Can Windows XP and Windows 98 share files on a DSL network?

Alan Edwards wrote:
On Fri, 4 Jan 2008 00:31:37 -0700, in
microsoft.public.win98.gen_discussion, "Bill in Co."
wrote:

Alan Edwards wrote:
On Thu, 3 Jan 2008 23:26:35 -0700, in
microsoft.public.win98.gen_discussion, "Bill in Co."
wrote:

Alan Edwards wrote:
On Thu, 3 Jan 2008 20:55:38 -0700, in
microsoft.public.win98.gen_discussion, "Bill in Co."
wrote:

RobertVA wrote:
Marty wrote:
I have AT&T-Yahoo DSL with 2 computers connected: a Dell Windows XP
and
an HP Windows 98SE. Is it possible for them to directly access each
other's files?

As I understood it, and no matter what, the Win98SE computer (using
FAT32) won't be able to see the WinXP files (using NTFS), but vice
versa is possible.

Perhaps I am missing something here but...
I am far from an expert on networking but I have no problem with a
Win98SE computer (using FAT32) seeing (and modifying) WinXP files
(using NTFS)

...Alan

No, then maybe I am missing something. I was under the impression
that
Win98SE, a FAT32 based system, could not see or access anything on an
NTFS partition. What am I getting mixed up?

Not sure what you are getting mixed up with.
I am sitting in front of 3 networked terminals (with broadband access,
though that is nor really relevant as I could network before
broadband)
One Win98Se (Fat32)
One WinMe (Fat32)
One Win XP SP2 (NTFS)
I can read/modify from all/to all.

...Alan
--
Alan Edwards, MS MVP Windows - Internet Explorer
http://dts-l.com/index.htm

OK, well I don't have a network, so apparently I'm wrong here then.
Let's
see..

I guess the only thing I do seem to recall (at least as I've heard here)
is
(e.g.) if you have a dual-boot system, with both 98SE and WinXP on it
(and
with XP using NTFS on its own HD partition), that HD partition (and all
its
files) are invisible to the Win98SE system, right? (as long as you
booted
up in Win98SE)

And if you want to get some files from the Win98SE (FAT32) partition and
transfer them over to the XP (NTFS) partition, at least without a
network,
you'd have to boot up in 98SE and save the files on some removable drive,
and then reboot in XP, and place them there on its partition. Right?

Sorry, but I have never used dual-booting.
Cannot comment on that.
A simple network is easy and cheap. Just a few dollars for a cable or two.

...Alan

Well, I wish Gary or somebody would come in here and clear this up for me,
because I'm still getting something confused about this. Perhaps the
network software is somehow able to "bridge" the gap in both directions, so
that a Win98SE computer can actually see and access files (using its Windows
Explorer?)on a NTFS hard drive on your network. I'm confused about this,
though.

I know nothing of a DSL router, which is why I avoided your initial
question.
Mine are connected via a network first. A simple Netgear 8 port Fast
Ethernet Switch. XP made it fairly simple to create the network,
though I did have 2 machines (Win98SE+WinMe) connected with only a
crossover cable before XP.
I installed a broadband modem later to the XP machine.
The others pickup the Internet from there. The Win9x machines are not
directly connected to the broadband modem.

Don't ask me too many hard questions. Hardware is not my forte.
You don't need to know a lot about Windows internals to set up a
network.

....Alan
--
Alan Edwards, MS MVP Windows - Internet Explorer
http://dts-l.com/index.htm



On Fri, 4 Jan 2008 01:08:02 -0800, in
microsoft.public.win98.gen_discussion, Marty
wrote:

Back to my original problem, the messages posted here make me think that it's
at least possible for a Windows XP machine and a Windows 98SE machine that
are connected to a common DSL router to access each other's files. The
question is, how do I do it? Do I have to configure something or change a
setting? Do I need to obtain some special software? Can I bypass the router
and connect the computers directly to each other? Although I did spend many
years developing software on UNIX systems, I don't have too much knowledge of
Windows internals and will appreciate any help I can get.

"Alan Edwards" wrote:

On Fri, 4 Jan 2008 00:31:37 -0700, in
microsoft.public.win98.gen_discussion, "Bill in Co."
wrote:

Alan Edwards wrote:
On Thu, 3 Jan 2008 23:26:35 -0700, in
microsoft.public.win98.gen_discussion, "Bill in Co."
wrote:

Alan Edwards wrote:
On Thu, 3 Jan 2008 20:55:38 -0700, in
microsoft.public.win98.gen_discussion, "Bill in Co."
wrote:

RobertVA wrote:
Marty wrote:
I have AT&T-Yahoo DSL with 2 computers connected: a Dell Windows XP
and
an HP Windows 98SE. Is it possible for them to directly access each
other's files?


As I understood it, and no matter what, the Win98SE computer (using
FAT32)
won't be able to see the WinXP files (using NTFS), but vice versa is
possible.


Perhaps I am missing something here but...
I am far from an expert on networking but I have no problem with a
Win98SE computer (using FAT32) seeing (and modifying) WinXP files
(using NTFS)

...Alan

No, then maybe I am missing something. I was under the impression
that
Win98SE, a FAT32 based system, could not see or access anything on an
NTFS
partition. What am I getting mixed up?


Not sure what you are getting mixed up with.
I am sitting in front of 3 networked terminals (with broadband access,
though that is nor really relevant as I could network before
broadband)
One Win98Se (Fat32)
One WinMe (Fat32)
One Win XP SP2 (NTFS)
I can read/modify from all/to all.

...Alan
--
Alan Edwards, MS MVP Windows - Internet Explorer
http://dts-l.com/index.htm

OK, well I don't have a network, so apparently I'm wrong here then. Let's
see..

I guess the only thing I do seem to recall (at least as I've heard here) is
(e.g.) if you have a dual-boot system, with both 98SE and WinXP on it (and
with XP using NTFS on its own HD partition), that HD partition (and all its
files) are invisible to the Win98SE system, right? (as long as you booted
up in Win98SE)

And if you want to get some files from the Win98SE (FAT32) partition and
transfer them over to the XP (NTFS) partition, at least without a network,
you'd have to boot up in 98SE and save the files on some removable drive,
and then reboot in XP, and place them there on its partition. Right?


Sorry, but I have never used dual-booting.
Cannot comment on that.
A simple network is easy and cheap. Just a few dollars for a cable or
two.

....Alan
--
Alan Edwards, MS MVP Windows - Internet Explorer
http://dts-l.com/index.htm

snip

...Alan

No, then maybe I am missing something. I was under the impression
that
Win98SE, a FAT32 based system, could not see or access anything on an
NTFS partition. What am I getting mixed up?

Not sure what you are getting mixed up with.
I am sitting in front of 3 networked terminals (with broadband access,
though that is nor really relevant as I could network before
broadband)
One Win98Se (Fat32)
One WinMe (Fat32)
One Win XP SP2 (NTFS)
I can read/modify from all/to all.

...Alan
--
Alan Edwards, MS MVP Windows - Internet Explorer
http://dts-l.com/index.htm

OK, well I don't have a network, so apparently I'm wrong here then.
Let's
see..

I guess the only thing I do seem to recall (at least as I've heard
here)
is
(e.g.) if you have a dual-boot system, with both 98SE and WinXP on it
(and
with XP using NTFS on its own HD partition), that HD partition (and all
its
files) are invisible to the Win98SE system, right? (as long as you
booted
up in Win98SE)

And if you want to get some files from the Win98SE (FAT32) partition
and
transfer them over to the XP (NTFS) partition, at least without a
network,
you'd have to boot up in 98SE and save the files on some removable
drive,
and then reboot in XP, and place them there on its partition. Right?

Sorry, but I have never used dual-booting.
Cannot comment on that.
A simple network is easy and cheap. Just a few dollars for a cable or
two.

...Alan

Well, I wish Gary or somebody would come in here and clear this up for me,
because I'm still getting something confused about this. Perhaps the
network software is somehow able to "bridge" the gap in both directions,
so
that a Win98SE computer can actually see and access files (using its
Windows
Explorer?)on a NTFS hard drive on your network. I'm confused about
this,
though.




Let me clear up a few misconceptions being perpetrated he

File sharing over a network is *independent* of the file system.

Over a network any two machines may share files.

The drives can be *any* type of files system.

A win98 machine can read files on an XP machine, a Linux machine...anything
that's on the network.

So if any two machines are connected through a router...
all one must do is have them be in the same workgroup (at least for the
win98 machine) and to enable file sharing.


OTOH: On same same machine however...it's a different story. If you have a
win98 machine and add a harddrive that is NTFS...
win98 cannot read it without using a thrid party utility...
But an XP machine can read either a fat32 or NTFS drive

snipped

Well, I wish Gary or somebody would come in here and clear this up for me,
because I'm still getting something confused about this. Perhaps the
network software is somehow able to "bridge" the gap in both directions,
so
that a Win98SE computer can actually see and access files (using its
Windows
Explorer?)on a NTFS hard drive on your network. I'm confused about
this,
though.



Extract from "Windows Millennium Edition Faq.txt File Contents" (but applies
to all Win9x)
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/262923/en-us

Q: Does Windows Me support NTFS?

NTFS is not directly supported under Windows Me. NTFS
volumes can be accessed only by Windows NT locally. If
Windows Me is installed on a computer already running
Windows NT with an NTFS volume, it cannot access any
information stored on the volume. However, Windows Me
can access NTFS volumes across a network connection.

HTH

Mart

"Mart" wrote in message
...
snipped

Well, I wish Gary or somebody would come in here and clear this up for
me,
because I'm still getting something confused about this. Perhaps the
network software is somehow able to "bridge" the gap in both directions,
so
that a Win98SE computer can actually see and access files (using its
Windows
Explorer?)on a NTFS hard drive on your network. I'm confused about
this,
though.



Extract from "Windows Millennium Edition Faq.txt File Contents" (but
applies to all Win9x)
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/262923/en-us

Q: Does Windows Me support NTFS?

NTFS is not directly supported under Windows Me. NTFS
volumes can be accessed only by Windows NT locally. If
Windows Me is installed on a computer already running
Windows NT with an NTFS volume, it cannot access any
information stored on the volume. However, Windows Me
can access NTFS volumes across a network connection.

HTH

Mart
I have 3 machines connected to a DSL router and BB modem, 2 running XPsp2
and one Win98se which can swap and share between them. Setting them up was
painless using the XP network setup wizard which you run on all machines(it
creates a floppy/cd to run it on the 98 machine)

"Bill in Co." wrote:



No, then maybe I am missing something. I was under the impression that
Win98SE, a FAT32 based system, could not see or access anything on an NTFS
partition. What am I getting mixed up?


If an NTFS drive is installed into a Windows 98 computer it will not
be able to access it.

However in a network situation the computer does not directly access a
drive on a different computer. What it does is access the other
computer and ask it to access its own disk drive and send the
requested file across the network. The file is just a data stream,
with no disk storage file system involved.

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP (1997 - 2008)
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

"Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference
has never been in bed with a mosquito."

philo wrote:
snip

...Alan

No, then maybe I am missing something. I was under the impression
that Win98SE, a FAT32 based system, could not see or access anything
on an NTFS partition. What am I getting mixed up?

Not sure what you are getting mixed up with.
I am sitting in front of 3 networked terminals (with broadband access,
though that is nor really relevant as I could network before
broadband)
One Win98Se (Fat32)
One WinMe (Fat32)
One Win XP SP2 (NTFS)
I can read/modify from all/to all.

...Alan
--
Alan Edwards, MS MVP Windows - Internet Explorer
http://dts-l.com/index.htm

OK, well I don't have a network, so apparently I'm wrong here then.
Let's
see..

I guess the only thing I do seem to recall (at least as I've heard
here) is
(e.g.) if you have a dual-boot system, with both 98SE and WinXP on it
(and
with XP using NTFS on its own HD partition), that HD partition (and all
its
files) are invisible to the Win98SE system, right? (as long as you
booted
up in Win98SE)

And if you want to get some files from the Win98SE (FAT32) partition
and
transfer them over to the XP (NTFS) partition, at least without a
network,
you'd have to boot up in 98SE and save the files on some removable
drive,
and then reboot in XP, and place them there on its partition. Right?

Sorry, but I have never used dual-booting.
Cannot comment on that.
A simple network is easy and cheap. Just a few dollars for a cable or
two.

...Alan

Well, I wish Gary or somebody would come in here and clear this up for
me,
because I'm still getting something confused about this. Perhaps the
network software is somehow able to "bridge" the gap in both directions,
so
that a Win98SE computer can actually see and access files (using its
Windows
Explorer?)on a NTFS hard drive on your network. I'm confused about
this,
though.

Let me clear up a few misconceptions being perpetrated he

File sharing over a network is *independent* of the file system.

Over a network any two machines may share files.

The drives can be *any* type of files system.

A win98 machine can read files on an XP machine, a Linux
machine...anything
that's on the network.

So if any two machines are connected through a router...
all one must do is have them be in the same workgroup (at least for the
win98 machine) and to enable file sharing.

OTOH: On same same machine however...it's a different story. If you have a
win98 machine and add a harddrive that is NTFS...
win98 cannot read it without using a thrid party utility...
But an XP machine can read either a fat32 or NTFS drive

OK, thanks for the clarification, philo. I guess (somehow) the network
software allows a Win98 computer to be able to see files for any other
operating system on the network that would otherwise normally be invisible
(if, say, they were on the same HD, and looked at directly within the
application itself, like by using Windows Explorer directly on the drive).
I'm not sure how, though.

I'm just curious. Actually it relates to me now too, as I'm getting a new
computer now with WinXP on it. I'm getting it before that, too, goes the
way of the do-do bird, as it just about has already now. It's hard to
find a new computer with XP as an option now anymore, but Dell still has it.

Ron Martell wrote:
"Bill in Co." wrote:


No, then maybe I am missing something. I was under the impression
that
Win98SE, a FAT32 based system, could not see or access anything on an
NTFS partition. What am I getting mixed up?

If an NTFS drive is installed into a Windows 98 computer it will not
be able to access it.

However in a network situation the computer does not directly access a
drive on a different computer. What it does is access the other
computer and ask it to access its own disk drive and send the
requested file across the network. The file is just a data stream,
with no disk storage file system involved.

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada

AHA! I think that helps me understand it a bit better. Thanks, Ron.

snip


A win98 machine can read files on an XP machine, a Linux
machine...anything
that's on the network.

So if any two machines are connected through a router...
all one must do is have them be in the same workgroup (at least for the
win98 machine) and to enable file sharing.

OTOH: On same same machine however...it's a different story. If you have
a
win98 machine and add a harddrive that is NTFS...
win98 cannot read it without using a thrid party utility...
But an XP machine can read either a fat32 or NTFS drive

OK, thanks for the clarification, philo. I guess (somehow) the network
software allows a Win98 computer to be able to see files for any other
operating system on the network that would otherwise normally be invisible
(if, say, they were on the same HD, and looked at directly within the
application itself, like by using Windows Explorer directly on the drive).
I'm not sure how, though.

I'm just curious. Actually it relates to me now too, as I'm getting a
new
computer now with WinXP on it. I'm getting it before that, too, goes
the
way of the do-do bird, as it just about has already now. It's hard to
find a new computer with XP as an option now anymore, but Dell still has
it.




Heck , I don't know how it works G
but you can read a little more he

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_file_system


As to your new machine...Yes...I'd probably go for XP for now.

Once SP1 is released for Vista, it might be sufficiently de-bugged though

philo wrote:
snip


A win98 machine can read files on an XP machine, a Linux
machine...anything
that's on the network.

So if any two machines are connected through a router...
all one must do is have them be in the same workgroup (at least for the
win98 machine) and to enable file sharing.

OTOH: On same same machine however...it's a different story. If you have
a
win98 machine and add a harddrive that is NTFS...
win98 cannot read it without using a thrid party utility...
But an XP machine can read either a fat32 or NTFS drive

OK, thanks for the clarification, philo. I guess (somehow) the
network
software allows a Win98 computer to be able to see files for any other
operating system on the network that would otherwise normally be
invisible
(if, say, they were on the same HD, and looked at directly within the
application itself, like by using Windows Explorer directly on the
drive).
I'm not sure how, though.

I'm just curious. Actually it relates to me now too, as I'm getting a
new
computer now with WinXP on it. I'm getting it before that, too, goes
the
way of the do-do bird, as it just about has already now. It's hard to
find a new computer with XP as an option now anymore, but Dell still has
it.

Heck , I don't know how it works G
but you can read a little more he

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_file_system

As to your new machine...Yes...I'd probably go for XP for now.

Once SP1 is released for Vista, it might be sufficiently de-bugged though

Egads. I don't want Vista!! The LAST thing I ever want is more
albatross bloatware!! (And DRM-ware, and BigBrother-ware).

I'm just a firm believer and subscriber of the "lean and mean" approach -
for an operating system, and for almost all my software, which is why I
still love Win98SE, and occasionally even DOS! So, I'm going into this
with "mixed" expectations. :-)