How to Create a Mount Point and Mount Drives in Debian 12 "Bookworm"

Mounting drives is a fundamental part of Linux system administration. In Debian 12 “Bookworm,” managing mount points and mounting drives is straightforward if you understand the filesystem structure and a few command-line tools.

This guide walks you through the steps to create a mount point and mount drives — both temporarily and permanently — on a Debian 12 system.

Table of Contents

1. What is a Mount Point?
2. Prerequisites
3. Identifying Drives
4. Creating a Mount Point
5. Mounting a Drive Temporarily
6. Mounting a Drive Permanently (Using /etc/fstab)
7. Mounting External Devices (USB, etc.)
8. Troubleshooting Mount Issues
9. Conclusion

1. What is a Mount Point?

A mount point is a directory in the Linux filesystem where an additional storage device (such as a partition or USB drive) is attached. When a drive is mounted, its data becomes accessible under that directory.

Unlike Windows, where each drive is given a letter (e.g., C:, D:), Linux incorporates all drives into a single directory tree.

2. Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure:

• You are running Debian 12 (Bookworm).
• You have root or sudo privileges.
• The drive or partition you want to mount is connected and recognized by the system.

3. Identifying Drives

Start by identifying the device you want to mount.

Open a terminal and run:

lsblk

This command lists all available block devices:

NAME   MAJ:MIN RM   SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINTS
sda      8:0    0   500G  0 disk 
├─sda1   8:1    0   300G  0 part /
├─sda2   8:2    0   100G  0 part /home
└─sda3   8:3    0   100G  0 part 
sdb      8:16   0   1T    0 disk 
└─sdb1   8:17   0   1T    0 part 

Here, sdb1 is a 1TB partition on a second disk. We’ll use this as an example.

You can also use blkid for more detail:

sudo blkid

This command provides UUIDs and filesystem types.

4. Creating a Mount Point

A mount point is just a directory. You can create it wherever you like, but the standard location is under /mnt or /media.

For example:

sudo mkdir /mnt/data

This creates a directory where you’ll mount the drive.

You can give it any name, but make sure it’s clear and doesn’t conflict with existing system directories.

5. Mounting a Drive Temporarily

To mount a drive manually (and temporarily — until reboot):

sudo mount /dev/sdb1 /mnt/data

If the filesystem is supported and clean, the command should return without error.

Verify the Mount

Use df -h or mount to verify:

df -h | grep /mnt/data

You should see something like:

/dev/sdb1       1.0T  200G  800G  20% /mnt/data

Unmounting the Drive

To unmount:

sudo umount /mnt/data

Note: Make sure no processes are using the directory, or the unmount will fail.

6. Mounting a Drive Permanently (Using /etc/fstab)

To make the mount persistent across reboots, you need to edit the /etc/fstab file.

Step 1: Get the UUID

Run:

sudo blkid /dev/sdb1

You’ll get something like:

/dev/sdb1: UUID="a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-1234-56789abcdef0" TYPE="ext4"

Step 2: Edit /etc/fstab

Open the file in a text editor:

sudo nano /etc/fstab

Add this line at the end (adjusting UUID and mount point as needed):

UUID=a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-1234-56789abcdef0 /mnt/data ext4 defaults 0 2

• ext4 is the filesystem type. Replace it with xfs, ntfs, or vfat if needed.
• defaults includes common mount options.
• The 0 2 at the end tells the system not to dump and to check the filesystem second (after root).

Step 3: Test fstab

Before rebooting, test that your fstab entry works:

sudo mount -a

If no errors appear, your syntax is good.

7. Mounting External Devices (USB, etc.)

For removable drives like USBs:

1. Insert the USB.
2. Run lsblk again to identify the device.
3. Create a mount point (e.g., /mnt/usb).
4. Mount it:

sudo mount /dev/sdc1 /mnt/usb

To unmount:

sudo umount /mnt/usb

If you’re frequently using a USB drive with a specific label or UUID, you can also add it to /etc/fstab.

8. Troubleshooting Mount Issues

Issue 1: “mount: unknown filesystem type”

Make sure the necessary filesystem driver is installed. For example:

• For NTFS: sudo apt install ntfs-3g
• For exFAT: sudo apt install exfat-fuse exfatprogs

Issue 2: “mount: special device does not exist”

Double-check the device name from lsblk. Drives can change names after reboots.

Issue 3: “device is busy”

This usually means a program or shell is using the mount point. Close any file managers or terminal windows referencing the directory. You can check usage with:

lsof +D /mnt/data

Or:

fuser -m /mnt/data

9. Conclusion

Mounting drives on Debian 12 is a task that any Linux user or sysadmin should feel comfortable with. Whether you’re adding a new hard drive, plugging in a USB stick, or configuring automatic mounts, the tools are built into the system.

Here’s a recap of the key steps:

• Use lsblk and blkid to find and identify your drives.
• Create a mount point directory using mkdir.
• Mount temporarily with the mount command.
• For persistent mounts, edit /etc/fstab using UUIDs.
• Use mount -a to test before rebooting.
• Install appropriate filesystem packages for non-Linux filesystems.

By following these practices, you can reliably manage storage devices in Debian 12 “Bookworm” with confidence and control.