Daily Drivers

mount

Usage       : mount /dev/sda1 /mnt
Example     : Mount USB drive: mount /dev/sdb1 /media/usb
Description : Mount a filesystem (local or remote).
Takeaway    : Use to access storage devices or network shares.

umount

Usage       : umount /mnt
Example     : umount /media/usb
Description : Unmount a filesystem.
Takeaway    : Use to safely detach storage devices.

fdisk

Usage       : fdisk /dev/sda
Example     : Create new partition on disk.
Description : Partition disks (create, delete, resize).
Takeaway    : Use for disk partition management.

parted

Usage       : parted /dev/sda
Example     : Resize partitions interactively.
Description : Advanced partition management tool.
Takeaway    : Use for modern partitioning tasks.

dd

Usage       : dd if=/dev/sda of=/backup.img
Example     : Create disk image backup.
Description : Copy and convert data at block level.
Takeaway    : Use for cloning disks or creating bootable media.

Swap Management

mkswap

Usage       : mkswap /swapfile
Example     : Create 2GB swap file.
Description : Create swap space.
Takeaway    : Use to add virtual memory.

swapon

Usage       : swapon /swapfile
Example     : Activate swap file.
Description : Enable swap space.
Takeaway    : Use to extend memory.

swapoff

Usage       : swapoff /swapfile
Example     : Turn off swap file.
Description : Disable swap space.
Takeaway    : Use to free disk space or reconfigure swap.

Disk Images & Media

losetup

Usage       : losetup /dev/loop0 file.img
Example     : Attach ISO image.
Description : Manage loopback devices.
Takeaway    : Use for working with disk images.

mkisofs

Usage       : mkisofs -o image.iso /dir
Example     : Build bootable ISO.
Description : Create ISO images.
Takeaway    : Use for CD/DVD image creation.

eject

Usage       : eject /dev/cdrom
Example     : Eject CD/DVD drive.
Description : Eject removable media.
Takeaway    : Use for safe media removal.

mkbootdisk / mkinitrd

Usage       : mkbootdisk /dev/sda
Example     : Create rescue disk.
Description : Create bootable disks/initramfs.
Takeaway    : Use for boot recovery.

Performance & Maintenance

hdparm

Usage       : hdparm -t /dev/sda
Example     : Test disk speed.
Description : Manage disk performance settings.
Takeaway    : Use for performance tuning.

sync

Usage       : sync
Example     : Ensure data is written to disk.
Description : Flush filesystem buffers.
Takeaway    : Use before shutdown or ejecting drives.

badblocks / mbadblocks

Usage       : badblocks -v /dev/sda
Example     : Identify bad blocks.
Description : Scan for bad sectors.
Takeaway    : Use for disk health checks.

Partition Tools

sfdisk

Usage       : sfdisk -d /dev/sda > backup
Example     : Backup partition table.
Description : Partition table management.
Takeaway    : Use for scripting partition tasks.

cfdisk

Usage       : cfdisk /dev/sda
Example     : Create/delete partitions.
Description : Interactive partition manager.
Takeaway    : Use for user-friendly partitioning.

mpartition

Usage       : mpartition -I /dev/sda
Example     : Create DOS-style partitions.
Description : Partition management for DOS disks.
Takeaway    : Use for legacy partitioning.

File & Directory Utilities

symlinks / lndir

Usage       : ln -s target link
Example     : Create symlink to directory.
Description : Manage symbolic links.
Takeaway    : Use for linking files/directories.

mdeltree

Usage       : mdeltree dir
Example     : Remove directory tree.
Description : Recursively delete directories.
Takeaway    : Use for cleanup tasks.

mdu

Usage       : mdu dir
Example     : Show usage excluding files.
Description : Measure disk usage.
Takeaway    : Use for disk space analysis.

mcd

Usage       : mcd dir/subdir
Example     : Create multiple directories.
Description : Create nested directories.
Takeaway    : Use for efficient directory creation.

mmount

Usage       : mmount /dev/sda1
Example     : Mount DOS filesystem.
Description : Mount filesystems (mtools).
Takeaway    : Use for mounting via mtools.