diff --git a/README.rst b/README.rst index d4a1f78..cb5a962 100644 --- a/README.rst +++ b/README.rst @@ -497,15 +497,89 @@ For example, the Linux port of the `Unity engine`_ has `issues with case-sensiti Drive letter assignment ----------------------- -.. TODO: talk about this. +Drive letters for removable media like floppy disks and flash drives +are still used in Windows NT. +However, the drive letter is not necessarily the same next time, +which causes many practical problems, +such as finding recently used files. + + I have a problem with Word when working with documents on my flash drive. + If I insert the drive days later and try to use the recently used file + list, Word sometimes says it can’t find the document. + + I’ve worked out that when I insert the flash drive it’s not always using + the same drive letter – it’s F or G drive but occasionally even later in + the alphabet. + + How can I change the flash drive letter or, even better, make it appear as + the same drive letter each time? + +http://new.office-watch.com/2008/make-a-consistent-drive-letter-or-path-to-a-removable-drive/ + +This is solvable using NTFS mount points, +but Windows doesn't do it by default. + +Linux, on the other hand, uses the single-rooted UNIX filesystem hierarchy, +assigning all drives (including removable media) +to configurable mount points. +For flash drives, that means they live under ``/media/``, +are assigned a directory based on their label, +and that directory won't change unless the partition label changes +or they are manually mounted somewhere else. + .. https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/93960/why-is-linuxs-filesystem-designed-as-a-single-directory-tree .. http://new.office-watch.com/2008/make-a-consistent-drive-letter-or-path-to-a-removable-drive/ -.. http://windowsitpro.com/systems-management/magic-mount-points + + For UNIX users, the concept of mount points is old hat—something that UNIX and + other OSs, such as Novell NetWare, have used for years. However, in the Windows + space, mount points are a relatively new concept. + + [ . . . ] + + Integrating local and remote disk resources into a unified and singular + directory tree greatly simplifies file-system traversal and makes the traversal + transparent to the administrator, application, and user. + + [ . . . ] + + Because the Windows storage-management paradigm has always relied heavily on + alphabetic drive-letter designations, mount points—with their lack of + dependence on drive-letter associations—are especially valuable. + +http://windowsitpro.com/systems-management/magic-mount-points + +There is a limitation for NTFS mount points: recycle bin doesn't work. + + The problem is the recycle bin. This "undo" option is maintained with a hidden + system file that is on the partition that holds the files being deleted. + Unfortuantely, when the command to delete a folder is given, the system + attempts to delete the folder using the mount point folder's Master File Table, + and not the subfolder's Master File Table. The mount point folder's MFT + doesn't host the record, and an access denied message is kicked back to you for + having the temerity to try and recycle a directory which apparently doesn't + even exist! The only solution for this is to not recycle subfolders and + directories, but to outright delete them. + +http://getyouriton.blogspot.com/2009/08/serious-gotchas-with-mounted-drives-or.html + +http://flippingbits.typepad.com/blog/2011/09/best-practices-for-windows-mounts-points.html + .. http://support.2brightsparks.com/knowledgebase/articles/211485-assigning-a-drive-letter-to-external-usb .. http://www.tmsbackup.com/cms/index.php?id=652 -.. http://new.office-watch.com/2008/make-a-consistent-drive-letter-or-path-to-a-removable-drive/ .. http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/the-enterprise-cloud/use-mount-points-if-you-run-out-of-windows-drive-letters/ +.. https://stackoverflow.com/questions/4652545/windows-what-happens-if-i-finish-drive-letters-they-are-26 +.. https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc938934.aspx +.. https://serverfault.com/questions/83165/mount-drive-with-two-drive-letters-instead-of-one +.. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/307889 +http://www.zdnet.com/article/dear-microsoft-its-time-to-stop-using-drive-letters-and-whacks/ + +.. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/947021 + + Volume mount points are robust against system changes that occur when devices + are added or removed from a computer. + +https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/Cc938934.aspx --------------------- Filename restrictions