ok so i have a win XP and suse 8.2 dual boot.
now i wanted to transfer some of my windows HD space to linux...so i used partition magic to unallocate space from the XP partition and then i used suse's partitioner to allocate that space as an EXT 3 format at the mount point /usr. now i know i messed up somewhere here...'cause apparently all my executables are not working incuding the console terminal.
is there neway i can fix this?i might as well add that my X is not working either so i am using only the console now.
thanks

Sound like when you reallocated that partition to /usr you didn't move all of the files associated with it?? I'm not sure, but that would be my first guess.

"is there neway i can fix this?"

First of all quit using /usr as a mount point and comment out the /usr line in /etc/fstab.

When you designate a directory as a mount point you 'hide' all of the files on that directory. The directories and files are still in their original spot on the disk but Linux will look for them on the partition that the /usr points to.

The way to make /usr a mountpoint is this:
mkdir /newusr
mount your new partition on /newusr
cp /usr/* /newusr -R
umount /newusr
rm /usr/* -R
rmdir /usr
mv /newusr /usr
set up /usr as a mount point in /etc/fstab
boot

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Steve Stites

sorry to hack in, but my question is related to the same issue:

Lets suppose I already have a /usr partition or folder on my / directory..

Now suppose I create a new partition and mount this on an existing /usr partition...What will happen:

1. /usr files will be intact and the additional files of new partition will also become visible in that folder?

or

2. existing files in /usr folder will disappear and only the newly created partition's files will be there in the /usr folder?

or

Any third possibility?

Please clarify...Thanx

Regards,

amit

"Now suppose I create a new partition and mount this on an existing /usr partition...What will happen:"

2. is correct

"2. existing files in /usr folder will disappear and only the newly created partition's files will be there in the /usr folder?"

The files that disappear will reappear when you umount the partition.

___________________________________
Be prepared. Create a LifeBoat CD.
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Steve Stites

ok i havent really tried this yet but i had a question.....since i put the mount point as /usr and since that is where all the command line editors binaries are....could someone tell me how i will edit the file(/etc/fstab). i mean would i be able to use vi or pico or emacs?
i am sorry if this is not a question worth asking but i am just a bit anxious until i cant actually get on my machine and change things.
thanks

you could use anyone of those. I am kind of used to using vi. If you have knoppix, you could edit it with a graphical editor. Knoppix makes a really good rescue disk.

ok...i see that this thing is not mounting at /usr...infact it is not mounting at all...so can i create a new directory in "/" and then set that as the mount point
also how do i share resources between these two mount points?like how do i install some stuff on this new partition and still have all the executables in it accessible?
i would love to join up these two partitions but partition magic does not let me do that and i do not want to lose the data on my linux partition.
plz help

"since i put the mount point as /usr and since that is where all the command line editors binaries are....could someone tell me how i will edit the file(/etc/fstab)."

Maybe it would be easier for you to boot a rescue CD and rearrange your partitions from the rescue system. Which brings me to a blatent plug for LifeBoat:

http://users.rcn.com/srstites/LifeBo...home.page.html

___________________________________
Steve Stites

welll as it turns out....the the free partition is not mouning at /usr...infact it is not being mounted at all so could you tell me someplace where i could mount it?
thanks for allthe help

"could you tell me someplace where i could mount it?"

Create a new directory and mount it there:
mkdir /horses
mount /dev/hdxx /horses

"also how do i share resources between these two mount points?like how do i install some stuff on this new partition and still have all the executables in it accessible?"

First copy everything over:
cp /usr/* /horses -R

Then umount /horses:
umount /horses

Then make /usr a mount point in /etc/fstab

Then do some renames:
mv /usr /oldusr
mv /horses /usr

Then boot

If everything works OK then delete /oldusr

If everything does not work OK then boot a rescue CD and straighten the mess out.


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Steve Stites

thanks a lot for the help....but i had a question.I do not want to mount the drive on /usr...all i want to be able to do is share the disk sapce between these two partitions of the hard drive...like install somethign in the second partition which i will mount at some other place and then be able to access everythign from there like there was no second partition.
i hope you understand what i am saying...i know i can get kinda messy on my writing.
well thanx newayz
Rishabh

"all i want to be able to do is share the disk sapce between these two partitions of the hard drive"

If I understand you correctly you want Linux to treat two separate partitions as if they are one large partition. I don't think Linux can do that.

You might be able to come up with a good partition/mountpoint plan if you take the following ideas into account:

A mountpoint does not have to be on a / directory. For example you could make a mountpoint at /home/user/data or /opt/kde3.

You can find out how big a file tree is by using the du command, for example:
du -s -h /usr
du -s -h /opt/kde3
du -s -h /home/user
du -s -h /


___________________________________
Be prepared. Create a LifeBoat CD.
http://users.rcn.com/srstites/LifeBo...home.page.html

Steve Stites