what is the /etc/fstab file for? course hero

by Prof. Cullen Zulauf PhD 3 min read

The /etc/fstab file is one of the most important files in a Linux-based system, since it stores static information about filesystems, their mountpoints and mount options. In this tutorial we will learn to know its structure in details, and the syntax we can use to specify each entry in the file. In this tutorial you will learn:

Full Answer

What is/etc/fstab (fstab) and why is it important?

Filesystems, and by necessity, filesystem tables, are one of these constants. These can be a bit tricky for a lot of users, so we will look at /etc/fstab ( fstab) a little closer. What is it? Your Linux system's filesystem table, aka fstab, is a configuration table designed to ease the burden of mounting and unmounting file systems to a machine.

Where is the fstab file in Linux?

Fstab is located in the /etc/ directory and owned by the root user. So you should edit the file using sudo privilege or as the root user. Display the fstab file by running the following command to understand its structure. Fstab file consists of six columns (sections).

How do I regenerate a corrupted /etc/MTAB file?

If /etc/mtab file is corrupted or deleted by accident, you can regenerate it by using the following command. In this article we have discussed what is fstab and mtab and how it is important for the system to store and read the partition information during boot time. We also discussed what happens when there is a mistake made in the fstab file.

What is the etc fstab file used for?

What is it? Your Linux system's filesystem table, aka fstab , is a configuration table designed to ease the burden of mounting and unmounting file systems to a machine. It is a set of rules used to control how different filesystems are treated each time they are introduced to a system.

Where is my etc fstab?

fstab file is stored under the /etc directory. /etc/fstab file is a simple column based configuration file where configurations are stored as column based. We can open fstab with the text editors like nano , vim , Gnome Text Editor , Kwrite etc.

How do you write in etc fstab?

To edit the fstab file, launch your text editor of choice with sudo. To write a comment, use “#” at the start. Note that some entries may use the device UUID instead of a device name. To get the UUID of a device, use blkid.

What are the fields of the ETC fstab file?

Each entry line in the fstab file contains six fields, each one of them describes a specific information about a filesystem.First field – The block device. ... Second field – The mountpoint. ... Third field – The filesystem type. ... Fourth field – Mount options. ... Fifth field – Should the filesystem be dumped ? ... Sixth field – Fsck order.

How do I make a fstab file?

Recreating /etc/fstab file via Ubuntu live disk Run sudo blkid command and note the installed Ubuntu partition's device id and the UUID. Now go into the /media/ubuntu via nautilus and create a fstab file inside /etc . On that fstab file, add an entry for your root partition like below. Save that file.

How do I create an fstab entry?

3 AnswersInstall libblkid1 to see device specific information: sudo apt-get install libblkid1.Enter sudo blkid and look for the stick. ... Then we create the fstab entry: sudo gedit /etc/fstab and append the line UUID=31f39d50-16fa-4248-b396-0cba7cd6eff2 /media/Data auto rw,user,auto 0 0.

How do I edit etc fstab?

/etc/fstab is just a plain text file, so you can open and edit it with any text editor you're familiar with. However, note that you must have the root privileges before editing fstab . So, in order to edit the file, you must either log in as root or use the su command to become root.

What is etc fstab in Ubuntu?

The configuration file /etc/fstab contains the necessary information to automate the process of mounting partitions. In a nutshell, mounting is the process where a raw (physical) partition is prepared for access and assigned a location on the file system tree (or mount point).

What is defaults in etc fstab?

defaults - default mount settings (equivalent to rw,suid,dev,exec,auto,nouser,async). suid - allow the operation of suid, and sgid bits. They are mostly used to allow users on a computer system to execute binary executables with temporarily elevated privileges in order to perform a specific task.

What is etc filesystem?

Description. /etc/filesystems. Lists the known file systems and defines their characteristics. /etc/vfs. Contains descriptions of virtual file system types.