Using Removable Media on Linux Systems

The file manager supports all removable media that have the following characteristics:

• The removable media has an entry in the /etc/fstab file. The /etc/fstab file describes the file systems that the computer uses.

• The user option is specified in the entry for the removable media in the /etc/fstab file.

• A hotplug daemon detects and auto mounts USB mass storage devices such as cameras, sticks, and flash memory readers inside the /mnt or /media locations.

The file manager supports the following removable media:

• Floppy diskette

• CD-ROM

• Digital Video Disc (DVD)

• USB devices

When the file manager detects a new media, an object for the media is added to the desktop. You can display the contents of the media in a file manager window. You can drag-and-drop files and folders between removable media. You cannot format media that is read-only, such as CD-ROM.

To Access Media on Linux Systems

When you access media, the file system of the media is attached as a subdirectory to your file system. An object that represents the removable media device is present on the desktop background. Systems that have removable media devices installed always display the relevant object on the desktop, regardless of whether any media is detected in the device.

To access media, perform the following steps:

1. Insert the media into the appropriate device.

2. Double-click on the device object in the desktop background to access the media.

Alternatively, perform the following steps:

1. Double-click on the This Computer object.

2. Double-click on the device containing the media from the This Computer window.

Hotplug automatically configures USB removable storage devices when you connect them to your computer. An object that represents the device is added to the desktop background and inside This Computer. You can double-click these objects to access the USB removable storage devices.

You cannot change the name of a removable media object.

To Display Media Contents on Linux Systems

You can display media contents in any of the following ways:

• Double-click on the object that represents the media on the desktop background.

• Right-click on the object that represents the media on the desktop background, then choose Open.

A file manager window displays the contents of the media. To reload the display, click on the Reload button.

To Display Media Properties on Linux Systems

To display the properties of removable media, right-click on the object that represents the media on the desktop background, then choose Properties. A dialog displays the basic properties of the media.

To close the properties dialog, click Close.

The following table describes the Basic elements on the Media Properties dialog:

Select the Emblems tab to assign an emblem to the media icon.

To view permissions information on the media, select the Permissions tab. The following table describes the Permissions elements on the Media Properties dialog:

Select the Notes tab to assign a note to the media icon.

Click Close to close the Media Properties dialog.

To Format a Floppy Diskette on Linux Systems

To format media is to prepare the media for use with a particular file system. You can use the Floppy Formatter utility to format floppy diskettes.

When you format media, you overwrite any existing information on the media.

To format a floppy diskette, perform the following steps:

1. Insert the diskette in the diskette drive.

2. To access the Floppy Formatter utility, click Launch, then choose Applications -> Utilities-> Floppy Formatter. A Floppy Formatter dialog is displayed.

3. Select your format options in the Floppy Formatter dialog. The following table describes the elements on the dialog:

   Dialog Element	Description
   Floppy device	Displays the name of the floppy device.
   Floppy density	Use the drop-down list to select the density of the diskette. The density is the amount of data that the diskette can store.
   File system type	Use the drop-down list to select the type of file system in which you want to format the diskette. Select one of the following options:  Linux Native (ext 2): Select this option to format a diskette for use on Linux systems. Most non-Linux systems cannot read diskettes with this file system type. DOS (FAT): Select this option to format a diskette for use on Windows systems. Most UNIX-based systems can read diskettes with this file system type.
   Volume name	Type the name of the diskette in this text box.
   Quick	Select this option to create only the file system on the diskette. A quick format does not check for bad blocks.   Select this option if the diskette has been formatted before.
   Standard	Select this option to create the file system on the diskette and format the diskette. A standard format does not check for bad blocks.   Select this option if the diskette has not been formatted before.
   Thorough	Select this option to create the file system on the diskette, check for bad blocks, and format the diskette.  Select this option if you want to verify that the diskette has not been damaged.

4. Click Format to format the diskette.

To Eject Media on Linux Systems

To eject CD-ROMs and DVDs, right-click on the media object, then choose Eject.

To remove a floppy diskette from the drive, wait until the data is written, then eject the media manually from the drive.

To disconnect USB devices, right-click on the media object, then choose Prepare for Removal to sync the data to the device. This ensures that all data on the media is synchronized and no data is lost. You can now disconnect the USB device from your computer.