NTFS for Linux
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Full read-write access. Unlike most of competing drivers where you can only read files from NTFS volumes, here you can also write - modify existing files, delete files, create or copy new
files.
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Mount any NTFS volume like any native one, even including into fstab (to automount at each Linux startup)
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The 64 bit architecture support
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Linux kernels 2.4.x, 2.6.x support
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Supporting NTFS features (see also 'Limitations'):
- NTFS versions 1.2, 3.0 and 3.1 (Windows NT 4.0, 2000, XP, 2003, Vista)
- compressed files
- files and folders with security permissions - sparse files support (NTFS)
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File and folder names in national languages (you can pass filesystem codepage name to driver), including
Asian (hieroglyphic) languages
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Easy installation - a script file is available which can build driver, install it, automatically mount all local NTFS volumes and place them into fstab to automount them at Linux startup.
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No system degradation during data transfers
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Support for SMP kernels (multiprocessor systems)
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High performance. Transfer rate is the same as for native filesystems (10-15% performance loss could occur for highly fragmented NTFS volumes)
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There is no any limitation to maximum file size (but within kernel and NTFS limitations)
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Professional Edition only:
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Supporting all kinds of Windows Dynamic Volumes (simple, spanned, striped, mirrored and RAID5 volumes) via Paragon
LDM (Logical Disk Manager) driver.
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Additional utilities:
NTFS for Linux additional utilities provide the ability to check integrity, defragment, wipe, create NTFS volumes, perform many NTFS file system related tasks and copy (backup) files, saving
all their attributes, between NTFS and Linux supported file systems under Linux OS:
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cpntfs utility - is simple and fast Paragon NTFS for Linux backup/copy utility that allows to copy and restore files, directories to/from/between NTFS partitions under Linux OS. In other
words, this utility provides files/directories save/restore operations supporting all NTFS attributes (resident and non-resident). The utility can be useful to make backups of NTFS file
system and restore it later on the same or a newly formatted NTFS partition.
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chkntfs utility checks NTFS partition integrity and fix errors, creates and displays a status report about NTFS file system;
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mkntfs utility allows to format any partition as NTFS under Linux;
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infntfs utility shows NTFS version, used space, NTFS volume label, dirty flag, serial number and allows to change them;
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fsutil utility is a Linux utility that you can use to perform many NTFS file system related tasks, such as managing file system information, additional streams, compression, hardlinks and
etc.;
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dfntfs utility allows to defragment a NTFS volume;
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wipe utility allows to fill with zeros free space on a NTFS/FAT volume;
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mftpack utility allows to pack/truncate MFT (Master File Table) on a NTFS volume;
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hdlnk utility allows to enumerate all hard links on a NTFS volume;
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junction utility allows to show reparse points on a NTFS volume.
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Complimentary support and 1 year upgrade protection
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NTFS FOR LINUX: LIMITATIONS
- NTFS features: encrypted files not supported. Body of a file will be copied encrypted with loss of decryption capability. To make full archive the cpntfs utility can be used, available in the Professional Edition only.
- Attributes to be lost:
- when copying from NTFS to Linux FS: all streams will not be copied, along with compression flag and security attributes (use the cpntfs utility* )
- when copying from Linux FS to NTFS: all security attributes (access rights and ownership) will be lost
- Hardlinks and symlinks: any link will be copied as a full file with its body, losing link information
NTFS FOR LINUX: SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
- OS: Linux with kernel 2.4.x or 2.6.x
- RAM: 16MB
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- CPU: i586 or higher (for other platforms see here)
- CD-ROM to use the additional bootable CD
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NTFS FOR LINUX: DESCRIPTIONS
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Mount:
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Mount is the process of connecting any volume to operating system. After this, operating system, any application or user can access contents of the volume through standard way. For
Windows this standard way means the volume is assigned with drive letter, for Linux it means the volume becomes available under one of its tree node.
To mount any volume you should use the mount command - "mount <device_name> <mount point>", where <device_name> is from the first column of the table "fdisk -l" and
<mount_point> is any directory from the local file system. For example, "mount -t ufsd /dev/<partition_number> /mnt/<mount_point>, where the "-t" option specifies a file
system to be mounted.
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fstab:
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The fstab (file systems table) file is commonly found on Unix and Unix-like systems and is part of the system configuration. The fstab file typically lists all used disks and
disk partitions, and indicates how they are to be used or otherwise integrated into the overall system's file system. It also allows automatically mounting specified file systems at
startup.
Generally, the fstab is only read by programs, and not written; it is the duty of the system administrator to create and maintain this file properly. However, more modern system
administration tools can automatically build and edit fstab, or act as graphical editors for fstab.
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Kernel version:
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You can determine your Linux kernel version by using the following command: uname -r.
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Sparse files:
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A sparse file is a file that is handled in a way that requires much less disk space than would otherwise be needed. Sparse support allows an application to create very large files without
committing disk space for those regions of the file that contains only zeros. For example, you can use sparse support to work with a 42-GB file in which you need to write data only to the
first 64 KB (the rest of the file is zeroed). In other words, all meaningful or nonzero data is allocated, whereas all non-meaningful data (large strings of data composed of zeros) is not
allocated. When a sparse file is read, allocated data is returned as stored and unallocated data is returned, by default, as zeros. Sparse file support allows data to be de-allocated from
anywhere in the file.
Important!
If you copy such a file (with sparse file attribute set) to FAT or earlier NTFS version, the file is build to its original size (non-allocated space will be filled up by zeros). If the
required space is not available, the operation does not complete. Paragon NTFS for Linux driver fully supports NTFS sparse files with sparse file attribute set.
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Codepage:
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If a partition to be mounted contains files or directories which names have non-English characters, please use the '--iocharset' option: 'mount -t ufsd /dev/<partition_number>
/mnt/<mount_point> -o --iocharset=<your_codepage>'. For example, 'mount -t ufsd /dev/hda2 /mnt/hda/02 -o --iocharset=iso-8859-2' (run in a Linux console as root or place into
the /etc/fstab file).
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LDM:
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The Logical Disk Manager (LDM) is a term for a new way of partitioning a disk. There are two types of the disk partitioning:
- Basic type -a physical disk that can be accessed by MS-DOS and all Windows-based operating systems. Basic disks can contain up to four primary partitions, or three primary partitions and
an extended partition with multiple logical drives.
- Dynamic type - a physical disk that can be accessed only by Windows 2000/2003 and Windows XP. Dynamic disks provide features that basic disks do not, such as support for volumes that
span multiple disks, making it possible to have an unlimited number of logical drives. Dynamic disks use a hidden database (stored on the last 1 MB of the disk) to track information about
dynamic volumes on the disk and other dynamic disks in the computer.
The LDM controls Windows Dynamic Disks which support spanned, striped, mirrored and RAID5 volumes. It was introduced in Windows 2000. Before that, Windows NT used volume sets, which stored
their information in the registry.
NTFS for Linux, namely Paragon LDM driver allows you to work with Microsoft dynamic disks under Linux (spanned, striped, mirrored and RAID5 volumes) as easy as in Windows.
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Fragmented NTFS:
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Refers to the condition of a disk in which files are divided into pieces scattered around the disk. Fragmentation occurs naturally when you use a disk frequently, creating, deleting, and
modifying files. At some point, the OS needs to store parts of a file in noncontiguous cluster chains. This is entirely invisible to users, but it can slow down the speed at which data is
accessed because the disk drive must search through different parts of the disk to put together a single file.
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SMP:
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Short for Symmetric Multiprocessing, a computer architecture that provides fast performance by making multiple identical CPUs available to complete individual processes simultaneously
(multiprocessing)
How to determine whether you use SMP kernel or not:
First, you should check your kernel (whether it was compiled with SMP support) using `uname -a` (run in a Linux console).
The contents of /proc/cpuinfo (run following command in a Linux console: `cat /proc/cpuinfo`) will tell you how many processors are active in the current system - if it's more than one
then you're obviously on an SMP kernel, but if it equals one, then you might be using an SMP kernel on a UP machine, or a UP kernel on an SMP machine.
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NTFS streams:
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Files and directories on NTFS partitions are collection of attributes, such as the creation time, security descriptor, file name, last access time etc. The file's data is just another file
attribute. All files have at least one unnamed data attribute (default data). This unnamed attribute is the primary data stream of the file. Upon file creation, an unnamed stream is
allocated to hold the file's data. A file can also optionally have one or more named data attributes. These additional named are the file's alternate data streams.
A stream is a hidden file that is linked to a normal (visible) file. A stream is not limited in size and there can be more than one stream linked to a normal file. For example, you may have
a file with a zero size but with 1 GB of the alternate data streams, which are invisible for you. The operating system does not report information about any of the additional streams that
may be part of the file.
This feature enables you to manage data as a single unit. The following is an example of an alternate stream:
myfile.dat:stream2
To create an alternate data stream, at the command prompt, you can type commands such as:
echo text>program:source_file
more<program:source_file
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* NTFS for Linux doesn't support Alternate Data Streams by itself. We recommend you to use the cpntfs utility for copying files, directories or whole volumes from NTFS volumes to Linux FS or NTFS ones saving all streams along with compression flag and security attributes.
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 AWARDS
Paragon NTFS for Linux 5.0 was reviewed by French computer magazine Linux +.
Paragon NTFS for Linux 5.0 was reviewed by the leading magazine LINUX+.
«It does provide a low-cost and effective solution for many users. I can easily say that it is worth the money for the Personal Edition just so that I would be able to format both of the Windows partitions as NTFS rather than FAT32.»
You can read the full review here
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TECHNOLOGY |
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 Updated version of Paragon NTFS for Windows 98! Now works with USB removable media!
more... |
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