Get to the root of Ubuntu

You’re probably familiar with the way that the forward slash is used in website addresses. That is no coincidence, since the web started life as a network based on an operating system called Unix, upon which the open source operating system called Linux was based.

What is mounting?
In Linux, a disk or storage device has to be mounted before it can be used. A mounted disk appears as a sub-folder in the file system and on the desktop. Ubuntu will often automatically mount removable disks.

You can also mount disks by double-clicking the icon for that disk in the Computer folder. A mounted disk may appear in more than one place, such as at the top level as well as in the folder/media.

Before removing an attached drive, it is important to right-click its icon and choose Eject or Unmount before physically detaching it, as otherwise the files on it may be corrupted or not saved.

In Linux, any file can be hidden by the simple method of prefixing its name with a dot. For example, a user’s Home folder in Ubuntu has a hidden folder called .Trash, which is used for deleted items.

Linux is capable of showing the same folder or file in more than one location. This sounds confusing, but can be very handy. These references are called symbolic links. Symbolic links are similar in some ways to shortcuts in Windows, but they are more useful, because you can treat the link as if it really is the file or folder it points to.

Ubuntu’s file manager Nautilus indicates symbolic links with a small arrow next to the icon in the file browser. You can create symbolic links by right-clicking an icon and selecting Make link.