new Mepis utility suggestion
Posts: 89
After looking over the "New User" forum over at Mepis Lovers, it occurred to me that there's nearly always a thread going there about auto mounting partitions. Having been a previous Windows user, I'm not surprised, as they are used to having all of their partitions mounted on boot.
Of course, the usual reply is to edit fstab, which we all know can get the job done, but I think it's a little advanced for new users, and there's a lot of potential to mess up their new Mepis install completely without knowing why.
I thought that this might make another great little Mepis Utility or even something that could be added to the install process. Just something simple that lets people quickly (and safely) set drive options like auto mounting partitions.
We'd probably still get the questions, but at least we'd have something simple and easy to point them to.
Just an idea...
kumar
I'm going to agree
Posts: 1109
I'm going to agree with the Original Poster.
An easy way to have partitions automatically mounted would be a good idea.
I just finished talking someone through editing /etc/fstab this morning (after a phone call when they saw my post explaining it), so that his ntfs partition would be auto mounted (since the default is noauto).
To a Linux newbie that is uncomfortable with command line, much less editing /etc/fstab, it makes Linux seem much more difficult than it needs to be.
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1004&message=24560345
Jim C.
I understand all of what you
Posts: 89
Jimmy,
I understand all of what you said, but I think you're perhaps missing the point.
I was commenting on the fact that, judging from "new user" forum posts, the current methods are not easy or convenient enough.
I've been using Mepis for nearly a year and I've never heard of KDE-Guidence. I've also never seen it mentioned as a response to these questions in the forums. Also, from looking at the description of the app, it does some of the same things Mepis Utilities do as well. I'm going to trust Warren's choice not to install it by default, since I figure he wouldn't have gone to the effort if he thought current tools were easy enough or worked well enough.
I also understand that some people think automounting partitions may not be the best idea (though I've never heard a really good reason why not if it's a partion you use every day anyway), the fact of the matter is people keep asking for it. Besides it is a bit of a pain to have to keep mounting a partition each time you start up Mepis.
I'm not saying have it automatically mount all partitions, but just provide an easyier way for users to turn automounting on or off for any given partition.
I just think Mepis could make this task easier, just like it does so many other tasks. Ease of use is one of the biggest reasons to use Mepis in the first place.
kumar
I checked out the
Posts: 2299
I checked out the kde-guidance tool as proposed by jimmy, and it is exactly what you are looking for. Good catch, jimmy!
Newbies could be advised to install that package and work from there. Or it could be included, but considering the lack of space on the live CD, that will hardly be feasible....
Newbie or not Newbie, there's always a question
I looked at the kde-guidance
Posts: 89
I looked at the kde-guidance tool too. Yes, the Disk & Filesystems tool could get the job done. I'm a little worried that all it's options could be confusing or get someone into trouble.
To me the bigger problem, however, is that it also installs a "User and Groups" module, a "Display" module, and a "System Services" module, none of which worked on my 6.5 install. Do they work for anyone else? This could end up causing more questions than it solves. I'm also worried that these could mess up Mepis in some other way.
kumar
Very Interesting
Posts: 5513
Very interesting find Jerry!
I just loaded it on one of my test systems to see what's what. The entire package is a python application, so synaptic will load verious python 2.4 libraries if they are not currently on your system. The actual tool that allows looking at, or modifying, the partition info is called mountconfig. If you Choose to run it with alt+f2, you should enter "kdesu mountconfig" since you have to be root to make any changes. The kdesu command prompts you for root's password before continuing.
I don't know that there's much danger in having the other tools enabled kumar, other than there could be confusion in "which tool do I use?". But the only other minor quibble that I have with kde-guidance is that it doesn't appear to put its (sub-)applications into the KDE menu 
Jon
The ability to comfortably use a computer is directly proportional to desire to listen, learn, and experiment, and is inversely proportional to the fear, anger, and stubbornness that you show.
I looked at the kde-guidance
Posts: 516
Because Mepis is using a Dynamic fstab any changes you make will be removed after you reboot, so you need to cut and paste that line above the Dynamic entries.
To Jon, I'm not "Jerry", but take a look in "kcontrol", "System Administration", "Disk & Filesystems".
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Registered Linux User #380263
You're right Kumar....
Posts: 690
I looked at the kde-guidance tool too. Yes, the Disk & Filesystems tool could get the job done. I'm a little worried that all it's options could be confusing or get someone into trouble.To me the bigger problem, however, is that it also installs a "User and Groups" module, a "Display" module, and a "System Services" module, none of which worked on my 6.5 install. Do they work for anyone else? This could end up causing more questions than it solves. I'm also worried that these could mess up Mepis in some other way.
kumar
You're right on both accounts.
Those modules are 'name-listed' in Kcontrol, but some don't work at all. User & Groups and Display don't work in 7.0 beta2 64bit either.
The idea of having a proper Mepis tool like 'kdesu mountconfig' is nevertheless appealing.
And you're right here too.....kde-guidance (with its modules) could probably ruin a good installation. And cause more problems than it solves. I won't use it anymore and I'll remove it.
Maybe it's like Warren once wrote to me: "Python happens"......
Regards, Ko
Ko Bros
Storage Media applet
Posts: 80
Try adding the Storage Media applet to KDE Kicker panel. This is so useful for accessing drives with a single click that I wonder why it is not added in by default. This is the first applet I add when I install SM to hard disk.
When I plug in a USB memory or insert a CD, I prefer seeing the icon popup in the Kicker panel rather than on the desktop (which would be covered by application windows). I can also see if the USB memory is unmounted in a single glance before removing it.
Enjoy .. arbus
Ive added "link to device"
Posts: 171
Ive added "link to device" icons on my desktop for all my hard drive partitions that mount the partition and open in a window.
If you know the partition you want to link to, simply right click the desktop and select from the menu create new\link to device\hard disc device then click the device tab and enter the device you want to mount in the device: box like for example hda3
I have a lot of partitions and I do have quite a lot of these device icons on my desktop and i must admit it would be handy if there was something like a single "My Computer" icon that when opened, showed a list of disk devices like Windows and PCLOS linux does. It makes it more friendly to new users and keeps the desktop tidy.
User #386576 with the Linux Counter, http://counter.li.org
right click panel > add
Posts: 2299
right click panel > add applet > system menu
or:
right click desktop > new link to URL > Name: My PC - Location: system:/
Newbie or not Newbie, there's always a question
Thanks a lot carlops thats
Posts: 171
Thanks a lot carlops thats exactly what i needed. Mepis should do this as default, its little things like this that make new users feel more comfortable, especially those windows users giving linux a try for the first time. Its the first impressions that are important.
User #386576 with the Linux Counter, http://counter.li.org
Good feedback, thanks
Posts: 305
OK Carlops, that does it: I am going to add it as a Quick Fix!
Plus the icon is not ugly...
auto mounting partitions
Posts: 516
KDE has a great tool for working with drives, you need to install it using Synaptic, it's called "kde-guidance".
I don't think it's a good idea to have all drives auto mounted, Mepis shows all drives and with a click of your mouse, you can mount your drives using "KwikDisk" or configure your desktop to show your drives then all you need to do is click on them, that should be easy enough for anybody.
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Registered Linux User #380263