Hi there can someone tell me what is the difference between /dev
, /media
and /mnt
? Are not they dictionaries for removable storage?
1 Answers
/dev
directory contains special files (device files) corresponding to physical devices or system components/media
is a regular directory which by common practice is used to mount removable media like CD-ROMs, floppy disks, etc./mnt
is a regular directory which by common practice is used to mount other filesystems, usually for a short period of time
/dev
is essential to the operating system and it cannot be removed
/media
and /mnt
are only a placeholder directories; removing them won't influence the operating system core operation, but might cause errors with certain applications; for example when a removable media is inserted, or when a process tries to mount a filesystem.
As an example of the difference: /dev
contains a reference to a physical CD-ROM drive, /mount
might contain a subdirectory through which you can access the files stored on the disc inserted to the same CD-ROM drive.

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