* Welcome zu NTFS4DOS *



You decided to use NTFS4DOS and therefore for the most powerful tool to access NTFS drives from DOS. NTFS4DOS has been developed on the base of the :datapol: NTACCESS library which is also used for other products like McAfee Cleanboot.

While using NTFS4DOS NTFS drives are mounted like normal network drives and the user can work with them transparent using a drive-letter.
By the singular size of less than 100 kBytes NTFS4DOS fits on any boot-disk and makes NTFS volumes accessible even in the case Windows NT/2000/XP/Server2003 isn't installed or doesn't boot any more. NTFS4DOS becomes thereby an indispensable aid with the repair of damaged Windows installations as well as for the creation of an anti-virus boot disk.

In addition the user gets the tool CHKDSK(G) together with NTFS4DOS. CHKDSK(G) is a tool to check and repair any FAT/FAT32/NTFS volume while running DOS. Another helpful tool is DFRGNTFS that can be used to defragment NTFS volumes while running DOS. Since no single file is in usage really all files will be defragmented, what typically is not possible for Windows based defragmentation tools.

datapol decided to offer NTFS4DOS free for private usage. Every private user can voluntarily donate 10.00  to support the further development of this product.



* Overview of NTFS4DOS *



NTFS4DOS is a program for MS-DOS and other DOS based OS that mounts NTFS volumes using additional drive letters in DOS or Windows 95/98/ME. The kernel of NTFS4DOS is the datapol NTACCESS.LIB. By the unique design of this library it is possible to mount any NTFS volume from Windows NT4, Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 absolutely independent of the used Service Pack from the same boot media.

Two methods one target:

By principle there are two ways to access NTFS volumes from an DOS environment - the NATIVE and the CAPTIVE-method.
NTFS4DOS is a NATIVE-solution, while the competitors like i.e. Knoppix use a CAPTIVE solution.
The NATIVE method offers several advantages compared to the CAPTIVE method:

- NATIVE for sure doesn't violate the terms of usage of Windows (EULA)



NTFS4DOS is for sure without hesitation in relation with any version of the Windows EULA. (End-User License Agreement)
When using a CAPTIVE solution you are NOT allowed to use a boot media on computer A and build on computer B without uninstalling Windows from computer A before.

- NATIVE is faster



Because NTFS4DOS understands the file system directly and doesn't have to emulate all functions pedantically it is much faster then CAPTIVE solutions.



* System requirements *



To create a NTFS4DOS boot floppy the following requirements must be met:

 A computer running Windows 9x/ME or Windows NT/2000/XP/Server2003.

 10 MByte free space on the hard disk.

 A license of the DOS you want to use (if might use FREEDOS if you're running Windows NT or Windows 2000 and don't have another way to create a DOS floppy)



Optional you need:

 A floppy drive (to create the bootable floppy )

 A CD/DVD burner (to create a bootable CD/DVD)

 A bootable USB-Stick



To recover NTFS drives from a virus infection you require additionally:

A Anti-Virus scanner for DOS. We successfully tested the solutions from H&B EDV, F-PROT, Norman and Panda.
While configuring the AV solution consider that mounted NTFS drives behaves like mounted network drives for most AV-scanners.

Computer that boot the NTFS4DOS-created bootable media must support the following:

 External boot capacity (Floppy-Disk, CD-Rom, etc.)

 Access to the hard disks must be possible through the BIOS or DOS drivers

 The used hard disk must be detected and addressable by the BIOS

 NTFS4DOS supports IDE/SCSI- and most Serial-ATA-hard drives.

 The BIOS must be setup to boot from floppy, CD-ROM, PXE-network boot or USB-Stick.



Supported types of partitions:
NTFS4DOS supports Basic- und Dynamic-Volumes. Hardware-RAID-Systems can also be used together with NTFS4DOS as long as the BIOS offers access to the RAID. Stripe-Sets and Software-RAID-Configurations are NOT supported by NTFS4DOS.





Microsoft, MS-DOS, Windows, and Windows NT are registered trademarks of the Microsoft Corporation.
Intel and Pentium are registered trademarks of the Intel Corporation.
All other producktnames mentioned in the manual might be registered trademarks of the respective companies.
Datapol is not reliable for the information provided in this manual. The documentation is delivered "as is" without any warranty


Copyright  1998, 2004 Datapol GmbH - Visit us at http://www.datapol.de/en


Release 1.01 14.09.2004
