# Embarassing computer problem **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 31, 2002, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarassing-computer-problem/121754 "2002-07-31T21:10:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![CnoteChris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/278dde/32.png) [@CnoteChris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CnoteChris)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2002, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarassing-computer-problem/121754/21 "2002-08-02T15:23:29Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Futile Gesture_ > **There is is no DOS ‘mode’ in the latest Window versions, XP included.** Ummmm, that’s not true **Futile Gesture** - you can do purely DOS mode in XP. Maybe it’s not the way I explained it, because I misinterpreted what that post was asking, but utilizing a boot disk, like **sailor** mentioned, you can not only enter into true DOS mode, but you can delete within it to your hearts content. ---
**Author:** ![ScarletSteve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@ScarletSteve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ScarletSteve)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2002, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarassing-computer-problem/121754/22 "2002-08-02T22:24:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CnoteChris \* > \*\*but utilizing a boot disk, like **sailor** mentioned, you can not only enter into true DOS mode, but you can delete within it to your hearts content. \*\* I assume that a Windows XP computer would have NTFS or FAT32 formatted hard drives. Booting into “true DOS mode” (I assume v6.22 or less) from a diskette would load an OS that does not understand these formats and could not delete files on them. ---
**Author:** ![fallom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e57/32.png) [@fallom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fallom)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2002, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarassing-computer-problem/121754/23 "2002-08-02T23:33:56Z")
Windows XP doesnt include DOS, the operating system. It just lets you quit the XP OS loading process and go into a command window, that isnt limited by the restrictions of Windows XP. ---
**Author:** ![CnoteChris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/278dde/32.png) [@CnoteChris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CnoteChris)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2002, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarassing-computer-problem/121754/24 "2002-08-02T23:50:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ScarletSteve \* > **I assume that a Windows XP computer would have NTFS or FAT32 formatted hard drives. Booting into “true DOS mode” (I assume v6.22 or less) from a diskette would load an OS that does not understand these formats and could not delete files on them.** Did it occur to you to test this theory before you hit submit? Because I just rebooted my machine (Win XP, FAT32) with a Win 98 startup disk and not only did it go into DOS without a hitch, but I was able to delete a file with nary a problem. A quick reboot later, and the file was gone. I don’t know what it was, but it sure looked like DOS to me. ---
**Author:** ![fallom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e57/32.png) [@fallom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fallom)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2002, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarassing-computer-problem/121754/25 "2002-08-03T00:06:50Z")
I didnt mean command “window,” I meant “command prompt.” ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2002, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarassing-computer-problem/121754/26 "2002-08-03T07:37:53Z")
Could you stop your bickering and help? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![ScarletSteve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@ScarletSteve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ScarletSteve)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2002, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarassing-computer-problem/121754/27 "2002-08-03T14:28:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CnoteChris \* > \*\* > > Did it occur to you to test this theory before you hit submit?\*\* Not really. I run Linux so I don’t have this problem. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CnoteChris \* > \*\* > Because I just rebooted my machine (Win XP, FAT32) with a Win 98 startup disk and not only did it go into DOS without a hitch, but I was able to delete a file with nary a problem. A quick reboot later, and the file was gone. > > I don’t know what it was, but it sure looked like DOS to me. \*\* Well it wasn’t. It is a command line interface to Windows 98. Dos finished at v6.22 - boot with your _Windows_ rescue disk and type version - I think it will tell you you are running a higher version than that. Just becasue it looks like something doesn’t mean it is. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2002, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarassing-computer-problem/121754/28 "2002-08-03T15:09:18Z")
Windows XP no longer has any code from the 16-bit era. MS-DOS has no place in Windows XP any more than CP/M does. Windows XP might be able to look like MS-DOS and emulate it well enough certain programs that expect MS-DOS can run in it, but it is Windows XP through and through. So if Windows XP has a strong aversion to doing somthing in graphical mode, it isn’t going to get over it if it happens to look like MS-DOS. ---
**Author:** ![Futile\_Gesture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2002, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarassing-computer-problem/121754/29 "2002-08-06T11:46:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CnoteChris \* > \*\* > Ummmm, that’s not true Futile Gesture- you can do purely DOS mode in XP. > > Maybe it’s not the way I explained it, because I misinterpreted what that post was asking, but utilizing a boot disk, like sailor mentioned, you can not only enter into true DOS mode, but you can delete within it to your hearts content.\*\* If you boot off a Win 98 disk then you are not using Windows XP. You are using Windows 98, which does rely on a DOS. (It tries to pretend it isn’t DOS, and strictly speaking it’s more of a shell used to start Win98, but essentially it is DOS.) Windows XP, on the otherhand, does not have a DOS mode. ---
**Author:** ![bluecanary](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bluecanary/32/3614_2.png) [@bluecanary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bluecanary)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2002, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarassing-computer-problem/121754/30 "2002-08-06T11:56:50Z")
I got this from KazaA Lite once. Is it one of several files, some with names even worse than that one, others with warezy-type names, in your My Shared Folder, all with sizes of around 19kb? If so, it’s quite possibly a worm called K0wbot. Download a fix for it. Either way, I recommend getting AdAware, and also taking a look at a program called Iarsn TaskInfo2002, which tells you everything that’s running on your computer so you can detect any Trojans, Keyloggers etc. ---
**Author:** ![bluecanary](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bluecanary/32/3614_2.png) [@bluecanary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bluecanary)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2002, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarassing-computer-problem/121754/31 "2002-08-06T11:59:55Z")
I don’t use ZoneAlarm myself; I find it causes more hassle than its worth, but if you need more security than me then I don’t have anything against it. ---
**Author:** ![CnoteChris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/278dde/32.png) [@CnoteChris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CnoteChris)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2002, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarassing-computer-problem/121754/32 "2002-08-06T14:06:09Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Futile Gesture_ > **If you boot off a Win 98 disk then you are not using Windows XP. You are using Windows 98, which does rely on a DOS.** I’m not following that at all… how was I able to access and modify XP files if I wasn’t in XP via the 98 startup disk? If I wasn’t in DOS, what was I in? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2002, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarassing-computer-problem/121754/33 "2002-08-06T14:27:13Z")
if you boot from a windows 98 disk, aren’t you going to have problems accessing the hard drive (assuming that it’s NTFS, not FAT32) ---
**Author:** ![Gozu\_Tashoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7993a0/32.png) [@Gozu\_Tashoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu_Tashoya)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2002, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarassing-computer-problem/121754/34 "2002-08-06T17:43:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Speaker for the Dead \* > \*\*Could you stop your bickering and help? 😛 \*\* What have you tried? Is it still there? What is the filename (as much as you can make it out)? ---
**Author:** ![quar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/a5b964/32.png) [@quar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quar)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2002, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarassing-computer-problem/121754/35 "2002-08-06T18:34:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CnoteChris \* > \*\* > > I’m not following that at all… how was I able to access and modify XP files if I wasn’t in XP via the 98 startup disk? > > If I wasn’t in DOS, what was I in? \*\* OK, let me see if I can clear this mess up. Windows 95, 98, and ME all have some remnants of DOS. With the exception of ME, all of them allowed you to boot your computer in DOS mode, with or without a boot disk. ME removed the Boot to DOS option from the Shutdown menu, but you could still make a boot disk. Also, with the introduction of Win98, FAT32 became available. (This is important later…) Windows XP is not from the same source code as the above. It is from the Windows NT source. This includes Windows NT and Windows 2000 as well. These OS’s were built from the ground up without any legacy DOS underpinnings. You can open a command prompt with them, but that is not the same as running true DOS. The command prompt is simply a command line interface to Windows NT, 2000, XP. This command prompt does support interpreted DOS, so many of your old DOS applications will still work. From Win2000 on, you could abort the boot process and bypass the GUI and boot directly into the command line interface for system maintenance and repair. Now, as to why you can put in your Win98 boot disk and perform operations on the filesystem, it is because that they both support the FAT32 filesystem. You are booting Win98’s DOS, but you are mounting your Windows XP FAT32 filesystem. It’s the same concept as if I boot Linux and mount a FAT filesystem. Just because an OS supports mounting the same filesystem, that doesn’t mean they are the same OS. Nor does the OS that ‘owns’ the filesystem have the exclusive rights to modify it. Quar, MCSE ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2002, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarassing-computer-problem/121754/36 "2002-08-06T19:38:47Z")
So XP uses Fat32? can it also use NTFS? ---
**Author:** ![quar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/a5b964/32.png) [@quar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quar)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2002, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarassing-computer-problem/121754/37 "2002-08-06T20:59:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by sailor \* > \*\*So XP uses Fat32? can it also use NTFS? \*\* Yep. You can convert your existing FAT32 filesystem over to NTFS as well. Adds in some speed, stability, and security while overcoming some of FAT32’s limitations. Q ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2002, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarassing-computer-problem/121754/38 "2002-08-06T21:07:12Z")
I apologise for the hijack, but is there any way to convert the filesystem to NTFS post-installation? I always though not, but I suppose it’s worth confirming that. ---
**Author:** ![quar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/a5b964/32.png) [@quar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quar)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2002, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarassing-computer-problem/121754/39 "2002-08-06T21:16:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Crusoe \* > \*\*I apologise for the hijack, but is there any way to convert the filesystem to NTFS post-installation? I always though not, but I suppose it’s worth confirming that. \*\* Sure. Use the CONVERT utility. See the MS Knowledge Base article Q307881 for more info. [http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;EN-US;q307881&](http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;EN-US;q307881&) This URL might not work. If not, just type Q307881 into Google. You should see the MS KB article within the first few links. Quar ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2002, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarassing-computer-problem/121754/40 "2002-08-06T21:21:25Z")
Thanks **quar**. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarassing-computer-problem/121754.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarassing-computer-problem/121754.md?page=3)