Hard Drives

  • Store data for the operating system and programs.
  • Can be connected via motherboard, PCI card, or USB.
  • Includes HDDs, SSDs, and other storage devices.

Partitions

  • A partition is a logical division of a disk.
  • Linux commonly uses multiple partitions per disk.
  • Helps organize data and system files.

Partitioning Types

  • MBR (Master Boot Record)

    • Older technology.
    • Limited partitions and max size 2 TB.
    • Tools: fdisk, cfdisk, sfdisk

  • GPT (GUID Partition Table)

    • Newer and more flexible.
    • Supports larger disks and more partitions.
    • Tools: gdisk, cgdisk, sgdisk

  • Universal Tools

    • parted, gparted (graphical)

Device Files

  • Stored in the /dev directory.

  • Disk type prefix:

    • hd → IDE disks
    • sd → SATA, SCSI, USB disks

Disk Naming

  • Disk order: /dev/sda, /dev/sdb, /dev/sdc

  • Partitions:

    • /dev/sda1, /dev/sda2, etc.

Use lsmod command to view the currently loaded modules

View Disk Devices

  • Command: ls /dev/sd*
  • Shows disks and their partitions.

View Partition Details

  • Command: fdisk -l /dev/sda
  • Displays size, type, and partition layout.
  • Requires root access.