How to mount other /home using multiboot and multiple DEs?
 

Hi all,

Using EFI and GPT, my main distro is Archlabs with a separate /home partition. I have also installed ArcoLinux with Openbox. From there i can mount my Archlabs /home without issue after giving my password. But, using this Arco Openbox i install JWM. When i reboot to Arco JWM i can see the other partitions, but am unable to mount them, getting a "permission denied" error. I assume both DEs use the same fstab since they are both on the same Arco distro?

The above is my current situation, but in the past i have had the same issue with several distros and desktops. The DE i first install mounts other partitions. But whatever DE/WM i install afterward doesn't have the correct permissions to do so.

Please can anyone tell me how to correct this issue?

Don't assume anything! Look at the /etc/fstab files for both distros, looking particularly for differences. Just because two distros belong to the same family doesn't necessarily mean they have identical policies on such matters. To be mountable by an ordinary user, a partition needs to have the "user" option set in fstab.

Probably nothing to do with fstab.
Take a look at the openbox autostart file; my guess is something is being executed that allows for user mounting peripherals - but not in JWM.

Thanks to both of you for replying!

@Hazel The issue isn't with different distros. I installed ArcoLinux Openbox. It can see and mount my other distros fine. When i install JWM in this Arco and login to it, Arco JWM doesn't have permission to mount the other partitions. I believe both desktops share the same fstab. Sorry if i was vague. It's confusing to me to even attempt explaining the problem.

@ondoho Here's my Openbox autostart file. I don't see anything that looks relevant, but i could be missing something. So far as i know, there isn't a comparable JWM autostart file. By default everything is in a .jwmrc file.

# compton
al-compositor --start &

# enable numlock, commented out for laptop users
# numlockx &

# restore wallpaper
nitrogen --restore &

# required for xfce settings to work
xfsettingsd &

# fancy window switcher
skippy-xd --config ~/.config/skippy-xd/skippy-xd.rc --start-daemon &

# start the panel
sleep 1; al-polybar-session &

# start conky
al-conky-session --autostart &

which filemanager are you using on the JWM session?
And a desktop manager (icons on the desktop)?

pcmanfm

Not sure. There is an xfce4-settings-editor i can open in terminal. Under xsettings i see as font sans 11. I tried changing this to dejavu sans 11, but it reverted back. Seems this is done via terminal command? That said, i don't know this is actually the one in use, just that it exists on my system.

^ I think you are confusing your threads.

As far as this one is concerned:
Try using thunar instead of pcmanfm.

Every distro has it's own fstab, so the partitions you want to access will either have to be listed in the distro's fstab, or you'll have to use a password to access it.

I can see my other distro's paritions, which are not listed in the fstab.

To access them they ask for a password..... It's the current user password, not su. Nor the password(s) from other distros.

To make the partitions continously useable install the partitions in your fstab.

In what follows I'll call the partition car (replace car with whatever you want).

as su

Before you do anything else, create a copy of your fstab That way if there is a mistake you can just move your original fstab back

find the relevant UUID number against the /de/sd??

Insert the UUID number under the other UUID's (some terminals allow you to copy and paste) and under the (hit the tab button) /home (mount point) on the same line as the new UUID type /car. Tab again to the next entry and replicate the rest of the line as the one's above ...... hitting tab as required..... but don't copy the swap partition's info to the line you add.

Crtl+X, to exit nano.

Nano will ask save the changes (y)
and to name the file. (just hit enter)

then you'll have to do the same thing in the other distros.

The change(s) is/are effective after you reboot.

By the way both chown and nano have man pages.

q exits the man pages.

@ondoho said ^ I think you are confusing your threads.
Hmmm, so i am. Oops. Arco JWM renders the font in question nicely, but i can't see my Archlabs /home. Archlabs JWM, of course, sees its /home, but has ugly font. Either or both solution will get me the JWM i want.

OK, this thread. Wasn't a big fan of Thunar back in the day, but...

That's just it. I get neither here. I get a "Permission Denied" popup with no option to enter a password. I'll try your suggestion, thanks.

@quickbreakfast It works! At least in the particular case i described. Thanks so much! I've been struggling with this problem for literally years, interspersed by long periods of giving up.

Not sure about your mounting issue, but generally speaking, it is good to use the right permission model, the right permissions and manually set UID and GID when sharing a /home partition.

Access is granted based on UID, not username. There are various ways to do this, personally I use both UID and GID for a complex /home environment that protects and shares private files between distroes and backup disks.

My personal advise is to come up with some UID and GID scheme with numbers that actually have some meaning to you, so it's easier to deal with across the board and to remember, and to "always" keep them the same.