windows xp command prompt

[cauzomb]

How is it that I have several "valid" directories that I can navigate to in windows 9x but whenever booted in xp I cannot navigate to them via the command prompt... it keeps saying "invalid directory" and I've tried every possible syntax, even renaming the directory to valid_directory so yeah, I'm getting ready to take it out back and shoot it...

[F1]

NTFS is a protected file system and is not available from a command prompt unless you use something like NTFSdos

Read the introduction before using......

[cauzomb]

I'm not using ntfs, does that make a difference, or is windows xp command prompt ****e?

[cauzomb]

wonder if I need to take ownership of the drive/directory beforehand?

[TurcoLoco]

Cauzomb, is this a dual-boot system with Windows98 installed on C and XP installed on the D, etc. Drives? Also, according to what you implied, the partition you are initiating the command line access in Windows XP is formatted in FAT32 and from there you are accessing the Windows98 (C Drive) formatted in also FAT32? I don't believe the difference in cluster sizes or the filesystem of that particular XP partition would cause this.

Are you accessing Windows98 system folders? Also in XP are you using the using cmd.exe (START > RUN > cmd > OK) or command.exe (START > RUN > command > OK)?

~TL

[cauzomb]

hey, thanks for the help, yeah thats the one.

I'm using start | run | command.exe.

I'm not accessing system folders on the 9x boot partition, I am navigating to a folder off the root of a fat 32 partion, single partition on single drive connected to a pci raid controller, the drive has a different drive letter in 9x than it does in xp so this might be an issue??

[TurcoLoco]

Hmm, strange setup, so this is a single P-ATA/S-ATA drive connected to a PCI Raid controller? Can you not use the onboard controllers/ports?
More importantly why is this single partition is a different drive in 98?
Share some more info on the configuration of the OSes, how/where they were installed, etc.

Don't mean to question too much but your setup sounded a bit odd so I got curious.

Cauzomb, this tip might help us understand the problem better:
Boot to a Windows98 Startup floppy or CD, then at the command prompt, see if you can access the same folders or not...

~TL

[cauzomb]

I'll give the boot disk a shot, I think the reason for the different letters is that xp detected my usb drive and had support for it built in so it gave a drive letter to the usb flash card/reader, then the drives on the raid controller were assigned letters... It must have been the other way around for 9x, raid controller drivers and letters, then USB drivers and USB reader/card letter.

[TurcoLoco]

As long as the drive letter you were specifying in the command prompt was the correct drive letter that XP showed where 98 was installed at, that is what matters.
What 98 showed as where it was installed at is irrelevant to XP since there is no linking between each OS Registry even if they were installed on the very same partition (which is not a wise thing).

I will have to test this at my test system that has a multi-boot setup with Windows 98/2000/XP.
Since I can't recall trying this process before, I am not quite sure what would be the cause of this but I will have to try and see if I run into the same problem, if I do, it would be matter of minutes finding out why.

Also try using the cmd.exe instead of command.exe if you already have not.


~TL

[cauzomb]

It must have been a problem cropping up with xp, it unexpectedly decided to stop working the other day. I'll have to re-test this command prompt issue after re-installing, maybe it won't be a problem then??