question about the linux file system and multiple hard drives...

[mattn]

so ive been reading about how great linux is since one of its many qualities is that it does not use drive letters. So where are the files stored if you have 2 hard drives in a computer? lets say i have a 20gb hard drive as /dev/hda and a 10gb hard drive as /dev/hdb. How is the space distributed or whatever? What happens if i put a file in /home/user.. where is its physical location? I really have no clue about this whole thing, so if somebody could enlighten me that would be great. this whole thing came up when i was explaining this 'neat' thing about linux to my friend the other night :)

[Choozo]

Just have a peek into your /etc/fstab file, and you will see where every partition is mounted.

Cheers :)

[teeitup]

Good information right here at linuxnewbie.org.
http://www.linuxnewbie.org/nhf/intel/filesys/filesysintro.html

Good Luck,

[slowlearner]

Originally posted by mattn:
<STRONG> lets say i have a 20gb hard drive as /dev/hda and a 10gb hard drive as /dev/hdb. How is the space distributed or whatever? What happens if i put a file in /home/user.. where is its physical location? I really have no clue about this whole thing, so if somebody could enlighten me that would be great. this whole thing came up when i was explaining this 'neat' thing about linux to my friend the other night :)</STRONG>
You're the one that decides where your files and partitions go. (you can do that in Windows, too). When you install linux, you decide which hard drive you want which partitions on. For example, you could put your / mount point on /dev/hda5 and your /usr mount point on /dev/hda7 or wherever. The only restriction, I believe, is that partitions (whether they're Linux or Windows) can't span two hard drives.

[Choozo]

Originally posted by slowlearner:
<STRONG>[QUOTE]Originally posted by mattn:
The only restriction, I believe, is that partitions (whether they're Linux or Windows) can't span two hard drives.</STRONG>

Well, if you set up a RAID system, you can ....

[mattn]

thanks for all the help :)