No Access

[Cartman]

Hello everybody i am a new linux user.I really like Linux so far but i have a serious problem since i have been using windows for 8 years i take some things for granted like having complete access to my hard disks.I have some problems that i cant resolve on my own so if you could help me i would appreciate it.But enough with the intoductions i will give you some more details.I installed Dreamlinux Multimedia GL 2.2 and i used QParted to format and partition my disk.The first problem begins here.I split my hard disk into 3 partitions.One which has my distro files(hda1 4GB)the second is used as linux-swap(hda2 3GB i didn't know exactly how much to allocate but a friend told me it should be at least twice the size of my memory which is 1GB but i decided to give it 1GB more to be sure) and the third i would use to store my files such as programs documents and other stuff but i cant access this space its says that its free space is unavailablei use the option enable but i still does nothing.
The second problem is that one of my disks (/mnt/sda1/) is read-only i tried chown from the command list as su but it still said its read-only i think this image can help you see the properties of the disk.
Thank you in advance.

[bigtomrodney]

You best bet is to get a handle on how the file hierarchy is laid out. There is plenty of documentation around but it's as simple as this - All of your stuff goes into your home partition (specifically your home directory). Everything outside that is system.

I would recommend reinstaling your Linux system. Try this layout

• 4GB as your root partition '/'
• 1GB of Swap
• The rest as your /home partition

Often times I will put /tmp on a seperate partition too. It is beeficial because it means your root partition won't fill up unexpectedly and also it is a security benefit.

As long as you remember that all of your files should be on /home you'll be fine. You're probably like me. I never kept personal files in 'My Documents' or 'Documents and Settings' in Windows. I always made either a seperate partition or had a folder on the C: drive. Once you can shake this old habit you will find that it is much more organised. I just forget about the root partition. Let the system do the system thing, you will feel better at /home

[Cartman]

Thank you for your help i will try this soon(well in a couple of hours ) but what about my second problem?How can i get read-write access to a hard disk that has no relation to my system and is only used for storing my files.
Thank you again and sorry for troubling you.