Discovery: WinXP still supports HPFS of OS/2 - China DOS Union Forum

It was previously said that the Windows NT series of operating systems evolved from the OS/2 system based on its versions, and the current XP system still has some remnants of OS/2.

HPFS is the file system of the OS/2 system. The early Windows NT 3.x could support HPFS. Since Windows NT 4.0, Microsoft has claimed that the Windows NT series no longer supports HPFS. But this is just an illusion. In fact, Microsoft just hid the support for HPFS.

As early as the era of Windows NT 4.0, someone discovered that as long as the HPFS driver pinball.sys (strange name) of NT 3.51 is added to the NT 4 system, NT 4 can support HPFS.

For various reasons, Microsoft has hidden the support for HPFS deeper in the versions after Windows 2000. If the pinball.sys is directly used, the system will blue screen. But some experts modified this pinball.sys to bypass Microsoft's detection.

In this way, Windows 2000 and Windows XP can support HPFS again, and it is fully readable and writable.

The installation method is in the patch.

Hehe, it's really strange.

It's a pity that I don't have an HPFS disk here, so it's not easy to test.

It feels like back then NT was just another version of HPFS. Actually, it was just a modification of HPFS. In LINUX, NTFS and HPFS are placed together.

Yes, NTFS is actually a new version of HPFS. Both use the same partition identification number (07), so many disk tools display HPFS/NTFS. Just as WinNT is a new version of MS OS/2.

Yes, actually it's just a change of form without substance

I also saw someone on the Internet say that NT versions including and before win2000 can directly boot from HPFS partitions, because the ntldr of win2000 still supports HPFS, but the ntldr of xp and 2003 seems to no longer support HPFS.

XP supports HPFS, but IBM's OS/2 does not support NTFS

It's not that the NT series doesn't want to support the HPFS file system, but that Microsoft doesn't want to support IBM's OS.

Originally posted by brglng at 2005-8-29 02:35 PM:
XP supports HPFS, but IBM's OS/2 does not support NTFS

This is because NTFS comes from HPFS, not HPFS from NTFS.

Several previous OS/2 3.0 machines could even directly install NT 3.51 on an HPFS disk and then upgrade to NT 4...

Apple, IBM, and Microsoft were previously partners, and Windows NT maintained most compatibility with OS/2.

This is about interests. In the past, MS was like a subordinate department of IBM, like one family. Now, besides Windows, IBM doesn't even buy Office, but is willing to use Lotus. To buy Microsoft products, one has to report to the top leaders of IBM for application.

Floor1　fujianabc	Posted 2005-08-26 21:22
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It was previously said that the Windows NT series of operating systems evolved from the OS/2 system based on its versions, and the current XP system still has some remnants of OS/2. HPFS is the file system of the OS/2 system. The early Windows NT 3.x could support HPFS. Since Windows NT 4.0, Microsoft has claimed that the Windows NT series no longer supports HPFS. But this is just an illusion. In fact, Microsoft just hid the support for HPFS. As early as the era of Windows NT 4.0, someone discovered that as long as the HPFS driver pinball.sys (strange name) of NT 3.51 is added to the NT 4 system, NT 4 can support HPFS. For various reasons, Microsoft has hidden the support for HPFS deeper in the versions after Windows 2000. If the pinball.sys is directly used, the system will blue screen. But some experts modified this pinball.sys to bypass Microsoft's detection. In this way, Windows 2000 and Windows XP can support HPFS again, and it is fully readable and writable. The installation method is in the patch. Attachments hpfsw2k.rar (53.74 KiB)

Floor2　Michael	Posted 2005-08-26 21:26
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Hehe, it's really strange.

Floor3　fujianabc	Posted 2005-08-27 09:53
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Attachments hpfs.gif (42.9 KiB)

Floor4　Wengier	Posted 2005-08-27 23:46
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It's a pity that I don't have an HPFS disk here, so it's not easy to test.

Floor5　GOTOmsdos	Posted 2005-08-28 00:50
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It feels like back then NT was just another version of HPFS. Actually, it was just a modification of HPFS. In LINUX, NTFS and HPFS are placed together.

Floor6　Wengier	Posted 2005-08-28 01:45
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Yes, NTFS is actually a new version of HPFS. Both use the same partition identification number (07), so many disk tools display HPFS/NTFS. Just as WinNT is a new version of MS OS/2.

Floor7　GOTOmsdos	Posted 2005-08-28 21:27
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Yes, actually it's just a change of form without substance

Floor8　fujianabc	Posted 2005-08-28 22:01
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I also saw someone on the Internet say that NT versions including and before win2000 can directly boot from HPFS partitions, because the ntldr of win2000 still supports HPFS, but the ntldr of xp and 2003 seems to no longer support HPFS.

Floor9　brglng	Posted 2005-08-29 14:35
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XP supports HPFS, but IBM's OS/2 does not support NTFS

Floor10　fdsiuha	Posted 2005-08-29 15:55
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It's not that the NT series doesn't want to support the HPFS file system, but that Microsoft doesn't want to support IBM's OS.

Floor11　Wengier	Posted 2005-08-29 21:51
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Originally posted by brglng at 2005-8-29 02:35 PM: XP supports HPFS, but IBM's OS/2 does not support NTFS This is because NTFS comes from HPFS, not HPFS from NTFS.

Floor12　caiiaccai	Posted 2007-05-28 23:01
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Agreed

Floor13　yksoft1	Posted 2007-06-10 16:57
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Several previous OS/2 3.0 machines could even directly install NT 3.51 on an HPFS disk and then upgrade to NT 4...

Floor14　henrya2	Posted 2007-06-15 22:58
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Apple, IBM, and Microsoft were previously partners, and Windows NT maintained most compatibility with OS/2.

Floor15　duanml	Posted 2007-06-20 18:00
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This is about interests. In the past, MS was like a subordinate department of IBM, like one family. Now, besides Windows, IBM doesn't even buy Office, but is willing to use Lotus. To buy Microsoft products, one has to report to the top leaders of IBM for application.