)

Code:

cfdisk /dev/sdb

Create at least one partition. Save the changes.
Then you need to format the partition (again, as root)

Code:

mkfs.ext3  /dev/sdb1
    -or-
mkfs.vfat  /dev/sdb1

Then you can mount it (as root), after you have created a mountpoint for it:

Code:

mkdir /media/data
mount -t ext3 /dev/sdb1 /media/data

catkin · 07-19-2009, 09:30 AM

Hello VJohnM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VJohnM

Bearing in mind that the sda1 is formatted at ext3, I am unsure whether to format sdb at ext4 or simply fat 32?

Why not ext3 or riserfs? What do you want to do with it? The various file systems have different advantages and disadvantages. This Wikipedia link has links to several Linux file system pages, each of which has some comparative information.

Best

Charles

jay73 · 07-19-2009, 10:22 AM

It does no really matter which filesystem is chosen - ext2/3/4, jfs, xfs, ... I would not use reiser anymore at this time as it is receiving less and less maintenance.

catkin · 07-19-2009, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jay73

It does no really matter which filesystem is chosen - ext2/3/4, jfs, xfs, ... I would not use reiser anymore at this time as it is receiving less and less maintenance.

ext4 is the successor to ext3 is the successor to ext2. Thus ext4 with its better performance, greater robustness and de-fragmentation enhancements would be first choice from that series -- if you believe it is stable.

reiserfs is still the fastest at the cost of some resilience and recoverability and thus the one to choose where data integrity is less important than out-and-out performance.

XFS' efficient support for sparse files is important when supporting large sparse files and it is unique amongst Linux file systems in having a de-fragmentation tool (until ext4's is out and proven).

JFS performs well for a range of tasks and is reliable. What you'd expect from IBM!

VFAT (FAT32) interoperates with Windows and is the only one to interoperate with Windows 9x (ignoring older FAT systems). It is the only one to support hidden volumes under TrueCrypt.

NTFS interoperates with Windows NT series but works better under Windows than under Linux.

VJohnM · 07-20-2009, 03:40 PM

Many thanks for your rapid response guys. For some reason a miracle has happened! All I entered in Partition Editor yesterday was 'format to fat 32'. After about 5 minutes, what appeared to be a rejection pop-up prevented me from continuing. This was the reason for my question on the forum.

When I booted up today, to my surprise, I found a fully operational icon for my 2nd hard drive on the desktop.

The wonders of Ubunto 9.04!

Thanks again and goodbye Vista.