I've recently started using Fedora 44 alongside Windows after years of frustration with Windows, and I'm enjoying Linux so far. However, I'm stuck on several practical issues. My keyboard sometimes registers a single keypress twice, and I haven't found a reliable keyboard-chatter filter that I can install and use successfully. I also can't properly control the fans or RGB lighting on either my high-end desktop or budget gaming laptop. Fan-control tools often fail to detect the hardware, and my laptop's RGB keyboard works after a fresh boot but stops working after closing and reopening the lid until I reboot. I haven't found a way to configure the lighting either. I'm also confused about Linux's filesystem layout. Where should I look for the equivalents of Windows AppData, Program Files, and Program Files (x86), as well as game saves and application data? In particular, I keep losing track of Steam and Proton's Windows-like filesystems. Finally, I'd like my internal SSDs and hard drives to mount automatically during boot without asking for my password. One of my desktop backgrounds is stored on a secondary internal drive, but it isn't available early enough during startup, so Fedora uses the default background instead. What's the safest way to configure automatic mounting for internal drives?
4 Answers
For internal drives, the standard solution is to configure them in /etc/fstab using a stable filesystem UUID or PARTUUID. Start by checking the device and filesystem information with lsblk -f. You can also use the GNOME Disks utility, which provides a graphical way to enable mounting at system startup and is less error-prone if you’re new to Linux. Make sure the mount point exists and that the filesystem is available early in boot. Once configured correctly, an internal data drive can mount without prompting for your password, allowing files such as a desktop background to be available when the session starts.
For software, prefer Fedora’s repositories and trusted sources such as Flatpak rather than downloading assorted installers from search results. The exact location can depend on how an application was installed: traditional packages generally use system directories, while Flatpak applications keep much of their data in locations under ~/.var/app/. For hardware control, check whether the manufacturer’s controller is supported by an established Linux project before installing more tools. Posting the exact desktop components and laptop model would make it much easier to determine what is actually supported.
Try not to install random drivers or switch distributions before identifying the exact hardware. Fan and RGB support depends heavily on the motherboard, laptop model, keyboard, GPU, and the specific controller inside them. If Linux doesn’t have support for that controller, changing from Fedora won’t solve it. OpenRGB can work for some keyboards and other devices, but compatibility varies. The keyboard-chatter issue is also likely to need hardware-specific handling, and replacing a failing keyboard may be more reliable than filtering every duplicate keypress.
Linux doesn’t have a one-to-one copy of the Windows directory layout. System programs and configuration are commonly found under /usr, /etc, and /var. Personal settings and application data are usually in hidden directories in your home folder, especially ~/.config, ~/.local/share, and ~/.cache. Game save locations vary by game and installation method. For Steam games running through Proton, the fake Windows C: drive is usually under steamapps/compatdata//pfx/. Inside that prefix, look in the usual Windows-style locations such as drive_c/users//Documents or AppData. The numeric APPID is the game’s Steam application ID, so the folder name may not match the game title.
Using GNOME Disks sounds much safer for me than editing fstab manually. I’ll also move the background temporarily while I test the mount settings.