Mountain Biking - turning my bike into a mtb

i bought a mtb a while ago but it doesn't look like the mtb's that i see everyone else use even though it is supposedly a mtb. i was wondering if anyone could look at the pictures i've put up here >> (http://homepages.ihug.com.au/~quasar4n) and tell me whether i can make any adjustments to make it more suitable for mountain bike riding? also, i've taken lots of photos of my brakes - is it a good idea to switch to disk brakes and is it possible with my bike??

cheers
nebs :D

Well dude, looks like a pretty good bike. I would suggest maybe taking all the reflectors off, if you aren't going to use it at night on the road but even then they don't do much good. I think brake wise, your fine using what you have. No reason to change something that isn't broken. Maybe lose the kickstand. All and all looks like you got a pretty nice beginners bike that will suit you will for awhile, so get out there and ride :)

Its is an mtb already! Like Hammerthehill said, just get out there and ride it!

list the component company names, part I.D.
Who's the major maker?..( you didn't it photograph well.)

Looks a mountain bike to me. It's referred to as hardtail, no rear suspension.
Better with cheaper bikes.

No disc tabs on the fork (like the pivots points on the fork for brakes sorta-) so no unless you get a new fork..how is it running?
If you put a new fork on, it will have the tabs (called bosses on the fork you have).

looks like a mall-mart bike to me. id pass on doing anything to that and go to a real bike shop and getting a nice beginner bike. please view the $500 hardtails sticky thread at the top of the page.

Ditch the gaurd on the chainset, ditch the stand and get Time in on riding it. As parts fail, then get them replaced, but for a first bike, not bad. Don't spend a great deal on upgrading though. For the cost of converting to discs, you could get a better bike. Use this one to learn on and run it into the ground.

I wouldn't do much more than removing the kickstand and reflectors.

It's a good beginner bike and will get you riding, but I don't think it's upgrade worthy. At least don't spend a whole lotta money upgrading it. Rather save up some money and buy a mid-level bike in a couple years.