Ubuntu 7.10 and drive mounting...

First, it looks like you need to use Ubuntu's funky 'sudo' root maneuver to mount the drive. I can't help you with that. I plan to keep a safe distance from all 'buntu's, because of that pesky compromise to Windows folk, at the expense of their security.

Once you get that straightened out, I can tell you that in Debian (Ubuntu is derived from Debian, so this should apply directly) the line to add to /etc/fstab is

/dev/hdc1 /media/devicename ntfs defaults 0 0

In other words, the '-3g' and the '.force' parts are unnecessary. Finally, remember to leave one blank line at the end of fstab. Because the kernel needs it, to define the end of the file, or some such. I don't really know, just leave a blank line at the end!

Ok, for some reason (meaning of of course that I am not certain what I did) my fstab file now lists the drive. But it is still unmounted. I am now being told that I don't have permissions to mount it. And the listing in the fstab file is not what Ubuntu originally told me to add ('/dev/hdc1 /media/devicename ntfs - 3g defaults.force 0 0').

Help, someone please? :)

edit to add: the drive in question has finally disappeared from the left hand pane of the file browser. :(

/var/log/syslog doesn't have a peep about the drive that's giving me fits. There are 3 archive zips (syslog.2, syslog.3, etc...). Can I open these? (Sorry if that is a dumb question.)

I'm thinking just edit the fstab to read what Ubuntu told me it needs to read. For some reason it now reads '/dev/hdc1 /media/FOXTAIL ntfs-3g defaults,locale=en_US.UTF-8 0 0'.

I'm liking this distro rather better than I like FC6. With the exception of this drive problem, everything (after the addition of some codecs which Rhythmbox immediately knew it needed) has worked out of the box. I'm going to start playing in a virtual machine soon. Have you ever used Innotek's Virtual Box? Any advice or suggestions in that regard?

edit: remove double word

"Stanza" might have been the wrong term ... I saw it recently in some documentation, and it does have an exact meaning, but I might have gotten that meaning wrong. I do that, occasionally. Just for fun.

:D

Anyway, the [b]paths[/b], and I know that's the right term, in /etc/fstab must exist. The /dev/whatever path is almost certain to exist already, but the mount point [ /media/whatever ] might not. The commands 'cd' and 'md' are as you guessed, 'change directory' & 'make directory.' But I screwed up. The Linux equivalent of the DOS 'md' is 'mkdir.' Nonetheless, that command creates a directory with the path following the command.

[i]"cd /media/FOXTAIL at the shell" - specifically what do you mean by 'at the shell'?[/i]

Now I'm worried. How are you opening /etc/fstab? If it looks like a 'command prompt' it's called a 'shell' in Linux, OK? I suspect you've been using it, just calling it 'command prompt.' Otherwise, I don't know how you're changing any confs. You've probably been using the Bourne Again Shell, BASH, but like I said, I don't know just how different the *buntu's are from Debian.

[i]lol - I was chicken to death with the first Linux attempt. Now I just want to get the dang thing running - chicken be damned (HMMM... fried before damned)![/i]

A better understanding of the shell should help you fry more and condemn fewer of the chickens you encounter henceforth. Please remove the skin, use a vegetable oil low in polyunsaturated fats, and mix metaphors courageously!

:^0

http://www.gnu.org/software/bash/manual/bashref.html#SEC1

As to how am I opening fstab: When I just look at it, I double-click the file in the file browser window. It opens in gedit. I also have a menu item in System Tools called Root Terminal but I haven't used it yet outside of checking to see if it will really let me in as root (which it appears to do).

The path and mount point are both there:
"/dev/hdc1 /media/FOXTAIL ntfs-3g defaults,locale=en_US.UTF-8 0 0"

I think that the 'locale=en_US.UTF-8 0 0' is probably the problem?

The rest of the drive paths look like this:
"/dev/hdb /media/cdrom0 udf,iso9660 user,noauto,exec 0 0
/dev/hdd /media/cdrom1 udf,iso9660 user,noauto,exec 0 0
/dev/fd0 /media/floppy0 auto rw,user,noauto,exec 0 0"

I will check out that link, and thanks for it. It's always helpful to have links from folks who know what they're doing. Spending a lot of time 'blindly searching' isn't on the agenda at the moment!

Hmmm... stanza, as in a song. Words that are sung, separated by a chorus (or not...). I think I get that, the fstab resembles that in a weird way.