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Old February 19th 07, 09:58 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware
CBFalconer
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Default Reading files from linux when you use linux (No partition but 2ndHDD)

just_me wrote:

I have installed linux in my 250 GB WD, and I have Windows XP in
the other one. I wanted to move some files from linux to windows
and I downloaded explore2fs. But it doesn't find anything, and
when I try to access the disk from windows it says that it must
be formated. If I do that will it erase linux from the disk? What
should I do?!


Don't format it. That will lose the linux installation. In linux,
use gparted (or parted, if you are comfortable with the command
line) to setup a small partition, large enough to hold anything you
want to transfer. You may have to shrink some existing partition,
which (g)parted can do. Format that as a FAT32 (or even FAT16)
file system. That will be readable and writeable from either
system. Don't forget to add an entry in fstab to mount the new
partition in linux. You will need to read up on how Linux
identifies drives.

Another possibility (which will eventually waste a bunch of CDRoms)
is to write the files to your CDRom. That again will be readable
(and writeable) under either system.

Your Windoze system is probably using the NTFS file system, which
cannot be reliably written from Linux, because MS doesn't publish
its specifications. If you make the new partition about 4GB it
will take very little out of your 250G drive, and will handle any
file that Windoze can read.

Now that you have Linux mounted, you will probably gradually switch
over to Linux for most work. You certainly don't want to ever let
Vista on your system. See the links below.

--
http://www.cs.auckland.ac.nz/~pgut001/pubs/vista_cost.txt
http://www.securityfocus.com/columnists/423

"A man who is right every time is not likely to do very much."
-- Francis Crick, co-discover of DNA
"There is nothing more amazing than stupidity in action."
-- Thomas Matthews