Linux fstab file

[Dave Sherer]

I have tried to create a mount point in which i can view the files on my Secondary Hard Drive Master. I made the mistake at trying to guess the fs type bad bad bad... anyways now my linux does not boot up but it does give me the option to enter root password and then i can edit my fstab file. Here is my problem. The only Editor I can use is VI and I don't know how to save and exit after I delete the line I need to in the fstab file. So can anyone
a) tell me how to correctly delete the line in VI
b) Save the file after i delete the line in VI
c) by chance know the correct file type for WIN95

I would not ask all these question but I had put my books in storage and do not have any resources on hand.
TIA

[JohnDoez]

The file fstab contains descriptive information about the various file systems. SPAMfstab is only read by programs, and not written;
Each filesystem is described on a separate line; fields on each line areseparated by tabs or spaces. SPAMThe order of records in fstab is important because fsck(8), mount(8), and umount(8) sequentially iterate through fstab doing their thing.

The first field, (fs_spec), describes the block special device or remote filesystem to be mounted. SPAM SPAM SPAMFor filesystems of type ufs, the special file
SPAM SPAM name is the block special file name, and not the character special file name. SPAMIf a program needs the character special file name, the program must create it by appending a ``r'' after the last ``/'' in the special file name.

The second field, (fs_file), describes the mount point for the filesysSPAM tem. SPAMFor swap partitions, this field should be specified as ``none''.

The third field, (fs_vfstype), describes the type of the filesystem. SPAMThe system can support various filesystem types. SPAMOnly the root, /usr, and
SPAM SPAM /tmp filesystems need be statically compiled into the kernel; everything
SPAM SPAM else will be automatically loaded at mount time. SPAM(Exception: the UFS
SPAM SPAM family - FFS, MFS, and LFS cannot currently be demand-loaded.) SPAMSome peoSPAMple still prefer to statically compile other filesystems as well.

SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM ufs SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM a local UNIX filesystem

SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM mfs SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM a local memory-based UNIX filesystem

SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM nfs SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM a Sun Microsystems compatible ``Network File System''

SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM swap SPAM SPAMa disk partition to be used for swapping

SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM msdos SPAM a DOS compatible filesystem

SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM cd9660 SPAMa CD-ROM filesystem (as per ISO 9660)

SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM procfs SPAMa file system for accessing process data

SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM kernfs SPAMa file system for accessing kernel parameter

SPAM SPAM The fourth field, (fs_mntops), describes the mount options associated
SPAM SPAM with the filesystem. SPAMIt is formatted as a comma separated list of
SPAM SPAM options. SPAMIt contains at least the type of mount (see fs_type below) plus
SPAM SPAM any additional options appropriate to the filesystem type. SPAMSee the
SPAM SPAM options flag (-o) in the mount(8) page and the filesystem specific page,
SPAM SPAM such as mount_nfs(8), for additional options that may be specified.

SPAM SPAM If the options ``userquota'' and/or ``groupquota'' are specified, the
SPAM SPAM filesystem is automatically processed by the quotacheck(8) command, and
SPAM SPAM user and/or group disk quotas are enabled with quotaon(8). SPAMBy default,
SPAM SPAM filesystem quotas are maintained in files named quota.user and
SPAM SPAM quota.group which are located at the root of the associated filesystem.
SPAM SPAM These defaults may be overridden by putting an equal sign and an alternaSPAM
SPAM SPAM tive absolute pathname following the quota option. SPAMThus, if the user
SPAM SPAM quota file for /tmp is stored in /var/quotas/tmp.user, this location can
SPAM SPAM be specified as:

SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM userquota=/var/quotas/tmp.user

SPAM SPAM If the option ``noauto'' is specified, the filesystem will not be autoSPAM
SPAM SPAM matically mounted at system startup.

SPAM SPAM The type of the mount is extracted from the fs_mntops field and stored
SPAM SPAM separately in the fs_type field (it is not deleted from the fs_mntops
SPAM SPAM field). SPAMIf fs_type is ``rw'' or ``ro'' then the filesystem whose name is
SPAM SPAM given in the fs_file field is normally mounted read-write or read-only on
SPAM SPAM the specified special file. SPAMIf fs_type is ``sw'' then the special file
SPAM SPAM is made available as a piece of swap space by the swapon(8) command at
SPAM SPAM the end of the system reboot procedure. SPAMThe fields other than fs_spec
SPAM SPAM and fs_type are unused. SPAMIf fs_type is specified as ``xx'' the entry is ignored. SPAMThis is useful to show disk partitions which are currently unused.

SPAM SPAM The fifth field, (fs_freq), is used for these filesystems by the dump(8)
SPAM SPAM command to determine which filesystems need to be dumped. SPAM SPAM SPAMIf the fifth
SPAM SPAM field is not present, a value of zero is returned and dump will assume
SPAM SPAM that the filesystem does not need to be dumped.

SPAM SPAM The sixth field, (fs_passno), is used by the fsck(8) program to determine
SPAM SPAM the order in which filesystem checks are done at reboot time. SPAMThe root
SPAM SPAM filesystem should be specified with a fs_passno of 1, and other filesysSPAM
SPAM SPAM tems should have a fs_passno of 2. SPAMFilesystems within a drive will be
SPAM SPAM checked sequentially, but filesystems on different drives will be checked
SPAM SPAM at the same time to utilize parallelism available in the hardware. SPAMIf
SPAM SPAM the sixth field is not present or is zero, a value of zero is returned
SPAM SPAM and fsck(8) will assume that the filesystem does not need to be checked.

SPAM SPAM #define FSTAB_RW SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM "rw" SPAM SPAM/* read/write device */
SPAM SPAM #define FSTAB_RQ SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM "rq" SPAM SPAM/* read/write with quotas */
SPAM SPAM #define FSTAB_RO SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM "ro" SPAM SPAM/* read-only device */
SPAM SPAM #define FSTAB_SW SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM "sw" SPAM SPAM/* swap device */
SPAM SPAM #define FSTAB_XX SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM "xx" SPAM SPAM/* ignore totally */

SPAM SPAM struct fstab {
SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM char SPAM SPAM*fs_spec; SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM /* block special device name */
SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM char SPAM SPAM*fs_file; SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM /* filesystem path prefix */
SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM char SPAM SPAM*fs_vfstype; SPAM SPAM/* File system type, ufs, nfs */
SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM char SPAM SPAM*fs_mntops; SPAM SPAM /* Mount options ala -o */
SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM char SPAM SPAM*fs_type; SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM /* FSTAB_* from fs_mntops */
SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM int SPAM SPAM fs_freq; SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM /* dump frequency, in days */
SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM int SPAM SPAM fs_passno; SPAM SPAM SPAM/* pass number on parallel fsck */
SPAM SPAM };

SPAM SPAM The proper way to read records from fstab is to use the routines
SPAM SPAM getfsent(3), getfsspec(3), getfstype(3), and getfsfile(3).

FILES
SPAM SPAM /etc/fstab SPAMThe file fstab resides in /etc.

[Dave Sherer]

Thanks John
SPAM SPAMI had actually found My answer last night it was just late iand I did not post my results. After reading your post I realized I had actually stated my question wrong. What I was trying to do is give me a mount point to view my win95 files and I wanted to put that in the /etc/fstab
I have done this now and everything is ok.

Agian Thanks
Dave Sherer