can't get to c:\ outside windows xp

  • Thread starter Thread starter Suzanne
  • Start date Start date
S

Suzanne

I was hoping someone could help me figure out how to
access the c:\ drive outside of Windows XP. I had made
up a startup disk, but it will only let me access the a:\
drive. When I try to change directories (cd) to either
my c drive or d drive, it won't let me. I can only
access directories under a:\. I'm trying to run a
program from the hard drive but outside of Windows. Any
help would be appreciated!!!

Thank you.
 
The problem is due to the file system. Your XP is on NTFS
file system which cannot be recognised by a normal floppy
start up disc (DOS). You will have to reload XP (fresh
installation) with FAT 32 file system for the DOS startup
disc to work.
 
Suzanne said:
I was hoping someone could help me figure out how to
access the c:\ drive outside of Windows XP. I had made
up a startup disk, but it will only let me access the a:\
drive. When I try to change directories (cd) to either
my c drive or d drive, it won't let me. I can only
access directories under a:\. I'm trying to run a
program from the hard drive but outside of Windows. Any
help would be appreciated!!!
Click to expand...

You probably have the C and D drive as NTFS. DOS, the OS that you
probably have on your floppy disk, can not natively read an NTFS
partition. There are utilities that will allow you to read and write
an NTFS partition from DOS, but they are expensive. The free version,
which is read only, can be downloaded from
http://www.sysinternals.com/ntw2k/freeware/ntfsdospro.shtml. There is
a link at the bottom of the page to order the pro version which can
read and write.

What are you trying to run? Will the program fit on a floppy disk to
be run from there? You should be wary of running any program on that
drive outside of Windows XP that doesn't natively support NTFS.

--
Tom Porterfield
MS-MVP Windows XP & Smart Display
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/tp.porterfield/support

Please post all follows to the newsgroup only
 
Windows XP doesn't have real DOS. Your hard drive is probably formatted
NTFS. If you're using a single Startup Disk it's probably DOS, which won't
read an NTFS formatted hard drive, ergo only being able to read the A:\
drive which isn't formatted NTFS. You haven't said why you want to run the
program 'outside of Windows XP'. If it's a question of the program's
compatibility with Windows XP, you might try running the program in a
Compatibility Mode for Windows 98 or Windows 95. Click Start/Help &
Support, type compatibility mode, click the white arrow, in the results,
click: Getting Older Programs to Run on Windows XP, and read about
Compatibility Mode. If that doesn't help, and the program is important to
you, you can partition the hard drive, and make a dual boot system, with the
partition that Windows XP ISN'T INSTALLED ON formatted FAT32 instead of
NTFS. But, that will wipe your drive. (Unless you buy a third party
utility like Partition Magic) I did a clean install of a dual boot system,
partitioning the drive in half, installing Windows 98 SE on the C:\ drive,
and then installing Windows XP on the D:\ partition. When I boot, a menu
comes up asking which Windows I want to boot into, with Windows XP being the
default, the time for the default Operating System to start running is
adjustable.
 
Back
Top