accessing a partition from win xp

[réjean]

Hi all!I have a separate partition (dev/sda11 or /hda/11 ) which I use for storage and would like to be able to access either from my win xp ( on the same computer ) or from another win xp on another computer.My fstab in Mandriva 2009 is;

UUID=fb738529-32d4-4fb2-bb78-ed0133ce3124 / ext3 relatime 1 1# Entry for /dev/sda6 :UUID=2c2df885-c0fa-4f6a-9358-8b49c597448d /home ext3 relatime 1 2/dev/cdrom /media/cdrom auto umask=0,users,iocharset=utf8,noauto,ro,exec 0 0# Entry for /dev/sda1 :UUID=C6B8CC95B8CC8601 /mnt/win_c ntfs-3g defaults 0 0# Entry for /dev/sda11 :UUID=48A8-3E14 /mnt/win_d vfat umask=0,iocharset=utf8 0 0none /proc proc defaults 0 0# Entry for /dev/sda5 :UUID=e8d9fe5d-b1bf-41cf-baa7-c17db02994b4 swap swap defaults 0 0# Entry for /dev/sdb6 :UUID=ae377a75-49a1-442d-9c30-4944255dd743 swap swap defaults 0 0#entry for /dev/sda11/dev/hda11 /mnt/storage vfat rw,users,umask=000   0 0

with the last line being the one concerning the partition. I have no clue at how to make changes in XP. Can anyone make a suggestion?

Edited December 5, 2008 by réjean

[nlinecomputers]

There are no changes you need to make in XP. It should see the drive on boot up.

[striker]

ditto. Open up My Computer and you'll see the partition (as a drive) immediately.

[réjean]

Hi guys!I know that it should see the drive but it doesn't. All I see is Local disk C ( under Hard Disk drives ) and 3.5 Floppy drive, CD drive D and DVD drive E ( under Devices with removable storage ) plus Shared Documents and Rejean's Documents ( under Files stored on this Computer ).

[nlinecomputers]

What does Disk Management report?Click Start, click Run, type compmgmt.msc, and then click OK.In the console tree, click Disk Management. The Disk Management window appears. Your disks and volumes appear in a graphical view and list view. To customize how you view your disks and volumes in the upper and lower panes of the window, point to Top or Bottom on the View menu, and then click the view that you want to use.

Edited December 6, 2008 by nlinecomputers

[réjean]

Hi Nathan!Here is what I get!So on Disk 0 the last partition with the green bar ( 99.9 GB ) is the one that I would like to access.If I right click on it and choose New Partition Drive and go all the way except for the formatting will I still be able to see it and access it from Linux?

Edited December 7, 2008 by réjean

[réjean]

So I went ahead and I can now see it in My Computer except that I cannot see it's content because I am asked to format it which I don't want to do. Any way around?

[nlinecomputers]

STOP!Is there data all ready on this partition? If so windows will kill it. Can you see and write to this drive in Linux?

[réjean]

Hi Nathan!I was thinking about it when I went to bed last night and since all I have on the partition so far are a half dozen .iso files plus a few smaller documents I'll move them to a few distros; PCLinuxOS, Mandriva, OpenSuSE.Then I'll format the partition ( which is now called F in Windoze ) and put them back on the partition (storage in Linux).Does it sound like a good plan?

[nlinecomputers]

Yes. If you have data on that partition it needs to be moved off. It wasn't properly formated and partitioned correctly in Linux.

[réjean]

Hi again!I just moved all the files I wanted except for one that I don't wand Mandy 2009 free-dvd ( over 4 Gb) but now XP wants to format it as NTFS. Will I be able to access it from Linux?My fstab says;

#entry for /dev/sda11/dev/hda11 /mnt/storage vfat rw,users,umask=000   0 0

And can I format the partition from Linux?

[crp]

Hi again!I just moved all the files I wanted except for one that I don't wand Mandy 2009 free-dvd ( over 4 Gb) but now XP wants to format it as NTFS. Will I be able to access it from Linux?My fstab says;

#entry for /dev/sda11/dev/hda11 /mnt/storage vfat rw,users,umask=000   0 0

And can I format the partition from Linux?

depends on your Linux build if you can write and/or see an NTFS formatted partition.You may need to install an NTFS reader.

[réjean]

Hi crp I assume that the XP installed on my wife's computer is a NTFS type and I can see it from all the Linux distros ( using Samba ), my other computer which has an old PCLinux and XP can be seen from all my Linux distros.

Edited December 7, 2008 by réjean

[sunrat]

You will be able to read and write NTFS as long as you have ntfs3g(the file system driver) installed, and use ntfs3g in your fstab instead of vfat.

[nlinecomputers]

Hi again!I just moved all the files I wanted except for one that I don't wand Mandy 2009 free-dvd ( over 4 Gb) but now XP wants to format it as NTFS. Will I be able to access it from Linux?My fstab says;

#entry for /dev/sda11/dev/hda11 /mnt/storage vfat rw,users,umask=000   0 0

And can I format the partition from Linux?

I don't know if Mandriva can see NTFS or not. Bruno may know if they support it.As for seeing it over the network that has NOTHING to do with how the drives are formatted. Samba isn't interacting with the drives at that level but at a much higher level.

[lewmur]

I don't know if Mandriva can see NTFS or not. Bruno may know if they support it.As for seeing it over the network that has NOTHING to do with how the drives are formatted. Samba isn't interacting with the drives at that level but at a much higher level.

Correct. The format of a networked drive is not relevant. It is seen as a "network share" no matter what its format. But "permission" do matter. I don't use Mandy much so I don't remember what it uses for its default networking but I'm pretty sure if you install smb4k, it will solve the problems. It an easy way for distros that don't set up network by just clicking the "Network" button, to access Windows shares.

[réjean]

Oh! Grand!!! Wonderful!I booted into XP then clicked on My Computer and then on disk F. I was asked if I wanted to formast the drive with NTFS as the only option. I chose Quick Format and was told after a little while the format had been achieved. I rebooted into PCLinux ( where I had saved the .iso files and /hda11 could be seen. Good! Except thet I had left one .iso into it and I could still see it. Oh! Well. I moved the files back and rebooted into XP to make sure that I could finally access the partition.Upon rebooted...I now get the following message;

Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:<Windows root>\system32\hal.dll.Please re-install a copy of the above file

Glorious!I can boot the XP CD and choose Repair and access a console but it has been so long since I have done so that I cannot how to copy the file back and most specifically where to copy it.Any clue anyone?

[striker]

I have a little list with links for ya:How Do I Repair A Missing Or Corrupt HAL.DLLhttp://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org/how_do_i_...sing_or_cor.htmError Message: Cannot Find \Windows\System32\hal.dllhttp://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_haldll_missing.htmRecovering Windows XP using the Recovery Console (<<< screenshots )http://www.windowsnetworking.com/articles_...s/wxprcons.htmlDescription of the Windows XP Recovery Console for advanced usershttp://support.microsoft.com/kb/314058How to install and use the Recovery Console in Windows XPhttp://support.microsoft.com/kb/307654

[réjean]

Well I tried most of the suggestions but it didn't work. I remembered being able to install XP on top of itself so I tried to do it again but this time it erased everything so I have to start from scratch.I can now see the storage partition but not what it contains, that I added from Linux except from what I add from XP. Weird.

[réjean]

Another glorious news.After reinstalling XP and most of the applications I use I left it alone for some days. Then today while I was using it I clicked the reset button instead of the eject button on my dvd drive. I then tried to restart the computer in XP and now I am getting this message;

Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:<Windows root>\system32\ntoskrnl.exePlease reinstall a copy of the above file.

Now, sure enough there are enough geniuses around here that can show me how to use the install CD, boot XP in Restore mode and move the file either from the CD or another computer running XP also without me having to reinstall XP and all the programs I use again.I thought I had found a solution online here which I adapted as such;

Expand f:\i386\ntoskrnl.exe_C:\Windows\System32

but unfortunately I get the following;

The file could not be expanded

Edited December 15, 2008 by réjean