Fat 32 from Solaris

[whispersGhost]

Hi

If i create a fat32 from Open Solaris Will i be able to read and write
from Vista or BSD?. i heard people are having trouble doing so.

All 3 of my other drives are UFS Solaris 2 at thie time and unreadable
from BSD or Vista.even with UFS Explorer.
So i need at least one free drive.

Also Exactly how should the line look like in my vfstab in Open Solaris
to mount a fat32 file

Thank You

[TerryP]

I do not have access to a Solaris machine... So don't quote me but I think it would be like this in /etc/vfstab:

/dev/dsk/your_fat32_partition    /dev/dsk/your_fat32_partition    /your/mount/point    pcfs    -    yes    rw

b/c I doubt Solaris would like my test machine, I've never tried installing it so my knowledge of it is very minimal :-( but I think the above would work, replacing your_fat32_partition with what ever Solaris calls your fat32 partition and /your/mount/point with the place you want to mount it.

[whispersGhost]

Thanks

i will look at i after dinner and let you know whats going on
i made a Vista Partition so that i can test all of this back and forth

So if i successfully mount the fat32 after creating it i will write from Solaris first
Then boot into Vista and see if i can still read and write from it.

[whispersGhost]

Originally Posted by TerryP

I do not have access to a Solaris machine... So don't quote me but I think it would be like this in /etc/vfstab:

/dev/dsk/your_fat32_partition    /dev/dsk/your_fat32_partition    /your/mount/point    pcfs    -    yes    rw

b/c I doubt Solaris would like my test machine, I've never tried installing it so my knowledge of it is very minimal :-( but I think the above would work, replacing your_fat32_partition with what ever Solaris calls your fat32 partition and /your/mount/point with the place you want to mount it.

Hi

well oj this is what i have now

/dev/dsk/c6d1p0 /dev/dsk/c6d1p0 /backups pcfs - yes rw

Since im not using slice i chose p

Now in solaris sometimes rather then
/dev/dsk/xxx /dev/dsk/xxx

It is

/dev/dsk/xxx /dev/rdsk/xxx

It wont work either way.

Right now i get this when i try to mount.

~# mount /backups
mount: /dev/dsk/c6d1p0 is not a DOS filesystem

i have created a fat32 from solaris just a while ago.

Total disk size is 24792 cylinders
Cylinder size is 16065 (512 byte) blocks

Cylinders
Partition Status Type Start End Length %
========= ====== ============ ===== === ====== ===
1 Active Win95 FAT32 1 24791 24791 100


Right now unable to mount

[TerryP]

What happens if you create the FAT32 partition threw windows?

[whispersGhost]

There's some reports of not being able to mount FAT32 partitions if it's not the first partition.

To mount the partitions automatically, put something like this in /etc/vfstab:

#device device mount FS fsck mount
#to mount to fsck point type pass at boot
/dev/dsk/c0d0p0:1 - /c pcfs - yes -
/dev/dsk/c0d1p0:1 - /d pcfs - yes -

This mounts the DOS partitions (assuming it's the first partition) on /c and /d, respectively, on startup. For more info, see "man pcfs"

[From Bob Palowoda's Solaris 2.4 x86 FAQ]

[whispersGhost]

Originally Posted by TerryP

What happens if you create the FAT32 partition threw windows?

hi

Actually i was unable to do fat 32 fro Vista
so i just deleted the partition and created a new file system
formatted as ntfs.

When i had gotten to Solaris i deleted the
partition and created it as fat32.

[whispersGhost]

it could be possible that i have to install something else

See here

http://blogs.sun.com/pradhap/entry/m...s_ext2_ext3_in

[whispersGhost]

Originally Posted by TerryP

What happens if you create the FAT32 partition threw windows?

According to all this that i just tried and instaled successfully it is not clear how i can do this in vfstab file
But only through a terminal as i see so far.

http://blogs.sun.com/pradhap/entry/m...s_ext2_ext3_in

even after all that i get

mount -F pcfs /dev/dsk/c1d0p<number> /mnt/windows

So since my directory is called backups i did

mount -F pcfs /dev/dsk/c6d1p0 /backups

i do not know what that <number> is at all so
i just put 0 after p like p0 and removed the brackets.

# mount -F pcfs /dev/dsk/c6d1p0 /backups
mount: Warning: Line for "/dev/rdsk/c6d1p1" in vfstab has too few entries
mount: /dev/dsk/c6d1p0 is not a DOS filesystem.

Still wont mount.

[whispersGhost]

Originally Posted by heatherval

According to all this that i just tried and instaled successfully it is not clear how i can do this in vfstab file
But only through a terminal as i see so far.

http://blogs.sun.com/pradhap/entry/m...s_ext2_ext3_in

even after all that i get

mount -F pcfs /dev/dsk/c1d0p<number> /mnt/windows

So since my directory is called backups i did

mount -F pcfs /dev/dsk/c6d1p0 /backups

i do not know what that <number> is at all so
i just put 0 after p like p0 and removed the brackets.

# mount -F pcfs /dev/dsk/c6d1p0 /backups
mount: Warning: Line for "/dev/rdsk/c6d1p1" in vfstab has too few entries
mount: /dev/dsk/c6d1p0 is not a DOS filesystem.

Still wont mount.

I am trapped in a burning Solaris Hell and i cant get out!

[TerryP]

Originally Posted by heatherval

# mount -F pcfs /dev/dsk/c6d1p0 /backups
mount: Warning: Line for "/dev/rdsk/c6d1p1" in vfstab has too few entries
mount: /dev/dsk/c6d1p0 is not a DOS filesystem.

The only other thing I could think to test with is to try mounting a FAT formated Floppy disk or USB stick if available and see if it barfs at that as well.

I think if I ever try installing Solaris, a bottle of Aspirin must be on hand first :|

[whispersGhost]

Originally Posted by TerryP

The only other thing I could think to test with is to try mounting a FAT formated Floppy disk or USB stick if available and see if it barfs at that as well.

I think if I ever try installing Solaris, a bottle of Aspirin must be on hand first :|

hi

Well actually i have done that.
i had formatted some flashdrives as fat32 from
my boyfriends windows xp box and they mounted with no problem.

Unless there is some partition magic for Vista where i can format the drive as fat32 from my machine.
because i cant do it form here.

[TerryP]

Don't (and generally won't) use Vista but I'd expect it handles creaitng FAT same as XP.

I always keep a Knoppix Linux LiveCD handy so I can use QTParted for doing such things ;-)

[ephemera]

heatherval,

you write so many posts that its difficult for anyone else to follow the discussion and it only adds to the confusion.

please see your own post #6 - it looks promising.

> mount: /dev/dsk/c6d1p0 is not a DOS filesystem.

"p0" is used to access the "whole" disk which is not what you want.

[whispersGhost]

Originally Posted by ephemera

heatherval,

you write so many posts that its difficult for anyone else to follow the discussion and it only adds to the confusion.

please see your own post #6 - it looks promising.

> mount: /dev/dsk/c6d1p0 is not a DOS filesystem.

"p0" is used to access the "whole" disk which is not what you want.

But that is what i want for that drive To use it all
as i did not create any slices on it.

You say they are confused? well what about me? i am more confused
then all of you put together,and i am trying to figure this out here

i do not understand this at all.i boot into Vita and that drive is an NTFS drive,
Probally because i formatted it as NTFS before booting into Solairs,
Only to get access to it thinking i was going to make it fat 32 and i was unable to do so under Vista.

Then i boot into Solaris Delete the partiton recreate it as Fat 32 thinking i woud see Fat 32 in Vista and no its NTFS

I aM awfully confused and all i want to do is dump Data
from one drive onto that one so that i can access it from ANY OS.

Hell! That UFS Explorer does not do what it says it does.
i tried to Acces UFS Solaris 2 from it and was unable to.

Sorry for your confusion and im sorry for mine as well.

[wnsi]

Originally Posted by ephemera

heatherval,

you write so many posts that its difficult for anyone else to follow the discussion and it only adds to the confusion.

please see your own post #6 - it looks promising.

> mount: /dev/dsk/c6d1p0 is not a DOS filesystem.

"p0" is used to access the "whole" disk which is not what you want.

I feel the need to clear up some confusion.

p0 is NOT the whole disk. p0 is the first primary partition. p1 p2 p3 refer to primary partitions 2 3 and 4 while p4 refers to an extended partition. Every time a disk is installed in Solaris x86 it automatically makes those device entries even if they don't actually exist. In your example, c6d1 would refer to the entire disk and c6d1p0 would refer to the first primary partition.

The man page for pcfs states that if you are using non-diskette media the command would be:

mount -F pcfs device-special:logical-drive directory name

In your example the command should be:

mount -F pcfs /dev/dsk/c6d0p0:c /mountpoint

So the entry in vfstab would be:

/dev/dsk/c6d0p0:c - /mountpoint pcfs - yes -

Hope this helps. PCFS can be confusing because you would think that c6d0p6 would refer to the first extended partition, but in fact it is referenced as c6d0p0:d. Thank you SUN for making it "crystal clear"

[ephemera]

Originally Posted by wnsi

I feel the need to clear up some confusion.

p0 is NOT the whole disk. p0 is the first primary partition. p1 p2 p3 refer to primary partitions 2 3 and 4 while p4 refers to an extended partition. Every time a disk is installed in Solaris x86 it automatically makes those device entries even if they don't actually exist. In your example, c6d1 would refer to the entire disk and c6d1p0 would refer to the first primary partition.

Sorry, but that's not correct.

/dev/dsk/cXdYp0 refers to the _whole_ disk as I said earlier.

p1, p2, p3, p4 refer to the primary partitions.

p0:1 or p0:c refers to the first logical partition

p0:2 or p0:d refers to the second logical partition and so on ...

please refer mount_pcfs(1M)

[whispersGhost]

hi

Thanks to the both of you.

Also It is possible the reason that drive does not mount is,
it is an NTFS drive on Vista,even though i thought i deleted the
partition and recreated it from Solaris as a fat32.it still shows in Vista as NTFS.

Oh by the way UFS Explorer does work so well i decided to buy it.
it works well from Windows Vista and i can see all my Solaris Drives read only of course which is what i want from Vista.

i wonder if BSD has some form of a UFS Explorer as i know i was unable to mount any of my Slices i made in Solaris

So now if i decide to go back to BSD again i can easily copy the Data i need and back it up off that last drive i was concerned about.

BSD has so much more package availability and Support then Solaris.