Earlier today, I logged in to one of my computers and found an
icon on all workspaces that wasn't there before. It has the text
"Filesystem root" associated with it, and a picture that looks
vaguely like a HDD.

Does anybody have any idea why it would appear overnight or what
its purpose is? I looked in $HOME/Desktop, and there's nothing
there.

I haven't deleted it because I have no idea whether doing so
would just delete the icon, or whether it would delete the
root filesystem.

Ubuntu 18.04 LTS with the default UI.
--
Michael F. Stemper
Isaiah 10:1-2

Michael F. Stemper wrote:
> Earlier today, I logged in to one of my computers and found an icon
> on all workspaces that wasn't there before. It has the text
> "Filesystem root" associated with it, and a picture that looks
> vaguely like a HDD.
>
I think it is just a shortcut to the filesystem. You can R click the
icon and find out about its properties.

> Does anybody have any idea why it would appear overnight or what its
> purpose is? I looked in $HOME/Desktop, and there's nothing there.
>
Not every icon on your desktop shows in that view.

> I haven't deleted it because I have no idea whether doing so would
> just delete the icon, or whether it would delete the root
> filesystem.
>
> Ubuntu 18.04 LTS with the default UI.

This arch forum discussion of 2017 doesn't answer the qx of why it
appeared, but it is informative anyway.

https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=222507

> however, after restarting the system, a directory named "Filesystem
> root" has appeared in the desktop of the GUI

--
Mike Easter

On 16.08.2021 at 11:33, Michael F. Stemper scribbled:

> I haven't deleted it because I have no idea whether doing so
> would just delete the icon, or whether it would delete the
> root filesystem.

An unprivileged user does not have the power to delete the root
filesystem.

--
With respect,
= Aragorn =

Mike Easter wrote:
> Michael F. Stemper wrote:
>> Earlier today, I logged in to one of my computers and found an icon
>> on all workspaces that wasn't there before. It has the text
>> "Filesystem root" associated with it, and a picture that looks vaguely
>> like a HDD.
>>
> I think it is just a shortcut to the filesystem.  You can R click the
> icon and find out about its properties.
>
I read an article about how to create shortcuts (particularly
graphically) to such as directories and tried to figure out if one could
do that accidentally.

This happens to be 20.04 instead of 18.04.

https://askubuntu.com/questions/1232612/how-to-make-a-desktop-shortcuts-on-ubuntu-20-04
How to make a desktop shortcuts on Ubuntu 20.04?

I also saw a separate article on Gnome Tweaks, but I don't know if you
have that installed.

--
Mike Easter

On 16/08/2021 11.49, Mike Easter wrote:
> Michael F. Stemper wrote:
>> Earlier today, I logged in to one of my computers and found an icon
>> on all workspaces that wasn't there before. It has the text
>> "Filesystem root" associated with it, and a picture that looks vaguely
>> like a HDD.
>>
> I think it is just a shortcut to the filesystem.  You can R click the
> icon and find out about its properties.

<rant>
Boy, whoever designed that thing ought to be taken out and shot!

The "Properties" window got splashed over not just the workspace
where I opened it, but all workspaces. It prevented me from
right-clicking on the background to open an Xterm, not just for
the several minutes it took to run, but until I finally closed it.
</rant>

The "Basic" tab reveals:
Name: Filesystem root
Type: Folder (inode/directory)
Contents xxx,xxx items, totalling yy.y GB
(some contents unreadable)
Volume: unknown

Then, some stuff about disk usage, culminating with
Filesystem type: ext3/ext4

The "Permissions" tab tells me that
The permissions of "/" could not be determined.

Unfortunately, there isn't a tab labelled "Origin" or anything
even close to it.

--
Michael F. Stemper
If you take cranberries and stew them like applesauce they taste much
more like prunes than rhubarb does.

On 16/08/2021 11.55, Aragorn wrote:
> On 16.08.2021 at 11:33, Michael F. Stemper scribbled:
>
>> I haven't deleted it because I have no idea whether doing so
>> would just delete the icon, or whether it would delete the
>> root filesystem.
>
> An unprivileged user does not have the power to delete the root
> filesystem.

Yeah, I guess that it'd have to ask me for my password to sudo that
action, wouldn't it? I'll think about this overnight, so that I can
convince myself.

--
Michael F. Stemper
You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him talk like Mr. Ed
by rubbing peanut butter on his gums.

Michael F. Stemper wrote:
> On 16/08/2021 11.49, Mike Easter wrote:
>> Michael F. Stemper wrote:
>>> Earlier today, I logged in to one of my computers and found an icon
>>> on all workspaces that wasn't there before. It has the text
>>> "Filesystem root" associated with it, and a picture that looks
>>> vaguely like a HDD.
>>>
>> I think it is just a shortcut to the filesystem. You can R click the
>> icon and find out about its properties.
>
> <rant>
> Boy, whoever designed that thing ought to be taken out and shot!
>
> The "Properties" window got splashed over not just the workspace
> where I opened it, but all workspaces. It prevented me from
> right-clicking on the background to open an Xterm, not just for
> the several minutes it took to run, but until I finally closed it.
> </rant>
>
> The "Basic" tab reveals:
> Name: Filesystem root
> Type: Folder (inode/directory)
> Contents xxx,xxx items, totalling yy.y GB
> (some contents unreadable)
> Volume: unknown
>
> Then, some stuff about disk usage, culminating with
> Filesystem type: ext3/ext4
>
> The "Permissions" tab tells me that
> The permissions of "/" could not be determined.
>
> Unfortunately, there isn't a tab labelled "Origin" or anything
> even close to it.
>

It could be like the picture here.

https://askubuntu.com/questions/1260097/why-do-i-have-filesystem-root-logo-in-desktop-after-instalation-of-ubuntu-18-0

https://i.stack.imgur.com/39uy6.png

Paul

Paul wrote:
> Michael F. Stemper wrote:
>> On 16/08/2021 11.49, Mike Easter wrote:
>>> Michael F. Stemper wrote:
>>>> Earlier today, I logged in to one of my computers and found an icon
>>>> on all workspaces that wasn't there before. It has the text
>>>> "Filesystem root" associated with it, and a picture that looks
>>>> vaguely like a HDD.
>>>>
>>> I think it is just a shortcut to the filesystem.  You can R click the
>>> icon and find out about its properties.
>>
>> The "Basic" tab reveals:
>>  Name:        Filesystem root
>>  Type:        Folder (inode/directory)
>>  Contents    xxx,xxx items, totalling yy.y GB
>>         (some contents unreadable)
>>  Volume:    unknown
>>
>> Then, some stuff about disk usage, culminating with
>> Filesystem type: ext3/ext4
>>
>> The "Permissions" tab tells me that
>>  The permissions of "/" could not be determined.
>>
>> Unfortunately, there isn't a tab labelled "Origin" or anything
>> even close to it.
>>
>
> It could be like the picture here.
>
> https://askubuntu.com/questions/1260097/why-do-i-have-filesystem-root-logo-in-desktop-after-instalation-of-ubuntu-18-0
>
Yeah; I saw that screenshot, but no one answered his qx :-)

I dl/ed, hashchecked, authenticated, an UbGn 18.04.5 and wrote it to a
multiboot Yumi stick and booted it to see if I could figure out a route
to that icon that would be accidental.

I was surprised to see that the default Nautilus does NOT show the root
filesystem! If I use its Other locations function and open the Computer
icon, then I'm in the root dir.

So, a 'filesystem root' shortcut would be a useful addition to the
desktop, to save a step if one wanted to navigate graphically to the
various root filesystem dir/s. I do that all the time, but I generally
use the access to the filesystem in Cinnamon DE Nemo L pane.

I don't know why Gnome would want to default 'hide' easy access to the
filesystem in Nautilus; that seems strange to me.

--
Mike Easter

On 16/08/2021 14.03, Paul wrote:
> Michael F. Stemper wrote:
>> On 16/08/2021 11.49, Mike Easter wrote:
>>> Michael F. Stemper wrote:
>>>> Earlier today, I logged in to one of my computers and found an icon
>>>> on all workspaces that wasn't there before. It has the text
>>>> "Filesystem root" associated with it, and a picture that looks
>>>> vaguely like a HDD.

> It could be like the picture here.
>
> https://askubuntu.com/questions/1260097/why-do-i-have-filesystem-root-logo-in-desktop-after-instalation-of-ubuntu-18-0
>
>
>     https://i.stack.imgur.com/39uy6.png

Yup, that is exactly what it looks like.

--
Michael F. Stemper
Galatians 3:28

On 16/08/2021 14.24, Mike Easter wrote:
> Paul wrote:
>> Michael F. Stemper wrote:
>>> On 16/08/2021 11.49, Mike Easter wrote:
>>>> Michael F. Stemper wrote:
>>>>> Earlier today, I logged in to one of my computers and found an icon
>>>>> on all workspaces that wasn't there before. It has the text
>>>>> "Filesystem root" associated with it, and a picture that looks
>>>>> vaguely like a HDD.
>>>>>
>>>> I think it is just a shortcut to the filesystem.  You can R click the
>>>> icon and find out about its properties.
>>>
>>> The "Basic" tab reveals:
>>>  Name:        Filesystem root
>>>  Type:        Folder (inode/directory)
>>>  Contents    xxx,xxx items, totalling yy.y GB
>>>         (some contents unreadable)
>>>  Volume:    unknown
>>>
>>> Then, some stuff about disk usage, culminating with
>>> Filesystem type: ext3/ext4
>>>
>>> The "Permissions" tab tells me that
>>>  The permissions of "/" could not be determined.
>>>
>>> Unfortunately, there isn't a tab labelled "Origin" or anything
>>> even close to it.
>>>
>>
>> It could be like the picture here.
>>
>> https://askubuntu.com/questions/1260097/why-do-i-have-filesystem-root-logo-in-desktop-after-instalation-of-ubuntu-18-0
>>
> Yeah; I saw that screenshot, but no one answered his qx :-)
>
> I dl/ed, hashchecked, authenticated, an UbGn 18.04.5 and wrote it to a
> multiboot Yumi stick and booted it to see if I could figure out a route
> to that icon that would be accidental.

Wow! That's a lot of work. (Or at least it sounds that way to me.)
Thanks for taking the time.

> So, a 'filesystem root' shortcut would be a useful addition to the
> desktop, to save a step if one wanted to navigate graphically to the
> various root filesystem dir/s.  I do that all the time, but I generally
> use the access to the filesystem in Cinnamon DE Nemo L pane.

Well, I'm a CLI kind of a guy. I don't ever "navigate graphically"
except when I'm opening something in one of the LibreOffice programs.

> I don't know why Gnome would want to default 'hide' easy access to the
> filesystem in Nautilus; that seems strange to me.

Considering it's the root, discouraging casual access to it sounds like
a good way to make it a little harder for people to hurt themselves:

<https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/83/Blinkenlights-original.png>

--
Michael F. Stemper
Galatians 3:28

Mike Easter wrote:
> I don't know why Gnome would want to default 'hide' easy access to the
> filesystem in Nautilus; that seems strange to me

Aha. I figured out how to add the root filesystem to the L pane in
Nautilus w/ the 'bookmark' function. That's not so bad.

--
Mike Easter

Michael F. Stemper wrote:
> Mike Easter wrote:
>>
>> I dl/ed, hashchecked, authenticated, an UbGn 18.04.5 and wrote it to a
>> multiboot Yumi stick and booted it to see if I could figure out a
>> route to that icon that would be accidental.
>
> Wow! That's a lot of work. (Or at least it sounds that way to me.)
> Thanks for taking the time.
>
Actually, I tho't I already had an 18.04 and I would see what happened
if I updated it; but since I didn't have one, the most convenient access
to dl was to the 18.04.5, so I didn't get to update; I was thinking
maybe something in the update process created your icon.
>
> Well, I'm a CLI kind of a guy. I don't ever "navigate graphically"
> except when I'm opening something in one of the LibreOffice programs.
>
>> I don't know why Gnome would want to default 'hide' easy access to the
>> filesystem in Nautilus; that seems strange to me.
>
> Considering it's the root, discouraging casual access to it sounds like
> a good way to make it a little harder for people to hurt themselves:
>
I don't think one is going to hurt themselves roaming around w/ a
graphical file manager.

Command lines are perhaps more dangerous, depending :-)

--
Mike Easter

Mike Easter wrote:
> Command lines are perhaps more dangerous, depending :-)

An example of the type of platform OS I frequently use is one of an Ub
based Mint Cinnamon as a live boot w/ persistence which I may use for
many weeks at a time; functioning just like an install.

The default mode has no pass for the user/sudo and there are all kinds
of commands that need to be run in sudo mode.

Making a sudo mistake can lose weeks of operational OS.

--
Mike Easter

On 16/08/2021 13.14, Michael F. Stemper wrote:
> On 16/08/2021 11.55, Aragorn wrote:
>> On 16.08.2021 at 11:33, Michael F. Stemper scribbled:
>>
>>> I haven't deleted it because I have no idea whether doing so
>>> would just delete the icon, or whether it would delete the
>>> root filesystem.
>>
>> An unprivileged user does not have the power to delete the root
>> filesystem.
>
> Yeah, I guess that it'd have to ask me for my password to sudo that
> action, wouldn't it? I'll think about this overnight, so that I can
> convince myself.

All right, I decided that it would be safe to delete this
mystery icon. Unfortunately, when I right-clicked on it,
I got a context menu as follows:
Open
Open in New Tab
Open in New Window
Open With Other Application
Unmount
(Cut)
(Copy)
(Move to...)
(Copy to...)
Resize Icon...
(Rename...)
Open in Terminal
Send to...
Properties

(Items in parentheses are grayed out.)

No option to delete the icon there. I also tried clicking on it and
then using the Delete key while it was highlighted. That had no
effect.

What does one need to do to delete an icon?

--
Michael F. Stemper
If it isn't running programs and it isn't fusing atoms, it's just
bending space.

Michael F. Stemper wrote:
> On 16/08/2021 13.14, Michael F. Stemper wrote:
>> On 16/08/2021 11.55, Aragorn wrote:
>>> On 16.08.2021 at 11:33, Michael F. Stemper scribbled:
>>>
>>>> I haven't deleted it because I have no idea whether doing so
>>>> would just delete the icon, or whether it would delete the
>>>> root filesystem.
>>>
>>> An unprivileged user does not have the power to delete the root
>>> filesystem.
>>
>> Yeah, I guess that it'd have to ask me for my password to sudo that
>> action, wouldn't it? I'll think about this overnight, so that I can
>> convince myself.
>
> All right, I decided that it would be safe to delete this
> mystery icon. Unfortunately, when I right-clicked on it,
> I got a context menu as follows:
>   Open
>   Open in New Tab
>   Open in New Window
>   Open With Other Application
>   Unmount
>   (Cut)
>   (Copy)
>   (Move to...)
>   (Copy to...)
>   Resize Icon...
>   (Rename...)
>   Open in Terminal
>   Send to...
>   Properties
>
> (Items in parentheses are grayed out.)
>
> No option to delete the icon there. I also tried clicking on it and
> then using the Delete key while it was highlighted. That had no
> effect.
>
> What does one need to do to delete an icon?
>
Open a terminal

cd Desktop

ls -la and get the filename of the file

unlink whatever.desktop

Frankly I have gotten fed up with GNOME striping out almost all of
Nautilus's functionality and switched to Nemo.

--
Take care,

Jonathan
-------------------
LITTLE WORKS STUDIO
http://www.LittleWorksStudio.com

On 17/08/2021 16.25, Jonathan N. Little wrote:
> Michael F. Stemper wrote:
>> On 16/08/2021 13.14, Michael F. Stemper wrote:
>>> On 16/08/2021 11.55, Aragorn wrote:
>>>> On 16.08.2021 at 11:33, Michael F. Stemper scribbled:
>>>>
>>>>> I haven't deleted it because I have no idea whether doing so
>>>>> would just delete the icon, or whether it would delete the
>>>>> root filesystem.
>>>>
>>>> An unprivileged user does not have the power to delete the root
>>>> filesystem.
>>>
>>> Yeah, I guess that it'd have to ask me for my password to sudo that
>>> action, wouldn't it? I'll think about this overnight, so that I can
>>> convince myself.
>>
>> All right, I decided that it would be safe to delete this
>> mystery icon. Unfortunately, when I right-clicked on it,
>> I got a context menu as follows:

>> No option to delete the icon there. I also tried clicking on it and
>> then using the Delete key while it was highlighted. That had no
>> effect.
>>
>> What does one need to do to delete an icon?
>>
> Open a terminal
>
> cd Desktop
>
> ls -la and get the filename of the fil

The fact that this doesn't have a corresponding file in $HOME/Desktop
has disappeared along the way.

--
Michael F. Stemper
Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend.
Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read.

Jonathan N. Little wrote:
> Frankly I have gotten fed up with GNOME striping out almost all of
> Nautilus's functionality and switched to Nemo.

Of the DEs Cinnamon, XFCE, Mate, KDE, (some WMs), and Gnome, I like
gnome the least; mostly because it is comparatively 'bloated' in terms
of resource usage and secondarily because it doesn't provide 'suitable'
access to its features.

I should probably use it more and get to know Gnome Tweaks or such.

The prize winner in that group in terms of accessing its features
coupled w/ resource 'economy' or efficiency is KDE. It is about the
same resource-wise as Mate & XFCE but stronger in terms of 'simple'
accessing of features.

Still, my everyday driver is Cinnamon, but it isn't as lean as modern KDE.

I suppose these remarks might start a DE war :-)

--
Mike Easter

On 8/18/21 08:55, Mike Easter wrote:
> Jonathan N. Little wrote:
>> Frankly I have gotten fed up with GNOME striping out almost all of
>> Nautilus's functionality and switched to Nemo.
>
> Of the DEs Cinnamon, XFCE, Mate, KDE, (some WMs), and Gnome, I like
> gnome the least; mostly because it is comparatively 'bloated' in terms
> of resource usage and secondarily because it doesn't provide 'suitable'
> access to its features.
>
> I should probably use it more and get to know Gnome Tweaks or such.
>
> The prize winner in that group in terms of accessing its features
> coupled w/ resource 'economy' or efficiency is KDE.  It is about the
> same resource-wise as Mate & XFCE but stronger in terms of 'simple'
> accessing of features.
>
> Still, my everyday driver is Cinnamon, but it isn't as lean as modern KDE.
>
> I suppose these remarks might start a DE war :-)
>
Everyone is free to use whatever DE they prefer within that
distribution. I used old Gnome 2.4 with Mandriva years ago then went
back to KDE then at 3.8 or something like that. Now I am using KDE's
Plasma 5 and maybe Plasma 6 next year.

bliss - boots & runs a Pretty Cool Linux Operating System aka pclinuxos.

PCLinux forum <https://www.pclinuxos.com/forum/index.php> a rolling
distribution with updates every time you turn around,

--
bliss dash SF 4 ever at dslextreme dot com