When I log on linux, my /dev/sda1 drive is mounted, fdrom fstab: # /dev/sda1 UUID=b52f4246-04ea-4d35-b3b9-37a316709f81 /media/Data ext3 user,relatime,errors=continue-ro 0 2 but i can't access the drive until i mount it with: glenn(a)glenn-amd1: mount -t ext3 /dev/sda1 /media/Data now I can see the 160 gig drives icon on my desktop, but if I move any documents to the drive, i get a 'you don't have permission' message. I then change the permission on the drive: glenn(a)glenn-amd1:/media$ sudo chown -R glenn /media/Data glenn(a)glenn-amd1:/media$ ls -al total 16 drwxr-xr-x 4 root root 4096 2009-01-09 20:29 . drwxr-xr-x 20 root root 4096 2008-12-31 11:13 .. lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 6 2008-12-31 11:02 cdrom -> cdrom0 drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2008-12-31 11:02 cdrom0 drwxr-xr-x 3 glenn root 4096 2009-01-04 09:39 Data -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 0 2009-01-09 20:29 .hal-mtab I have to do this every time that I log on to Ubuntu. There has go to be an easier way. Glenn Morrissey.