11.11. Creating the /etc/fstab File

The /etc/fstab file is used by some programs to determine where file systems are to be mounted by default, in which order, and which must be checked (for integrity errors) prior to mounting. Create a new file systems table like this:

cat > /etc/fstab << "EOF"
# Begin /etc/fstab

# file system  mount-point  type   options          dump  fsck
#                                                         order

/dev/[xxx]     /            [fff]  defaults         1     1
/dev/[yyy]     swap         swap   pri=1            0     0
devpts         /dev/pts     devpts gid=5,mode=620   0     0
shm            /dev/shm     tmpfs  defaults         0     0

# End /etc/fstab
EOF

Replace [xxx], [yyy], and [fff] with the values appropriate for the system, for example, sda2, sda5, and ext2. For details on the six fields in this file, see man 5 fstab.