Permissions tuition from Old-Polack

[besonian]

Recently, as you'll see in an earlier thread (http://www.pclinuxos.com/forum/index.php/topic,77481.0.html) I had problems installing a USB external SATA hard drive, 2.5inch. Well, my problems were not so much to do with the install as with the fact that I got very confused about the permissions relating to it. I was helped out of the dilemma by pags and Old-Polack. And in one exchange with the latter I expressed my frustration with myself in that I really don't know as much about permissions as I'd like to and it's the one thing about Linux that, from time to time, drives me up the brickwork. Old-Polack - bless his cotton sox - offered to give me and anybody else who's a bit iffy on permissions (quite a few I'd think) some of his own special brand of expert info on this forum. So I'm now calling on that gent to come forward and give us all the benefit of his vast expertise. Please. 

[nerdful1]

Waiting with baited breath. +1.

How about grouping and stuff too?
Thanks

[Neal ManBear]

I'm always interested.

[Old-Polack]

Recently, as you'll see in an earlier thread (http://www.pclinuxos.com/forum/index.php/topic,77481.0.html) I had problems installing a USB external SATA hard drive, 2.5inch. Well, my problems were not so much to do with the install as with the fact that I got very confused about the permissions relating to it. I was helped out of the dilemma by pags and Old-Polack. And in one exchange with the latter I expressed my frustration with myself in that I really don't know as much about permissions as I'd like to and it's the one thing about Linux that, from time to time, drives me up the brickwork. Old-Polack - bless his cotton sox - offered to give me and anybody else who's a bit iffy on permissions (quite a few I'd think) some of his own special brand of expert info on this forum. So I'm now calling on that gent to come forward and give us all the benefit of his vast expertise. Please. 

The title is a bit misleading, as what we were talking about at the end of that thread, and what I referred to, was details about setting up a separate boot partition, and interesting things one can do with one to get around older BIOS limitations and such.

Starting from that point, I'm not sure exactly what it it is you now wish to know, but if you clarify that point I'll be happy to answer as best I can. 

[besonian]

Sorry O-P, something of a misunderstanding there. What does my brain in sometimes is the system of permissions in Linux. And it does it in simply because I don't know enough about it and the explanations I've seen have taken too much for granted. I'd be grateful to have it explained to me in the sort of way I've seen you explain things so many times to people on this forum. As I said, I suspect there are a lot of others like myself in this regard. This all came out of my exchanges with you and with pags about the permissions  situation on that external hard drive I was setting up. (http://www.pclinuxos.com/forum/index.php/topic,77481.0.html) And if, in addition, you had the time to do as you've said - i.e. talk about 'setting up a separate boot partition, and interesting things one can do with one to get around older BIOS limitations and such' - then I think that too would meet with the approval of a lot of people. And in any case, thank you for your offer. 

[uncleV]

Online tutorial:
http://www.elated.com/articles/understanding-permissions/

It's simple, don't fear

[besonian]

Thank you uncleV - I'll check that out.

[gseaman]

Online tutorial:
http://www.elated.com/articles/understanding-permissions/

It's simple, don't fear

That was the clearest, most precise tutorial on permissions that I've seen! Good find. (I'll forget most of it by the time I finish typing this. But, now I know where to find it.)

Galen