How can I run utility that accesses hardware from DOS prompt?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Frank
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Frank

What permissions can I set to run a HW accessing utility? In the
immediate case I need to use PARTINFO.EXE (Powerquest's
drive/partition information utility), which reads the HD, but doesn't
do any writing.
Frank
 
Frank said:
What permissions can I set to run a HW accessing utility? In the
immediate case I need to use PARTINFO.EXE (Powerquest's
drive/partition information utility), which reads the HD, but doesn't
do any writing.
Frank
Click to expand...

This tool probably runs from DOS, not from Windows.
I suspect you're calling the Command Prompt a "DOS
Prompt", which it isn't. DOS is an operating system all
of its own. Download a DOS boot disk from
www.bootdisk.com and try again.
 
This tool probably runs from DOS, not from Windows.
I suspect you're calling the Command Prompt a "DOS
Prompt", which it isn't. DOS is an operating system all
of its own. Download a DOS boot disk from
www.bootdisk.com and try again.
Click to expand...
Actually, Microsoft produces the error message with this title:
"16 bit MS-DOS Subsystem" saying a program is trying to access the
HD. I know this, and this is what I want.

Yes, I can shut the system down, boot to DOS, run the utility, write
down the results, reboot, type the info into notepad and save the
results. This will be error prone and more than a little annoying
before even the third machine is inventoried.
 
Frank said:
Actually, Microsoft produces the error message with this title:
"16 bit MS-DOS Subsystem" saying a program is trying to access the
HD. I know this, and this is what I want.

Yes, I can shut the system down, boot to DOS, run the utility, write
down the results, reboot, type the info into notepad and save the
results. This will be error prone and more than a little annoying
before even the third machine is inventoried.
Click to expand...

This is an issue with partinfo.exe, not with Win2000. It is a 16-bit
application that talks to the hardware directly. If you want to do
this sort of thing under Windows then you need to buy an
application that is written for it. There are plenty of them around.

Windows 98 was far more tolerant in this regard. It would allow
just about anything, and it had perennial stability problems. Win2000
will not let rogue applications talk directly to the hardware. As a
result it is far more stable than Win98 ever was.
 
Frank said:
Actually, Microsoft produces the error message with this title:
"16 bit MS-DOS Subsystem" saying a program is trying to access the
HD. I know this, and this is what I want.

Yes, I can shut the system down, boot to DOS, run the utility, write
down the results, reboot, type the info into notepad and save the
results. This will be error prone and more than a little annoying
before even the third machine is inventoried.
Click to expand...

The 16-bit MS-DOS Subsystem is not a true DOS. It is an emulation of DOS
5.0. By design, the emulator is NOT allowed to access hardware directly, it
must go thru the Hardware Abstraction Layer. What you're asking is
impossible to accomplish with NT based O/Ses.
 
Hit number 2 after typing "partinfo" and "windows" into Google eventually
led here ;-)
ftp://ftp.symantec.com/public/english_us_canada/tools/pq/utilities/
The one you need is PartInNT.zip.
Louis
 
Thanks. That will help for this problem. Too bad we have to deal
with an MS that refuses to admit that there are non-MS partitions in
the world.
 
It seems you do not understand the issue. This has nothing
to do with Windows recognising or not recognising alien
partitions but everything with the HAL (Hardware Abstraction
Layer). Applications written for Windows can deal with
any file system. Applications written for DOS can't. I have
a Windows application that can talk directly to the hard
disk, regardless of the current file system. According to
you this should not be possible. Food for thought . . .
 
Sorry for the ambiguity. I was referring to the fact that the Win2K
Disk Manager Service refuses to provide info on non-MS partitions.
 
That's because Windows can work with FAT, FAT32 and
NTFS file systems. For other file systems you would need
other drivers. They are most likely available and downloadable.
 
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