Red Hat Linux 8.0: The Official Red Hat Linux Getting Started Guide
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# Accessing a Windows Partition

I have a dual-boot system with Red Hat Linux and Windows 98. Is there a way to access my Windows partition while I am running Linux?

You can access another partition on your system (for example, a Windows partition), in two different ways.

First, assume that your Windows partition is on your first IDE hard drive, in the first partition (`/dev/hda1`).

At a shell prompt, log in as root (type `su` and then enter the root password).

Create a directory at which the Windows partition will be mounted by typing the following command:

    mkdir /mnt/windows

Before you can access the partition, you will need to mount it at the directory you just created. As root, type the following command at a shell prompt:

    mount -t vfat /dev/hda1 /mnt/windows

To automatically mount a Windows partition, you must modify the `/etc/fstab` file.

At a shell prompt, `su` to root, following the above example.

Next, open the `/etc/fstab` in a text editor by typing (for example):

    pico /etc/fstab

Add the following on a new line (the `/dev/hda1` may vary, but for most users this is correct):

    /dev/hda1 /mnt/windows vfat auto,owner,users 0 0

Press [Ctrl]-[x] and then press [y] for yes when prompted to save the changes.

The next time the system is rebooted, the `/etc/fstab` file is read, and the Windows partition is automatically mounted in the directory `/mnt/windows`. To access the partition, at a shell prompt, type the command `cd /mnt/windows`. To navigate through directories or files with spaces, surround the name of the directory or file with quotation marks, as in `ls "Program Files"`.

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