I have just converted from windows to linux, coz of the outrages amount of viruses present in windows. The one that made me convert:

-Infected all *.exe, *.htm, *.php, *.scr
-Sabotaged Norton Antivirus
-Assasinated all Flash Disks inserted into my PC
-Hid from other Antivirus's

My HDD is 160GB and still has 120GB of files unaffected.

Installed Linux to another HDD (40GB), to find out:

Is it possible to copy files from NTFS over to Linux File Sys?

Note: I live in Kenya.. Buying DVD's to save all that data may be very difficult due to many factors..

Hey there.
It is possible to mount NTFS partitions in linux and read (Write soon ive heard). I believe the best idea would be to install a linux virus scanner, scan the windows partition and after it is cleaned use that as your storage partition.
Because its outside of windows it should get rid of most virus's.

If you plan to copy the files it will be hard as you will need to copy, resize partitions, copy, resize partitions e.t.c.

Anyway wait till somone comes to say how to do what i said :P

I dont know how fedora handles packages, best wait till a fedora expert pops round.

Yes, you can copy the files over. Linux has no problem reading from NTFS, it isn't very straightforward to write to NTFS and can damage the drive. My advice would be to copy over the (uncorrupt) data and then format the drive to FAT32 that way both linux and windows can read and write to it.

Even writing on a NTFS partition should be ok with the ntfs-3g driver which reached stable status some days before. Look here ( http://laci.linuxforum.hu/#ntfs-3g ) to see how to install it on Fedora if it's not installed already. You would of course leave out the "locale=..." from the given example to get English locale.

Yes, you can copy the files over. Linux has no problem reading from NTFS, it isn't very straightforward to write to NTFS and can damage the drive. My advice would be to copy over the (uncorrupt) data and then format the drive to FAT32 that way both linux and windows can read and write to it.

Apologies: Duplicate message. Pressed the back and forward buttons on browser!

If you want to copy some files over to the linux partition type:

"sudo fdisk -l"

After you entered your root password, it will show you all the partitions.
On the left you see /dev... which is where the disks are located (everything is a file in linux - the disks, are in the /dev (Device) directory.
The first one will probably be /dev/hda1 for hd(harddisk) a(first disk - master)... and "1" for 1'st partition.
On the right you see the partition types. Find the one that sais "ntfs", and look to the beginning of the line to see where the disk is. (on my pc it's /dev/hdg1).
Now you have to mount the partition(! not harddisk) somewhere. I suggest /mnt.
So you make a directory to mount it to:

sudo mkdir /mnt/windows

then mount it there:

sudo mount -t ntfs /dev/hd... /mnt/windows

You can now open nautilus or Konqueror, and go to that directory, and start copying.
If you want write access - setting up ntfs3g is pretty easy and not very risky. Some people still have kernel support for ntfs-writing in the back of their heads. That actually still is pretty buggy.

If you want to mount your windows partition automatically on startup:

sudo gedit /etc/fstab (or sudo kate ... in kde)
Add the line (you need to fill in your disk):

/dev/... /mnt/windows ntfs defaults 0 0

That should work. You might have to change read permissions on the folder - if you can't access it:
sudo chmod 444 /mnt/windows

I like the 'sudo' answer.. I'll try it.. When I'm done with my uni assignments..

I have noticed the use of 'sudo' at the beginning of all your lines. My first thought is that it is to type in the 'Terminal'.

I am using Fedora Core 4. Are there any 'packages' that I'd need for that command to work, will it be included in the core or would I have to get Core 6?

Note:
- 'word' = new to me.

Problems:
- Slow net here => get core 6 in 2 weeks straight!
- Credit cards here are only issued to full-time working ppl, so can't order for CD online.. (The ones with one, are very afraid of oline transactions).

sudo is very basic--it should work in a ny Linux.

Whenever someone talks about entering a command, the use of a terminal or "console" is assumed. You will also see CLI for "command-line interface". Somewhere in your menus is the terminal program. You can also get to the command line by typing ctrl-alt-F1 (or F2)

If you are doing things that require root (superuser) powers, you can also enter "su", followed by the root password. Then, all subsequent commands can be entered without the sudo.

Interesting comment about credit cards--might be a smart idea here in the US....

Ubuntu for one will send CDs free.

sudo makes you king for a day. You can execute a single command as root (SuperUser), without logging in as root. Sudo is often preferred, because it gives you the same permissions, but you change back to user right after the process has ended. If you change to root alot, you will know why. You'll have a bunch of stuff you can't access because you forgot to log out, and kept working as root where you shouldn't have.
Maybe it's just me... But it can't hurt anyway.

I tried the sudo command..
The root password did not work..
Tried my own password, and now it keeps saying "Your not a sudoer, this incident will be reported."

Questions:

- How do I become a sudoer?

- How do I stop it from giving that error, to try another password?

- What's the command for 'log-out'?
(I'll probably find the answer to this, but let me ask all the same..)

The root password wouldn't work because you're assuming roots permissions as YOUR user, and so need your password.

Your password didn't work because you haven't been granted access to sudo.

The file that needs modifying is /etc/sudoers on most distros.

It is said that it must be edited with the command i honestly dont know why, perhaps it's more secure and doesn't leave any backups etc.

Ignore sudo, and use su instead. Type in exit (and hit enter) to become a mortal again.

The difference between su and sudo are nothing but control. But why setup sudo anyway. With that a person only needs your user password to execute things as root. Better to just use su, and only when you need to be root, not for general use.

Quick tip, from su, you can become another user by typing su username (where username equals a user account ,eg, su tim lets me be logged in as tim, type exit to go back to root. Its useful when you are doing compiling tasks, and other things where you want to fast switch without typing a password each time).

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Thanks all..

All the commands are working.. Too bad FC4 does not know what ntfs is.. I'll have to get FC6.. Use for a while.. then try out Kubuntu 6.06 and Madriva 2007, see which is best for multimedia and games..

If you go with Kubuntu, you may want to try the current release.. 6.10..

Good luck on your problems...

IGF