Accessing usb in text

[Tim]

Tim:
>> But that wasn't what Joe was talking about.  Rather than edit the
>> configuration files, he suggested temporarily changing the options
>> that grub will use as it boots.  Start booting, pick a kernel to boot
>> from, but choose the edit rather than boot option.

Richard Vickery:
> I'm not at the computer, but I am sure that I don't get to see that
> option.

If you have one of those dratted hidden menus, often toodling around
with the cursor keys may be enough to unhide the menu before it
automatically starts booting the default choice.  And the cursor keys
are less likely to upset other things, such as accidentally getting into
the BIOS, on those few PCs which use peculiar hotkeys for it.

> I believe the kernels to boot into comes up before the encription
> password.

Yes.  The boot partition (or bootstrapping code at the start of a
partition), isn't encrypted.  It lets you choose what you can boot from.
If the thing you choose is encrypted, that's when passwords come into
the fray.

> 
> I don't bring it with me anymore as it is hard to navigate without X.
> I do like the idea as I learn to navigate in text given that it is
> extremely challenging being so used to X, but it becomes rather
> useless since I forget much because of disuse.

You can reacquaint yourself with the command line, while in X.  Just
open a terminal, and learn the few things that you may need to use in
text mode to get a computer back up and running.  e.g. The very basics
of VI, or make sure that you install some other editor that you prefer,
so that it's ready and waiting for the day your computer doesn't boot.
> 
> Something someone in Development ought to create is the ability to
> multitask in the text environment.

There are things that allow it.  I'm not sure about how convenient they
are to use, though.

-- 
[tim at localhost ~]$ uname -r
2.6.27.25-78.2.56.fc9.i686

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