TFAT Questions:
System Description: We are using WinCE 4.2 on an Intel x86 platform
with either a hard disk or Compact Flash (CF). We utilize the WinCE
DOS Boot-Loader to boot WinCE. We us a hive-based registry which
persists on the hard disk along with the nk.bin file and several other
system configuration files and web pages.
Currently the system boots on a DOS FAT16 formatted partition. We
want to enable the WinCE 4.2 TFAT feature to provide maximum system
reliability.
1) Should we format the primary disk partition as TFAT for maximum
reliability? Can WinCE even boot from a pure TFAT formatted
partition? Or alternatively, should we use a regular FAT16 partition
with the registry configured to create a second FAT table, and then
treat the partition as if it were TFAT?
If the bootable partition can be formatted as TFAT, we have the
following questions regarding preparing the hard disk (or CF) image.
All WinCE documentation regarding preparing a hard disk and loading
the DOS Boot-Loader refer to using DOS utilities.
A)How can we create the pure TFAT16 formatted partition? Do we
first have to load WinCE and use its format utility, or is there a
TFAT format utility for DOS?
B)Will the CeSys.exe utility recognize a TFAT partition, and
correctly load the disk boot sector so the system will correctly find
the DOS Boot-Loader.
C)Can a TFAT formatted disk be duplicated using standard disk
imaging tools such as Symantec Ghost or Power Quest Drive Image?
These tools are commonly used in the PC world. If these tools will
not work with TFAT, can you recommend other tools that will replicate
a TFAT partition?
If the bootable partition CANNOT be formatted as TFAT, then there are
the following questions:
D)TFAT will not transact files in the hard disk root directory.
This is typically where we put our nk.bin file. Should this file, and
all other root directory files, be relocated under the special
"__TFAT_HIDDEN_ROOT_DIR__" directory so as to provide maximum system
reliability? Or is this not necessary?
2) Once a CF disk has been used as a TFAT partition under WinCE, is
there any way to delete files on the CF disk when accessing it through
a CF card reading on a desktop workstation? It would be nice to have
utilities to modify TFAT disks when accessed by a standard XP desktop
system. It is a common development practice here to take a CF disk,
then modify, delete, or copy files on it from a desktop workstation,
then put the CF disk back into the WinCE machine and run it from
there. Using a TFAT formatted CF disk puts a wrinkle in this
practice, as the desktop OS (XP) does not natively handle TFAT. Any
suggestions for ways to correctly access a TFAT formatted CF disk from
a XP workstations?
Thanks for Any positive information!