Windows hardlinks, .symlink and shortcut compatibility with Linux?

postcd

postcd

Weaksauce
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Nov 24, 2016
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Hello,

i am using my HDD on Windows 10 and the SW's like NoCLone or mklink or Duplicate Commander allow me to create hardlinks and symlinks (.symlink file type), i can also create a shortcut.

Hardlink can be done only across one filesystem/drive.

Though i want to ask when in future i move my drive to a Linux computer, will hardlink, symlink and shortcuts work under Linux? Which one yes and which not? Thank you
 
postcd said:
Hello,

i am using my HDD on Windows 10 and the SW's like NoCLone or mklink or Duplicate Commander allow me to create hardlinks and symlinks (.symlink file type), i can also create a shortcut.

Hardlink can be done only across one filesystem/drive.

Though i want to ask when in future i move my drive to a Linux computer, will hardlink, symlink and shortcuts work under Linux? Which one yes and which not? Thank you
Click to expand...

They worked in Linux years before Windows. If you mean support using NTFS on linux - no comment on that.
 
You can create symlinks and hardlinks using the 'in' command as easily as you can under Windows, you can create shortcuts using the GUI just like Windows, however doing so between NTFS/FAT32/ExFAT will not work - You will receive an error like "The target does not support symbolic links".

Likewise, you cannot share an NTFS/FAT32/ExFAT drive/partition under Linux as there is no way to set the permissions correctly.
 
Mazzspeed said:
You can create symlinks and hardlinks using the 'in'
Click to expand...
Thank You, i think you meant ln (LN) Linux utility.

Mazzspeed said:
doing so between NTFS/FAT32/ExFAT will not work - You will receive an error like "The target does not support symbolic links".
Click to expand...

In my case all my HDDs filesystems on Windows is NTFS. But i assume Linux primary drive will use EXT4 and my external drive will use NTFS (if i not somehow convert my terabytes of data including links to different filesystem), so there i am unsure if links (Windows's .symlink or Windows's shortcut) will work between these (NTFS & EXT4). Windows's hardlink will not work i assume.
 
postcd said:
Thank You, i think you meant ln (LN) Linux utility.



In my case all my HDDs filesystems on Windows is NTFS. But i assume Linux primary drive will use EXT4 and my external drive will use NTFS (if i not somehow convert my terabytes of data including links to different filesystem), so there i am unsure if links (Windows's .symlink or Windows's shortcut) will work between these (NTFS & EXT4). Windows's hardlink will not work i assume.
Click to expand...

On linux side everything will naturally work. But the linux ntfs support module doesn't still have support for the new Windows features like symbolic links. The support for those will probably come as time goes by. The developers will probably have to reverse engineer the functions due to Microsoft doing its best to keep the system closed.
 
B00nie said:
On linux side everything will naturally work. But the linux ntfs support module doesn't still have support for the new Windows features like symbolic links.
Click to expand...

This reply may contradict and suggests symlinks may work under Linux?
The NTFS hardlinks are also the "new Windows feature" so they not work now? (sorry if i ask too much, i do not know right google phrase)

Should i spend time converting my large data external HDD from NTFS fo other filesystem (which) so i can create hardlinks or symlinks that will be supported later in Linux? Or is there any way (tool) to bulk convert Windows NTFS symlinks & hardlinks into something that will be compatible in Linux?

Here i found http://www.ext2fsd.com/ (Open source ext3/4 file system driver for Windows (2K/XP/WIN7/WIN8); in supported features, they mention "10, symlink and hardlink") though unsure if it can be anyhow helpful because i will not need to read linux made links, but vice versa - create links readable under linux later. Below i tested the app and indeed Windows was unable to create links on the EXT4 drive.

Here are mentioned some difficult ways to preserve Windows Links on Linux.
 
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NTFS in win10 supports symbolic links, linux ntfs-fuse does not afaik. Windows to linux things of course work because ext4 is open source. NTFS is not. Which is why we don't like Windows.
 
I installed and run http://www.ext2fsd.com/) and formated one of my old HDDs as EXT4 using MiniTool Partition WIzard Free, the Windows app Duplicate Commander and mklink app was unable to create softlink and hardlink on that EXT4 drive in Windows. :-(
So the remaining solution would be to find some tool that is able to convert Windows NTFS links (.symlink, hardlink) into Linux acceptable links? But not sure if that is possible. So far i see no way to create symbolic or hard link in WIndows and then being able to use that drive on linux including all features like writing to drive and working links.
 
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postcd said:
I installed and run http://www.ext2fsd.com/) and formated one of my old HDDs as EXT4 using MiniTool Partition WIzard Free, the Windows app Duplicate Commander and mklink app was unable to create softlink and hardlink on that EXT4 drive in Windows. :-(
So the remaining solution would be to find some tool that is able to convert Windows NTFS links (.symlink, hardlink) into Linux acceptable links? But not sure if that is possible. So far i see no way to create symbolic or hard link in WIndows and then being able to use that drive on linux including all features like writing to drive and working links.
Click to expand...

Do you want to make symbolic links from Windows to linux file system or vice versa? There's a big difference. And why would you want to symlink Windows to linux files?
 
B00nie I am using Windows where i need to create links within my HDD (acros various files on single HDD, currently HDD has NTFS filesystem, but i can change it to other supported by WIndows if necessary), then in future when i put HDD into Linux PC, i want these links be A) working under linux or B) being able to somehow convert non working links (because of OS incompatibility) into linux compatible links.
 
postcd said:
B00nie I am using Windows where i need to create links within my HDD (acros various files on single HDD, currently HDD has NTFS filesystem, but i can change it to other supported by WIndows if necessary), then in future when i put HDD into Linux PC, i want these links be A) working under linux or B) being able to somehow convert non working links (because of OS incompatibility) into linux compatible links.
Click to expand...

Well good luck with that. It makes no sense to use NTFS drives as a part of your linux system. If you want to share files across OSes set up a NAS.
 
You may badly understood, per my previous reply, i do not insist to continue using NTFS on Windows if there is other alternative that will allow to achieve what i described.
And i am not interested in sharing files across OSes, but about one time transition from Windows to Linux some day in future.
 
This is very easy to test. Format a thumb drive to NTFS, put some files on it and try to create a shortcut via the GUI under Linux - I can tell you now, it doesn't work.
 
Yep if you're going to ditch Windows you have to ditch NTFS also. Nothing but trouble will come out of it.
 
postcd said:
You may badly understood, per my previous reply, i do not insist to continue using NTFS on Windows if there is other alternative that will allow to achieve what i described.
And i am not interested in sharing files across OSes, but about one time transition from Windows to Linux some day in future.
Click to expand...

If you are currently, and for the foreseeable future going to be using Windows as your primary box, just format NTFS and be done with it. If you are getting close to the time you are switching to linux full time, maybe do EXT4 and just do what you have to in the mean time.

EXT4 >> NTFS but there is no point if you are not on an OS that supports it and honestly, you can just move the data and reformat it later.


Mazzspeed said:
This is very easy to test. Format a thumb drive to NTFS, put some files on it and try to create a shortcut via the GUI under Linux - I can tell you now, it doesn't work.
Click to expand...

pretty much this.
 
KarsusTG , B00nie , Mazzspeed
thank you, though i have no idea which filesystem i should use on Windows 10 (not on system drive, i am talking about external data HDD) that will support some kind of links (made from within Windows) that will later work under Linux or be able to convert these into Linux compatible links. I mentioned i was not successful with links on EXT4 under WIndows.
 
postcd said:
KarsusTG , B00nie , Mazzspeed
thank you, though i have no idea which filesystem i should use on Windows 10 (not on system drive, i am talking about external data HDD) that will support some kind of links (made from within Windows) that will later work under Linux or be able to convert these into Linux compatible links. I mentioned i was not successful with links on EXT4 under WIndows.
Click to expand...

Not a problem, sorry I couldn't be of more assistance. I found it just as frustrating when I couldn't share a 3TB media drive that was formatted as NTFS when I switched from Windows to Linux for server duties. Backing up 3TB, reformatting the drive and transferring the data back again was defiantly something I wasn't counting on. ;)
 
ntfs-fuse works quite well when accessing ntfs from linux. But I haven't used it with Win10 and symlinks so I cant verify if they're supported.
 
B00nie said:
ntfs-fuse works quite well when accessing ntfs from linux. But I haven't used it with Win10 and symlinks so I cant verify if they're supported.
Click to expand...
Thank you, this may be the solution to read NTFS on Linux including links and copy drive content including links to other drive with Linux native supported filesystem.

When i was Googling that, i found this issue where is mentioned "NTFS-3G is an open source cross-platform implementation of the Microsoft Windows NTFS file system ... It is runnable on Linux ... NTFS partitions are mounted using the Filesystem in Userspace (FUSE) interface. According to its man page, NTFS-3G supports hard links and symbolic links."
 
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