DOS and NTFS

Can I run my DOS application on computers with Windows XP using the NTFS
file system?
My DOS application was written in Clipper. For the past several years I've
been running this application on a 5 computer network using Windows 98 on all
the computers. Everything worked fine.
About a week ago, I upgraded the OS on the 5 computers from Windows 98 to
Windows XP. I did a clean install of Win XP on all the computers by
formating the hard drives (I selected NTFS) and then I did the Win XP
install. The installation of Win XP went well and my application "appears"
to be running OK but could something sinister be going on with my data and
files that I may not be aware of early on? I recently read somewhere that
NTFS should not be used if you plan to run DOS applications. Is this true?
Did I goof when I elected to use NTFS instead of FAT32? Thanks for the help.

stmts wrote:
> Can I run my DOS application on computers with Windows XP using
> the NTFS file system?

Most.

> My DOS application was written in Clipper. For the past several
> years I've been running this application on a 5 computer network
> using Windows 98 on all the computers. Everything worked fine.
> About a week ago, I upgraded the OS on the 5 computers from Windows
> 98 to Windows XP. I did a clean install of Win XP on all the
> computers by formating the hard drives (I selected NTFS) and then I
> did the Win XP install. The installation of Win XP went well and
> my application "appears" to be running OK but could something
> sinister be going on with my data and files that I may not be aware
> of early on?

> I recently read somewhere that NTFS should not be
> used if you plan to run DOS applications. Is this true?

Where did you read this? The file system itself has nothing to do with your
ability to run the application - as long as the file system can be read by
said application. What your problem *might* be is an old-cruddy software
that won't run in the "version" of DOS (command prompt really) that is in
Windows XP.

> Did I goof when I elected to use NTFS instead of FAT32?

Doubtful. Again - unless that application needs some special access to the
drive (which would be scarey depending on the application in question and
its purpose) - the file system is not all that important. Sure - you have
to be sure it has the proper security with NTFS - but as long as it
installed and is running - it's the same as it was on the legacy systems.

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

Whew! Thank you very much. Seems to be processing OK. Thanks again, Shenan.

"Shenan Stanley" wrote:

> stmts wrote:
> > Can I run my DOS application on computers with Windows XP using
> > the NTFS file system?
>
> Most.
>
> > My DOS application was written in Clipper. For the past several
> > years I've been running this application on a 5 computer network
> > using Windows 98 on all the computers. Everything worked fine.
> > About a week ago, I upgraded the OS on the 5 computers from Windows
> > 98 to Windows XP. I did a clean install of Win XP on all the
> > computers by formating the hard drives (I selected NTFS) and then I
> > did the Win XP install. The installation of Win XP went well and
> > my application "appears" to be running OK but could something
> > sinister be going on with my data and files that I may not be aware
> > of early on?
>
> > I recently read somewhere that NTFS should not be
> > used if you plan to run DOS applications. Is this true?
>
> Where did you read this? The file system itself has nothing to do with your
> ability to run the application - as long as the file system can be read by
> said application. What your problem *might* be is an old-cruddy software
> that won't run in the "version" of DOS (command prompt really) that is in
> Windows XP.
>
> > Did I goof when I elected to use NTFS instead of FAT32?
>
> Doubtful. Again - unless that application needs some special access to the
> drive (which would be scarey depending on the application in question and
> its purpose) - the file system is not all that important. Sure - you have
> to be sure it has the proper security with NTFS - but as long as it
> installed and is running - it's the same as it was on the legacy systems.
>
> --
> Shenan Stanley
> MS-MVP
> --
> How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
> http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
>
>
>

Greetings,


I supposing using NTFS Reader utility to access NTFS in DOS. That is a
really useful tool, I've used it before and it never failed me. It can
be found on a data tools set, CD image Active@ Boot Disk that also
posses extremely powerful data utilites for destruction, recovery,
backup etc. Give it a glance, you won't regret it.

http://www.ntfs.com/boot-disk.htm