Access NTFS From DOS

[Guest]

Hello,

I noticed that DOS does not recognize NTFS partitions but handles FAT and
FAT32 just fine. My C: drive is NTFS and my D: is FAT32.

I tried using a third-party software named NTFS4DOS but it doesn't seem to
work very well as it does not make drive C: available at all.

Does microsoft provide any means to access NTFS partitions from DOS?

If not, does anyone know of any other software that will let me access an
NTFS partition from DOS.

-A

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I noticed that DOS does not recognize NTFS partitions but handles FAT
and FAT32 just fine.

That's correct.

My C: drive is NTFS and my D: is FAT32.

I tried using a third-party software named NTFS4DOS but it doesn't
seem to work very well as it does not make drive C: available at all.

I've never used NTFS4DOS, but I've used NTFSDOS and it works fine. Note,
however, that the free version provides only read access. You have to buy it
to get read/write access.

Does microsoft provide any means to access NTFS partitions from DOS?

No.


If not, does anyone know of any other software that will let me
access an NTFS partition from DOS.

NTFSDOS, as I said.

 

[Malke]

Hello,

I noticed that DOS does not recognize NTFS partitions but handles FAT
and FAT32 just fine. My C: drive is NTFS and my D: is FAT32.

I tried using a third-party software named NTFS4DOS but it doesn't
seem to work very well as it does not make drive C: available at all.

Does microsoft provide any means to access NTFS partitions from DOS?

If not, does anyone know of any other software that will let me access
an NTFS partition from DOS.

-A

Hi, Alias. It really depends on what you want to do. For quick repairs,
the Recovery Console works fine. For data retrieval, my preference is
Knoppix. However, you can't write to an NTFS partition from Linux so if
you need to write to the partition (to try a repair or something), then
a Bart's PE or ERD Commander is the way to go. ERD Commander is
extremely expensive, but they have a free emergency download. Here is
information about Knoppix and also links to the other items I
mentioned:

An easy way to retrieve Windows files is to boot with Knoppix, a Linux
distro on a live cd. You will need a computer with two cd drives, one
of which is a cd/dvd-rw OR a usb thumb drive with enough capacity to
hold your data. To get Knoppix, you need a computer with a fast
Internet connection and third-party burning software. Download the
Knoppix .iso from www.knoppix.net and create your bootable cd. Then
boot with it and it will be able to see the Windows files. If you are
using the usb thumb drive, right-click on its icon (on the Desktop) to
get its properties and uncheck the box that says "Read Only". Then
click on it to open it. Note that the default mouse action in the
window manager used by Knoppix (KDE) is a single click to open instead
of the traditional MS Windows' double-click. Otherwise, use the K3b
burning program to burn the files to cd/dvd-r's.

http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/ (Bart's PE)
http://www.winternals.com/Products/ERDCommander/

Malke

 

[Guest]

Hello again,

Just saying thanks to all who responded to my post. I will try all your
suggestions and I got really good leads on software from you all. Thank you
very much to all for your valued input

-Alias

 

[Guest]

The Recovery console offers a 'Dos-like' feel, but is only really useful for
troubleshooting and repairing your xp installation.

 

[John Wunderlich]

I noticed that DOS does not recognize NTFS partitions but handles
FAT and FAT32 just fine. My C: drive is NTFS and my D: is FAT32.

I tried using a third-party software named NTFS4DOS but it doesn't
seem to work very well as it does not make drive C: available at
all.

Does microsoft provide any means to access NTFS partitions from
DOS?

If not, does anyone know of any other software that will let me
access an NTFS partition from DOS.

Microsoft does not provide access to NTFS partitions from DOS.

Sysinternals has a program "NTFSDos". (Same as yours but without the
"4"). The freeware version provides read-only access to the volume.
A commercial version allows reads & writes.
<http://www.sysinternals.com/Utilities/NtfsDos.html>

HTH,
John

 

[ChrisC]

Hi, just to add to John's reply, here http://www.bootdisk.com/ also will
have the discs you require....
ChrisC

 

[Guest]

Everyone,

I got the retail version of NTFSDOS and everything appeared to work at first
glance. Then I realized that NTFSDOS had my drive assignments mismatched.

When I typed "DIR C:" I got a listing from my D: drive. When I typed "DIR
D:" I actually got a listing from my C: drive. Supposedly if use the NTFSDOS
switch "/LC" it will let you assign "C" as a drive letter. NOT, I got an
error message instead.

I dare not do a format on drive C: because I might end up formatting drive
D: instead. I contacted the company regarding this but have yet to get a
response back from them.

Of course this all goes back to Microsoft for leaving users in this horrible
situation with virtually no viable solutions for dealing with NTFS from DOS.
Really, what was Microsoft thinking because when Windows goes down DOS is
where you end up at.

I'm going to convert my NTFS drive back to FAT32. That way, I'm at least
assured a greater chance of success at recovering files when WinXP takes a
nose dive.

-Alias