Questions dealing with Ubuntu's layout of files, permissions, and files that reside in special locations on disk.
9
votes
1answer
251 views
Where are decrypted files stored during runtime?
I wonder where does Ubuntu/eCryptfs store decrypted files from encrypted $HOME directory during runtime.
Does it decrypt files just-in-time and store them only in RAM?
What about large files (e.g. ...
9
votes
1answer
2k views
How to sync Google Docs with a folder in my filesystem?
I'd like to be able to edit my files offline and it would automatically send the changes to Google Docs and vice versa. Is that even possible? If so, how to do it?
9
votes
1answer
613 views
How can I become the owner of a file that origins from another pc / user?
I have a file from another pc with ubuntu, the owner of the file is my user account from this pc. How do I change the owner to my useraccount on another pc so that I can use it?
When i try to change ...
9
votes
4answers
599 views
Why does the mount point keeps changing, and how can I prevent it?
When I plug in an external USB drive, it automatically mounts and it's accesible in /media/disk/
However after a while, this is how my /media directory looks like:
cesar@minas-tirith:~$ ls /media/
...
9
votes
3answers
1k views
Has anyone managed to configure Nautilus to show EXIF data?
I followed instructions on the Ubuntu Forums to configure Nautilus to display additional information about image files - specifically, the EXIF data:
[SOLVED] Adding mp3 info columns (e.g. bitrate, ...
9
votes
0answers
1k views
How do I disable the Home encryption offered during install? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How to stop using built-in home directory encryption?
During install I ticked the box to enable encryption for my Home directory. I'm concerned that it is effecting ...
8
votes
6answers
3k views
How to make and restore incremental snapshots of hard disk
I use Virtual Box a lot for distro / applications testing purposes.
One of the features I simply love about it is virtual machines snapshots, its saves a state of a virtual machine and is able to ...
8
votes
4answers
357 views
What is the significance of the asterisk in the file listing results?
I have noticed that some of my files have an asterisk at end.
Does the asterisk at the end have any particular significance? I think they are mostly executable and displayed in green by the ls ...
8
votes
3answers
8k views
Convert filesystem NTFS -> EXT4?
I have 2 TB of data on an NTFS drive which I would like to convert to EXT4 filesystem. My OS runs on a (comparatively) small 60GB SSD. Is there any way to convert the filesystem, apart from backing ...
8
votes
3answers
18k views
Force fsck.ext4 on reboot, but really “forceful”
One of my Ubuntu 10.04 servers is giving me trouble.
When I run fsck.ext4 -n /dev/sda5 it tells me there are errors in the free inode count, free block count, and more.
I have tried:
touch ...
8
votes
2answers
856 views
How to open Nautilus at current command line directory?
I was wondering if anybody knew a command that would allow me to open a Nautilus (if that's the right name for the Ubuntu 12.04 graphic/window explorer) window from the command line at the current ...
8
votes
3answers
2k views
How to associate file extension (not file type) for a particular application?
I use taskcoach to create a list of my tasks.
The data I entered was saved, say, in tasks.tsk on my Desktop. Internally, this is an XML file of specific structure.
Now whenever I open it, it opens ...
8
votes
3answers
5k views
Use of /opt and /usr/local directories in the context of a PC
What is the difference between /opt and /usr/local directories and what kind of programs should be installed to them?
I referred to Linux File-system Hierarchy but the explanation is not that clear.
...
8
votes
3answers
10k views
Can't set permissions for files on an NTFS partition
I remember that I was able to run a Linux .exe that was placed on an NTFS partition earlier before I installed 10.10 RC. But if I try to run it now, I can't run it as it hasn't the execution ...
8
votes
2answers
861 views
Are “file Notes” exclusive to Nautilus; is there a Terminal CLI?
Until today, I've avoided using the file Notes feature in Nautilus (Properties), because of portability problems. ...but they are just so tantalizingly handy! ...Adding notes to a like-named text file ...
8
votes
3answers
15k views
Read Only usb stick that won't let me do anything to it
Somehow I messed up and accidentally made my usb stick into a read only file system. I have tried a bunch of things to delete the files, including the basic (rm -f myfile) and attempting to allow ...
8
votes
2answers
476 views
How can I find out which user deleted a directory?
My Ubuntu server has about roughly 30 active users on it. I personally know everyone using the server. Recently, a few friends and I were working on project. We made a new directory for the project ...
8
votes
2answers
731 views
'unreachable' home folder
Occasionally, when I log into my Ubuntu server, the prompt says jon@jon-server:(unreachable)/$. Running pwd at this point returns (unreachable)/, however echo $HOME returns /home/jon as expected. If ...
8
votes
3answers
340 views
df shows all space taken, but du doesn't add up
I'm having a problem with Ubuntu 12.04 LTS. This is the second time I've encountered this problem in the last 3 weeks.
The first time is described in this closed question on StackOverflow.
The TL;DR ...
8
votes
3answers
827 views
What is the gbas.so file on my home directory?
I delete the gbas.so file from my home directory but it keeps coming back. Where does it come from?
7
votes
4answers
6k views
Delete empty “lost+found” folder automatically if it's empty
Every certain amount of time, Ubuntu checks my filesystems and it creates several empty "lost+found" folders.
Can I disable this feature? Is there any way that Ubuntu deletes automatically these ...
7
votes
6answers
1k views
How to determine where biggest files/directories on my system are stored?
I was wondering how do you know where the largest files in my system are stored.
For example---
Disk Space Used: 1GB
Java: 500MB
Java Percentage: 50% maybe represented in a pie chart. Maybe?
I know ...
7
votes
4answers
5k views
How to create a bookmark under “computer” in the Sidebar of the nautilus file manager in 12.04?
Somehow, I removed the Downloads bookmark in the Sidebar under "Computer". Is there any way I can make a new one? Possibly with the same icon? I still have my Downloads directory. I just don't have ...
7
votes
2answers
647 views
How to mount an internal HDD on start-up?
I have a 500GB internal HDD where I store all my music and photos but it is annoying to manually mount it after a restart and I was wondering how to mount it automatically and make it available to ...
7
votes
2answers
487 views
Can't get rid of fake floppy drive
In my system it says I have "floppy0" mounted and I can't get rid of it.
It isn't a real drive of any sort, since my computer doesn't even have a disk drive, when I click on it it says "unable to ...
7
votes
1answer
4k views
What is /usr/lib/i386-linux-gnu/ for?
I'm using an application that, when searching for installed dependencies, looks up some .so files in /usr/lib and /usr/local/lib/.
Now I migrated on Natty and some files seem to be moved from ...
7
votes
5answers
2k views
Using a folder on an ntfs partition as /home
I use wubi to install Ubuntu 10.10 on my ntfs partition. So I want to change the home folder to a folder on the ntfs partition. I could keep the personal configuration, software and so on after ...
7
votes
4answers
2k views
Mounting NTFS as read-only
My PC have 3 NTFS partitions (main and backups) plus Ubuntu on dual boot. I want to keep NTFS partitions available, but mounted as read-only by default, so that other users (and accidentally even me) ...
7
votes
1answer
1k views
How can I convert an ext4 partition to btrfs (or other file systems) without losing data?
I wish to convert my current /home partition to BTRFS (or other file systems) without losing data if possible, what steps should I take for this? is it safe?
7
votes
3answers
9k views
Solving permission problems when using external EXT4 hard disk with multiple linux installs
Hello I have a external hard drive and since I only use Ubuntu and Fedora I decide to format my hard drive to ext4 everything is fine.
The problem is when i mount the drive i need to change the ...
7
votes
1answer
1k views
What is stored in the “/var/lib/dpkg/updates” folder?
I've seen some folks have errors relating to files in /var/lib/dpkg/updates. All I can find about the directory is that the files in it are numbered 0000, 0001 etc. and that the error messages often ...
7
votes
3answers
1k views
using locate on an encrypted partition
I selected /home/ to be encrypted when I was installing Ubuntu. Now, is it possible to make locate work with an encrypted partition like this?
7
votes
2answers
775 views
Is the copy speed from ext4 to NTFS the same as from NTFS to NTFS?
I've created a file sharing server with Ubuntu server and samba, the drive for sharing is on ext4, but all the users are on windows 7/XP
Would the copy speed be faster if the drive would be on NTFS?
7
votes
2answers
417 views
Are pre-existing files in a mountpoint directory safe and uneffected?
I've noticed that pre-existing files in a "mountpoint" directory disappear when the mount command is applied... and then they re-appear when the directory is unmounted.
Are these files just on ...
7
votes
1answer
1k views
What's the best filesystem to share between OS X and Ubuntu?
Got a MacBook Air 3,1 11" w/ 128GB SSD. Configuring for dual boot. I intend to have a shared drive where I'll store my media. What filesystem is best?
They say FAT32 is best for cross-platform ...
7
votes
1answer
6k views
Too many open files - how to find the culprit
When running tail -f filename, I got the following message:
tail: inotify cannot be used, reverting to polling: Too many open files
Is that a potential problem?
How do I diagnose what's ...
7
votes
3answers
4k views
How well is the HFS+ filesystem supported?
How well does Ubuntu support HFS+ (i.e. Mac formatted) filesystems? Can it read and write to them, and are there any potential problems to watch out for?
6
votes
2answers
1k views
Why do I get more free space than ext4 after formatting in XFS?
I've bought a 1TB external hard drive and after formatting the entire drive in ext4
Nautilus says there are 934.3 GB of free space.
I've also tested formatting the drive in XFS, and in this case ...
6
votes
2answers
3k views
Why can't I copy a 5G file?
I'm trying to backup my VirtualBox, but when I try to copy the .VirtualBox directory to my external hard drive I get an "File too large" error:
[130 amanda@luna ~]$ cp -r .VirtualBox ...
6
votes
4answers
1k views
What are benefits of upgrading filesystem from ext2?
I have ext2 filesystem installed on my work machine. I talk with my friend who knows linux a lot better and he said its very old and its very weird that I use so old filesystem.
I'm now trying to get ...
6
votes
1answer
8k views
Where is the default folder for Apps?
I am relatively new to the linux world. I use OSX at home and Windows at work. In those worlds, there is a default folder for applications (C:\Program Files, /Applications). Is there any such ...
6
votes
1answer
3k views
Will 11.04 use other filesystem than ext4?
I heard something of a filesystem change. Is it gonna happen in 11.04?
6
votes
5answers
2k views
Which Large File System Format to use for USB Flash drive compatible with Ubuntu/Mac/Windows?
I've had this problem for a long time and can't find a solution. I switch between the 3 OSes all the time and use a 1TB USB Drive to do so. I can't seem to find a format that is compatible across ...
6
votes
3answers
28k views
How do I remount a filesystem as read/write?
I'm trying to mount an hfsplus filesystem in a Xubuntu 12.04 VM (kernel version 3.2.0-23-generic) but when I type mount -o remount, rw /dev/sdb3 in command line it returns not mounted or bad option. ...
6
votes
3answers
2k views
Fsck gets mad when the file system is mounted
When I run fsck -fy in a terminal it says something similar to:
WARNING!! FILE SYSTEM MOUNTED!! You will cause seviere damages.
Why is that? This might be a little off-topic but I ran that ...
6
votes
3answers
124 views
What's the difference between “cd ../” vs. “cd /..”?
What do these two commands mean?
cd ../
cd /..
I am ending up in two directories upwards the tree on the first command and in the root directory from the second command. Why does that happen?
6
votes
2answers
181 views
I can continue playing a video after I Shift-Delete it. Is the disk-space freed when I close player?
I've noticed that I can actually Shift-Delete (ie. doesn't go to Trash) a video which is currently playing, and it still keeps on playing, even though there is no named reference to it in nautilus or ...
6
votes
3answers
955 views
NTFS -> EXT4 migration, where did 120 GB go?
wim@wim-ubuntu:~/Desktop$ mount | grep media
/dev/sdc1 on /media/data type ext4 (rw,nosuid,nodev,uhelper=udisks)
/dev/sdb1 on /media/wd type fuseblk ...
6
votes
3answers
1k views
Drive reporting incorrect free space
So I swapped my shiny SATA SSD for an even shinier PCI-E SSD. I run my core OS on the SSD because it's silly-fast. I did this on my old SSD so I created a new EXT4 partition and then just dded the ...
6
votes
1answer
416 views
Is My Filesystem Corrupt or Something?
OK, so for the past 2 days my Ubuntu Install (10.10) has been acting in a very strange manner.
Just after the login process is done, and the desktop is loading everything seems to be fine, it is fast ...
