After moving more of my workflow from Windows to Linux (Pop!_OS 24.04), I ran into something that initially looked confusing.
In Nautilus, some storage locations appeared under "Devices" while others appeared as regular folders, even though they all ultimately pointed to mounted filesystems.
At first, I assumed this was just a visual distinction. After digging deeper, I realized there is a more important difference underneath.
## What I noticed
Some disks appeared automatically in the Nautilus sidebar under Devices.
Others appeared only as directories inside the filesystem hierarchy.
Both were accessible and working correctly, but they behaved differently.
## Investigation
After looking into how Linux handles storage, I found that there were two different mechanisms involved:
- Devices managed dynamically through the desktop environment and udisks
- Filesystems mounted through traditional mount points and fstab entries
From a file access perspective they can look similar.
From a system administration perspective they are not.
## Key observation
What finally made things click for me was understanding that a mounted filesystem is not the same thing as a device entry in Nautilus.
A device shown in the sidebar is a desktop-environment representation of a storage device.
A mount point is part of the Linux filesystem hierarchy.
The two often point to the same data, but they are conceptually different.
## Why this matters
Once I understood the distinction, several things became clearer:
- why some disks appear automatically and others do not
- why permanent mounts are usually configured through fstab
- why scripts and applications often reference mount paths instead of Nautilus entries
- why Linux storage management feels different from Windows
## Result
Understanding this distinction helped me build a more predictable storage layout for my workstation.
Instead of relying on whatever appears in the file manager sidebar, I now think in terms of mount points and filesystem structure.
For long-term workflows involving GIS projects, shared storage and backups, that mental model has been much more useful.
Has anyone else had a similar "Linux storage finally clicked" moment after coming from Windows?
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