Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.hardware (
More info?)
Hi, Rich.
I don't mean to beat a dead horse, but your thinking is still faulty, I'm
afraid. We could just let it pass, but, since you DO want to learn...
> That's where my thinking was faulty. I always thought that a FAT
> could not see a NTFS but just the opposite was true.
No! FAT does NOT see at all.
I look in my driveway and I see a Ford and an Oldsmobile. I can use either
of them that I choose. But the Ford can't use (or see) the Olds and the
Olds can't use the Ford - that simply is not the way it works.
On my hard drive, I have some volumes formatted NTFS and some formatted FAT.
Since I'm running WinXP, I can access any of those volumes. I'm running
WinXP from Drive D:, which is formatted NTFS, but it is NOT correct to say
that NTFS is accessing ANY drive. It IS true to say that WinXP is accessing
those drives. WinXP is "seeing" and accessing both NTFS and FAT volumes.
One FILE system does NOT use another file system. Only OPERATING systems
use file systems. Operating systems are things like MS-DOS, Windows (many
versions from 1.0 through XP, with Longhorn on the way), Linux, the various
Apple OSes, etc. File systems are FAT (File Allocation Table - several
versions, depending on how many bits are used to locate the allocation unit,
which dictates how large a volume can be handled), NTFS (the New
Technologies File System, first used in WinNT), and other file systems used
by other operating systems. The operating system runs the whole computer,
including writing to and reading from hard and floppy disks; volumes on the
disks may each be formatted to fit one file system.
See this chapter from the online version of the WinXP Pro Resource Kit:
File Systems Overview
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/Windows/XP/all/reskit/en-us/Default.asp?url=/resources/documentation/Windows/XP/all/reskit/en-us/prkc_fil_tdrn.asp
(That URL may not hit the exact right page, but you can do some exploring
from there. Lots of good information all through that chapter.)
If you really want to learn more about this stuff, you might want to buy the
hard-copy Resource Kit. It's expensive ($59.99 list from Microsoft Press)
and about half of it is stuff that I (and probably you) don't need to know
(how to roll out WinXP on thousands of computers in your multi-national
company, for example). But the half that does apply to me justifies - for
me - the cost of the entire book.
RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
rc@corridor.net
Microsoft Windows MVP
"Rich Barry" <rbarry@NOTsocal.rr.com> wrote in message
news:%23Fgr33BeEHA.3016@tk2msftngp13.phx.gbl...
> Hi R.C,
> That's where my thinking was faulty. I always thought that a FAT
> could not see a NTFS but just the opposite was true. I have kept my dual
> and triple boots simple by just using Fat32 for all. I know that NTFS
> is the way to go for Win2K and WinXP but for my purposes Fat works fine.
> Thanks again for the further
> explanation. I'm self taught with some gaps in my computer knowledge.
> "R. C. White" <RCWhite@msn.com> wrote in message
> news:OpsqCN%23dEHA.2608@TK2MSFTNGP09.phx.gbl...
>> Hi, Rich.
>>
>> No, don't confuse "operating systems" with "file systems". Some OSes
> cannot
>> read some file systems. (Win98 can't read NTFS; MS-DOS can't read NTFS
>> (without third-party help); older Win95 can't read either NTFS or FAT32;
>> WinNT4 can't read FAT32.) But WinXP can read and write any file system
>> Microsoft has used to date. To WinXP, it's no different from reading a
>> floppy formatted FAT12 - which Win9x/ME can also handle without
>> complaint.
>>
>> So, if you were dual-booting Win9x/ME and WinXP, your Win9x would not be
>> able to read any partition formatted NTFS, but WinXP could read both NTFS
>> and FAT(32 or 16 or 12) easily. To dual-boot Win9x/ME and any
>> combination
>> of WinNT4/2K/XP, the "system partition" (almost always Drive C
and the
>> Win9x/ME "boot volume" (often Drive C:, also) MUST be formatted FAT; any
>> volumes to be accessed by Win9x/ME must also be formatted FAT. (Since
>> Win9x/ME cannot even SEE a volume formatted NTFS, this can confuse drive
>> letter assignments in Win9x/ME when there are some NTFS volumes in the
> mix.)
>> But WinXP can read all the formats natively.
>>
>> RC
>>
>> "Rich Barry" <rbarry@NOTsocal.rr.com> wrote in message
>> news:O1INeG4dEHA.2520@TK2MSFTNGP12.phx.gbl...
>> > Thanks R.C. since I never had two versions of XP running in dual
> boot,
>> > but did have Win98SE I was under
>> > the false impression that a WinXP Fat32 could not see a WinXP
>> > Ntfs.
>> > "R. C. White" <RCWhite@msn.com> wrote in message
>> > news:e1dsBT0dEHA.228@TK2MSFTNGP11.phx.gbl...
>> >> Hi, Rich - and Steve.
>> >>
>> >> That's excellent advice...except for the middle part:
>> >>
>> >> > Hope that he is
>> >> > formatted in NTFS. If you are NTFS and
>> >> > he is Fat 32 you won't be able to see the drive. Just have him
>> > convert
>> >> > to NTFS.
>> >>
>> >> Not true. WinXP can mix'n'match FAT32 and NTFS in any combination.
>> >> Including copying files from a volume formatted one way to another
> volume
>> >> formatted the other way. ;<)
>> >>
>> >> RC
>> >>
>> >> "Rich Barry" <rbarry@NOTsocal.rr.com> wrote in message
>> >> news:etmW9bzdEHA.3632@TK2MSFTNGP09.phx.gbl...
>> >> > Steve, just connect it as slave to his drive. Then rt click on
>> >> > MyComputer>select Manage>Disk Management.
>> >> > rt click on your drive and assign a drive letter to it. Hope that
> he
>> > is
>> >> > formatted in NTFS. If you are NTFS and
>> >> > he is Fat 32 you won't be able to see the drive. Just have him
>> > convert
>> >> > to NTFS. There's a Jumper on the
>> >> > hard drive that you move to slave from master.
>> >> > "steves" <anonymous@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> >> > news:7eaf01c47731$b44dd8c0$a501280a@phx.gbl...
>> >> >> Hi, Have a 20gb hd in a pc that dosn't work.my pc is win
>> >> >> xp upgraded from win 98,But need all my info thats onit
>> >> >> how can i put it in another pc that is also xp.So that i
>> >> >> can take off all info and store on cd-r's because the
>> >> >> other pc is not mine its a friends.
>> >> >>
>> >> >> Many thanks to all of you who can help me.
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