Ubuntu Linux questions

[Skybird]

I still have not figured out how to bind in a second Hd and then have not just data (archives for exmaple) stored there, but stuff being installed there. Okay, the second HD is bind into the system now, but I cannot install there, only manually store data and archives there.

All input I got on that in anothe forum so far tells me that this is to so easily possible. I have a hard time to bveleive that, since it would represent a monumental disadvantage of Linux, if true.

My laptop has a small SSD where Linux was preinstalled, and a 1 TB HD that I intended to use for installing working/gaming software. So far I ave not had any need to do so and only manually moved some mp3 and photo arhcives on the second, big HD. But if I would want to install some Steam-Linux games on the second HD with its much bigger storage capacity - how to do that?

This is one of the things that has driven me crazy so far.

[Rockin Robbins]

Originally Posted by Skybird

I still have not figured out how to bind in a second Hd and then have not just data (archives for exmaple) stored there, but stuff being installed there. Okay, the second HD is bind into the system now, but I cannot install there, only manually store data and archives there.

All input I got on that in anothe forum so far tells me that this is to so easily possible. I have a hard time to bveleive that, since it would represent a monumental disadvantage of Linux, if true.

My laptop has a small SSD where Linux was preinstalled, and a 1 TB HD that I intended to use for installing working/gaming software. So far I ave not had any need to do so and only manually moved some mp3 and photo arhcives on the second, big HD. But if I would want to install some Steam-Linux games on the second HD with its much bigger storage capacity - how to do that?

This is one of the things that has driven me crazy so far.

Did they actually tell you that couldn't be done? Foolish mortals. Here's the deal. The file tree in Linux isn't a literal file tree as we think of in Windows. In fact (play the mysterious music) EVERYTHING in Linux is a file: monitors, disk drives, printers, keyboards.........yikes.

Everything Linux does is organized into a tree and each part of that tree can live wherever you wish. If you make a partition and register it as /.home it's your home directory! The easy way to do this stuff is to identify the part of the tree that needs to live on another drive.

Here is some light reading that will blow what remains of your mind after reading the above. There basically is no Linux equivalent to Windows' \program files or \program files (x86) directories. Programs hang out in /bin or /sbin or /usr/bin or usr/share or /opt or /usr/local. That's fine. But then it gets crazy. Linux programs aren't little mutually exclusive universes. They share capabilities with each other by sharing all their libraries--the equivalent of Windows' .dll files.

So when I install 7zip in Linux, its functions are picked up and used by the Archive Manager, which picks up the ability to use 7zip files! so you better include /lib, /lib32 and /lib64 in your list of directories to move to the big mondo-drive.

Okay, you know what is good to move. Here's the plan. First you copy the directory you want moved to the other drive. Then you put a symbolic link in the Linux directory tree to have it look there.

So if you're moving /somedirectory to a new drive you'd do this

mv /somedirectory /media/otherdisk/somedirectory
ln -s /mnt/otherdisk/somedirectory /somedirectory

Your path to another drive may be /mnt/<diskname> instead of /media/.. like in Ubuntu. The first line moves the directory to your other disk and path of your choosing. I'd use cp (copy) instead of mv (move) because I'm just chicken that I'd break something.... Once it works you can delete the original directory with "rm /somedirectory."

The second line says make a link (symbolic) for your other disk directory into the tree of /somedirectory. Then whenever Linux needs to reference /somedirectory it will look where it lives, thanks to the symbolic link.