Mounting new drive to NTFS folder is read-only

[Nutter]

I just added another USB HDD (reformatted to NTFS) to my computer (XP MCE) and want to have it mounted as a folder of my C:\ rather than a separate drive letter. But, when I do this it is sort of read-only through that folder.

Ex: I mounted the drive to c:\mnt\usb\lifebook1. I can create a new subfolder, but cannot delete the subfolder. If I access the drive as k:\ (the letter it's set to right now) I have full access.

Any suggestions?

[Nutter]

And some more experimenting...

I can add / save / edit / and delete text files, but still not folders. But, I can go to the command prompt and remove the folders.

[bill]

How to create and use NTFS mounted drives in Windows XP [support.microsoft.com]
A mounted drive is a drive that is mapped to an empty folder on a volume that uses the NTFS file system. Mounted drives function as any other drives, but they are assigned drive paths instead of drive letters. When you view a mounted drive in Windows Explorer, it appears as a drive icon in the path in which it is mounted. Because mounted drives are not subject to the 26-drive-letter limit for local drives and mapped network connections, use mounted drives when you want to gain access to more than 26 drives on your computer. For example, if you have a CD-ROM drive with the drive letter E, and an NTFS volume with the drive letter F, mount the CD-ROM drive as F:\CD-ROM. You can then free the drive letter E, and gain access to your CD-ROM drive directly by using F:\CD-ROM.

[Nutter]

I'm re-reading that page right now thinking I'm missing something. The drive is mounted and I can get to it through the folder name. I just cannot delete empty folders. I can delete normal files though. If I click on properties for the drive the read-only checkbox shows a solid green square rather than the check mark. Clearing the box and pressing ok or apply doesn't cause the setting to stick.

[bill]

I wonder if that's to do with the fact that it's a USB drive and not and internally connected drive? I've had issues with home systems and Firewire drives not remembering settings.

[Nutter]

After I wrote that last one I found a site that says the solid green box means Windows can't determine the read-only status of the files within, which would make sense for it to stay green. I just looked at the properties of about a dozen folders on different drives and they all show the same green square.

But it's odd that only causing problems deleting folders and not files, and then not at the command prompt.

[Nutter]

And, even more confused. I can move folders out of the mount but still cannot delete.

[bill]

That's pretty odd... When you move the folder are you moving it off the drive or within it?

[Nutter]

I moved it to the desktop, which would be from the USB drive mounted as a folder in C:\ to another folder in c:\. So I suppose technically a different drive, but maybe not to Windows considering how the external is mounted. I didn't think to try a different drive, but I'll try that when I get home tonight.

What makes no sense to me is that it's only folders. I can add folders and rename them. I just can't delete them from within Explorer or dialog boxes. And it doesn't matter if it's /folder/ or /folder/folder/folder/. But I can drop to the command prompt and rmdir folder and it's gone. Files are no problem - I can delete them.

[Nutter]

Random thought, and I'm at work so I can't test it right now.

Is it possible that Windows is caching the folders somehow and it does it differently because of an NTFS mount point versus a drive letter? I know there's a way to "make folder available offline", but I've never messed with that setting.

[kaled]

If you can't delete, then you won't be able to move (since this deletes the original).

If, for whatever reason, Windows is unable to clear read-only attributes, it is likely that all delete operations will fail. It may be possible to delete using the command prompt by virtue of the fact that different API function calls are involved - for instance, files deleted from the command prompt don't normally end up in the recycle bin.

I've never attempted to mount a drive as a folder (I didn't know you could) so I can't offer any solid advice, however, I would check that Windows understands it's a hard disk rather than a CD/DVD rom drive. I vaguely recall a problem many years ago resulting from a confusion of this sort.

Kaled.

[Nutter]

Now that I've figured out how to get to the security tab that I'm used to from Win2k without rebooting in to safe mode I've found that when I create a folder none of the permissions are either allowed or denied (both check boxes are blank) for any folder I create, either through the NTFS mounted folder or when it's got a drive letter. Files have the correct things checked (everything is allowed).

And kaled, that's why being allowed to move the folder is making me think it's something quirky.

[edited by: Nutter at 6:08 pm (utc) on Sep. 18, 2006]

[bill]

Can you map the drive via a remote machine (not the one the drive's connected to) and delete folders that way?

Did you try kaled's suggestion to delete the folder via the Command Line?

[Nutter]

Yes, I tried to delete from the command prompt and it worked. That's what clued me into the fact that something odd was going on and it didn't seem like just a permissions thing.

How do I check and see if it's being treated like a CD / DVD?

So, as much for myself as anything, a list of what I've tried.

Files
- Can add, delete, move, whatever

Folders
- Can add
- Can rename
- Can delete from the command prompt
- Can move - both within the same drive and to other drives
- Cannot delete from within explorer when browsing through the NTFS mount point folder
- Can delete from within explorer when browsing through drive letter

[Nutter]

Success... sort of.

According to this kb article [support.microsoft.com...] the problem is because the Recycle Bin doesn't recognize mounted volumes.

The explanation is that Windows mistakenly assumes that c:\mnt\lifebook1\folder is on C:\ when it is really on K:\ and tries to put it in the recycle bin for C:\

What's important is that shift-delete works.