Is it possible to change the mount points without formatting the drive or reinstalling the OS?

[steven vollom]

On Sunday 07 June 2009 03:18:42 pm David McGlone wrote:
> On Sunday 07 June 2009 11:43:20 am steven vollom wrote:
> > On Sunday 07 June 2009 08:52:16 am you wrote:
> > (Trim)
> >
> > > Steven, I was going to edit your fstab file so you can see how it's
> > > done by example. I will post mine at the bottom of this e-mail, so you
> > > can use it as an example, but if you would post yours, I could show you
> > > how to tailor it for your specific setup, so you can learn.
> >
> > (Trim)
> >
> > # /etc/fstab: static file system information.
> > #
> > # Use 'vol_id --uuid' to print the universally unique identifier for a
> > # device; this may be used with UUID= as a more robust way to name
> > devices # that works even if disks are added and removed. See fstab(5).
> > #
> > # <file system> <mount point>   <type>  <options>       <dump>  <pass>
> > proc            /proc           proc    defaults        0       0
> > # / was on /dev/sda1 during installation
> > UUID=6747e921-8b72-4f24-b6a8-c86c919d869a /               ext3
> > relatime,errors=remount-ro 0       1
> > # swap was on /dev/sda3 during installation
> > UUID=cc9ed070-52d6-41df-81f4-985108e1436d none            swap    sw
> > 0       0
> > /dev/scd0       /media/cdrom0   udf,iso9660 user,noauto,exec,utf8 0      
> > 0 /dev/fd0        /media/floppy0  auto    rw,user,noauto,exec,utf8 0     
> >  0
>
> Here is my fstab:
>
> david at buddy:~$ cat /etc/fstab
> # /etc/fstab: static file system information.
> #
> # Use 'vol_id --uuid' to print the universally unique identifier for a
> # device; this may be used with UUID= as a more robust way to name devices
> # that works even if disks are added and removed. See fstab(5).
> #
> # <file system> <mount point>   <type>  <options>       <dump>  <pass>
> proc            /proc           proc    defaults        0       0
> # / was on /dev/sda1 during installation
> UUID=0fa7d0d9-9a63-4f29-929f-1d10cc8fc48c /               ext3
> relatime,errors=remount-ro 0       1
> # /d was on /dev/sda5 during installation
> UUID=8812-A612  /media/d              vfat    utf8,auto,user 0       1
> # /develop was on /dev/sda6 during installation
> UUID=8255-7C40  /media/develop        vfat    utf8,auto,user 0       1
> # /home was on /dev/sda3 during installation
> UUID=a37d4458-483d-46ee-a4e1-ec5d6a270d60 /home           ext3    relatime
> 0       2
> # swap was on /dev/sda2 during installation
> UUID=97a2c1b2-8108-4a71-bacf-20ca1d2d1de4 none            swap    sw
> 0       0
> /dev/scd0       /media/cdrom0   udf,iso9660 user,noauto,exec,utf8 0       0
>
>
> I only have 2 extra partitions that are separate from /home and /, I named
> them "d" and "develop.
>
> If I ever wanted to change my mount point for these partitions, say to
> /home/d and /home/develop then first I would make 2 directories in my home
> directory named "d" and "develop"
>
> Then I would unmount the partitions I am going to move with this command:
>
> sudo umount /media/d
> sudo umount /media/develop
>
> Then I would open my fstab file as root in kate or any text editor of your
> choice and I would change these two lines:
>
> # /d was on /dev/sda5 during installation
> UUID=8812-A612  /media/d              vfat    utf8,auto,user 0       1
> # /develop was on /dev/sda6 during installation
> UUID=8255-7C40  /media/develop        vfat    utf8,auto,user 0       1
>
> To read this:
>
> # /d was on /dev/sda5 during installation
> UUID=8812-A612  /home/david/d              vfat    utf8,auto,user 0       1
> # /develop was on /dev/sda6 during installation
> UUID=8255-7C40  /home/david/develop        vfat    utf8,auto,user 0       1
>
> Finally re-mount your partitions using this command:
>
> assuming you open a console that is already in your home directory:
>
> sudo mount d
> sudo mount develop
>
> Thats it.
>
> There is a shortcut to mount everything with 1 command, but I think your
> better off breaking it down, to better understand before you start using
> shortcuts.
>
> Hope this better helps you understand the basics of fstab. Keep in mind I
> tailored these entries to suit me, Other than the paths to the mount
> points, the "auto" and "user" options are my choice and not the system.
> Your's will probably read UID=47, GID=1000 or something similar. I
> recommend you keep those settings because what I have. I don't think it is
> very safe for a beginner.
>
> --
> Blessings,
> David M.
> http://www.dmcentral.net
Thanks for the explanation, I will have to meditate on what you have said.  It 
is a bit past my current understanding, but gives me a starting point to figure 
things out.  Thanks for taking the time.

Blessings,
Steven