[inbox] FAT32, NFS and Knoppix

[Greg Neumann]

You won't need to get that radical. XP knows the FAT32 system, and it 
will run natively on it. You can put in the old drive as a slave, XP 
will recognize it as a FAT32, be able to access it and then you can copy 
files back and forth to you're heart's content! I have done this 
successfully at work.
NOTE: Be aware of any implication of opening a new Dell computer and 
possible voiding of tech support / warranty. Probably this wonderful 
"tech support" stuff is behind you're friend's decisions. I doubt Dell 
would be happy to support a brand-new machine that was immediately 
opened to have an old, unknown hard drive put in. One very good reason 
to let a good, local guy like Cybersource handle any computer needs 
involving file transfers from previous machines.
Alternatively, you could network the ailing machine and try to copy the 
flies from it to the new machine. If the motherboard is ailing ... this 
could get very risky. Also, writing to the NTFS under Linux is NOT 
supported except in very alpha/testing stages in Linux. There are all 
sorts of warnings about this in the kernel config files.
Finally, try to avoid the handy XP file transfer wizards. In my 
experience, like all magicians, they're more slight of hand and illusion 
that reality. ;-)
-Greg

Scott Lawton wrote:
> I have a friend who will be getting a new computer soon. Her Win 98 box 
> is going to hell - apparently big time MoBo problems.
> The new machine will run Windows Xtreme Prejudice [XP] like all the 
> other computers in her home and graphic design business.
> She wants a Dell; I told her about CyberSource, but she still wants a 
> Dell - go figure.
> 
> She wants the files in My Docs and certain subdirectories of Prog Files 
> copied  to the HD of the new box, if possible .
> The 98 HD is FAT32, but I think that XP uses NTFS, and NTFS doesn't seem 
> to interface well with much else [my impression].
> 
> My question is this - Could I mount the old  drive in the machine as 
> slave, and boot with Knoppix to copy the aforementioned files to  an XP 
> partition on the master, then have them recognized on the next XP boot ?
> 
> Once the needed files are copied, then the slave will be able to be 
> reformatted to XP partitions.
>