HFS permissions from Windows 7

Question

Level 1

36 points

HFS permissions from Windows 7

I've installed the Boot Camp updates in Windows 7 (x64) and I do indeed have read access to my HFS partition. I notice that you cannot access anything in the Users folder, which makes sense for security purposes however I would rather not put files I need to share in the root of my HFS partition.

What permissions does a folder on the HFS partition need for it to be accessible under Boot Camp? For instance, looking at the applications folder I see that it has "system", "admin", and "everyone" in the permissions list. That folder is accessible from Windows. I've tried adding the everyone permission to another folder within my home folder under Users but the folders don't even show up in Windows. Only the parent "Users" folder itself.

Has anyone had any success working with folders using the new HFS driver in Windows Boot Camp for any folders that are not in the root of the HFS partition?

Thanks

iMac 24 / MacBook Pro 17" / Mac Mini / iPhone 3G 16GB / iPhone Edge 4GB, Mac OS X (10.6), 3.06 Ghz / Core 2 Duo / 4GB Ram

Posted on Sep 1, 2009 5:53 PM

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Answer 1

Sep 1, 2009 6:26 PM in response to DJRumpy

DJRumpy,

Are you certain that you have had the ability to write anything to the HFS+ volume from Windows?

It is my understanding that the new Bootcamp HFS+ support only provides read functionality, not write. This is to prevent the possibility of a Windows virus writing to the HFS+ volume.

Assuming I am correct here, the idea is that you can read anything stored on the Mac volume from Windows, and that you can read anything on the Windows volume while booted in OS X. Therefore, there's never a need to actually copy files either way.

Scott

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Answer 2

DJRumpy Author

Level 1

36 points

Sep 1, 2009 7:00 PM in response to Scott Radloff

The driver is Read Only, which is fine, but you can only access folders in the root of the HFS partition (things like the Applications folder).

I'm wondering what can be done to allow access to subfolders that are not in the root, like sub-folders within the "Users" folder.

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Answer 3

Sep 1, 2009 7:25 PM in response to DJRumpy

DJRumpy,

This may be specific to W7. I am able to move around at will within my OS X file system from Vista. You should at least be able to navigate into the Users folder.

Then again, there may be a chance this is specific to your installation of OS X. Open /Applications/Utilities/Terminal. At the prompt, copy and paste the following into the Terminal window, followed by a <RETURN>:

<pre style="overflow:auto; font-family: 'Monaco'; font-size: 10px">ls -ale /</pre>

Please post the entire results from this command, including the command itself. I don't expect it to yield much, but who knows.

Scott

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Answer 4

DJRumpy Author

Level 1

36 points

Sep 1, 2009 7:29 PM in response to Scott Radloff

I can open up the Users folder, but none of the sub folders under that are visible at all. The Applications folder however, I can browse down into the individual .app folders without issue.

drwxrwxr-t 32 root admin 1156 Sep 1 21:26 .
drwxrwxr-t 32 root admin 1156 Sep 1 21:26 ..
-rw-rw-r-- 1 root admin 15364 Sep 1 21:26 .DS_Store
drwx------ 3 root admin 102 Aug 30 2008 .Spotlight-V100
d-wx-wx-wt 2 root admin 68 Aug 31 21:40 .Trashes
---------- 1 root admin 0 Jun 23 01:19 .file
drwx------ 4 root admin 136 Sep 1 21:07 .fseventsd
-rw------- 1 root wheel 65536 Aug 31 21:39 .hotfiles.btree
drwxr-xr-x@ 2 root wheel 68 May 18 13:29 .vol
drwxrwxr-x+ 53 root admin 1802 Sep 1 20:16 Applications
0: group:everyone deny delete
drwxrwxr-x@ 17 root admin 578 Mar 28 07:36 Developer
drwxrwxr-t+ 61 root admin 2074 Aug 31 21:40 Library
0: group:everyone deny delete
drwxr-xr-x@ 2 root wheel 68 Jun 23 01:19 Network
drwxr-xr-x 4 root wheel 136 Aug 31 21:26 System
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root admin 60 Mar 1 2009 User Guides And Information -> /Library/Documentation/User Guides and Information.localized
drwxr-xr-x 5 root admin 170 Aug 31 21:33 Users
drwxrwxrwt@ 5 root admin 170 Sep 1 20:15 Volumes
0: group:everyone deny add file,add_subdirectory,directory_inherit,onlyinherit
drwxr-xr-x@ 39 root wheel 1326 Aug 31 21:25 bin
drwxrwxr-t@ 2 root admin 68 Jun 23 01:19 cores
dr-xr-xr-x 3 root wheel 4446 Sep 1 20:09 dev
drwxrwxr-x 7 root admin 238 Apr 25 08:08 efi
lrwxr-xr-x@ 1 root wheel 11 Aug 31 21:25 etc -> private/etc
dr-xr-xr-x 2 root wheel 1 Sep 1 20:10 home
-rw-r--r--@ 1 root wheel 18672224 Aug 1 00:49 mach_kernel
dr-xr-xr-x 2 root wheel 1 Sep 1 20:10 net
drwxr-xr-x@ 6 root wheel 204 Aug 31 21:33 private
drwxr-xr-x@ 66 root wheel 2244 Aug 31 21:38 sbin
lrwxr-xr-x@ 1 root wheel 11 Aug 31 21:25 tmp -> private/tmp
drwxr-xr-x@ 12 root wheel 408 Aug 31 21:38 usr
lrwxr-xr-x@ 1 root wheel 11 Aug 31 21:25 var -> private/var

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Answer 5

Sep 1, 2009 7:31 PM in response to DJRumpy

If you want to read or write to the Mac partition, then you will need to use a program such as MacDrive (mediafour.com). It works a treat. I have used MacDrive for many years and now am using it with nothing but success on my Win7 partition.

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Answer 6

Sep 1, 2009 7:33 PM in response to DJRumpy

From Apple:
Important: Boot Camp supports only Microsoft Windows Home Edition and Professional with SP2 or later, and Microsoft Vista.

Bootcamp doesn't support Windows 7, and the drivers probably weren't written with Windows 7 compatibility in mind (as of yet). Chances are that the issue is simply a W7 issue, as I hear the drivers are fine under XP SP2 or 3 and Vista.

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Answer 7

Sep 1, 2009 7:36 PM in response to donv_the_ghost

donv (The Ghost),

HFS+ read only support is included in the new Bootcamp drivers that come with Snow Leopard. The problem for the OP is that he is running up against some permission issues.

Scott

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Answer 8

Sep 1, 2009 7:42 PM in response to DJRumpy

DJRumpy,

Well, that looks normal. I'm looking for a missing execute bit on any of these directories, specifically the "Users" folder. Since you can navigate into the Users folder, but not beyond, let's take a look at that:

<pre style="overflow:auto; font-family: 'Monaco'; font-size: 10px">ls -ale /Users</pre>

Scott

EDIT: An alternative to bothering with a fix for this- if we can find one- is that you try creating a new folder in the "Users" folder for the express purpose of access from W7. This would certainly be a more secure solution that the default (at least, the default that I have). Do you really want all your W7 users to have the ability to access your OS X user data at will? -s

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Answer 9

Sep 1, 2009 7:45 PM in response to Community User

macwiz1220,

I, at least, understand that support is only extended through Vista. However, the OP is able to use the drivers to access his OS X boot volume. That's not the problem, and the drivers would otherwise seem to be working just fine for him. I think this may be a permissions issue (and I'm looking at execution bits). If the drivers didn't work perfectly well in W7, I would think that they wouldn't work at all. The specific problem the OP is having just doesn't fit.

Scott

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Answer 10

Sep 1, 2009 7:48 PM in response to Scott Radloff

I'm not saying that it isn't worth it to take a look at permissions, but driver compatibility is definitely something to keep in mind. Drivers can act up funny, so you never know.

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Answer 11

DJRumpy Author

Level 1

36 points

Sep 1, 2009 7:59 PM in response to Community User

I don't need write permissions. There seems to be some confusion here. I understand that the access is read only from the Windows side which is actually desirable from my standpoint for security reasons.

I doubt this is a Windows 7 issue, as the drivers for Vista are typically fine under Windows 7. The drivers work fine for the most part. It's unlikely if it was a driver issue that it would work with some folders but not others. A driver issue would more likely either work or not at all.

The specific issue is the ability to access sub-folders in the Users directory. I could always move the folder I want to share to the root of the drive, but I'd rather not do that if not necessary, which is why we're looking at permissions. I suspect the reason it cannot see anything in the Users folder is either due to a hard coded restriction written into the driver itself, which means no amount of permissions changes will fix that, or, there is a simple permissions fix that can be applied to allow the folder to be traversed and read by the driver.

Unfortunately, the information about this new feature is lacking in the documentation.

drwxr-xr-x 5 root admin 170 Aug 31 21:33 .
drwxrwxr-t 32 root admin 1156 Sep 1 21:26 ..
-rw-r--r-- 1 root wheel 0 Jul 1 00:27 .localized
drwxr-xr-x+ 54 Ron staff 1836 Sep 1 20:15 Ron

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Answer 12

KJK555

Level 4

2,900 points

Sep 1, 2009 8:19 PM in response to DJRumpy

You will need to place ACL's on the folders that lack permission to be able to see them.
an acl with admin r/w privilege will probably do it.

Kj

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Answer 13

DJRumpy Author

Level 1

36 points

Sep 1, 2009 8:24 PM in response to KJK555

I've got two tests lined up. I created a folder in the root and gave ownership to Root with read/write access for myself, and I've also granted the admin group read/write to my home folder.

I'll see if either of those are accessible from Windows. I have to wait for an encode to finish, which will be another half hour or so before I can reboot.

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Answer 14

DJRumpy Author

Level 1

36 points

Sep 1, 2009 9:04 PM in response to DJRumpy

I'm able to access the new folder I created in the root without issue but still no luck on the Home folder. Oddly enough, I can access the Shared folder in the Users folder.

I'm guessing at this point that the driver itself may be limiting access to the user folder since the User folder rights are 755, pretty much anyone should be able to traverse the folder, no?

The sub folder I'm interested in seeing from the windows side sits inside the /users/username/ folder and it also has 775 permissions so it should be visible and accessible.

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Answer 15

Sep 1, 2009 10:52 PM in response to DJRumpy

DJRumpy,

Yes, pretty much anyone should be able to access that HOME folder, based on its POSIX permissions. Ah, but an ACE could be throwing a monkey wrench into the works, I suppose. Did you use the command I provided:

<pre style="overflow:auto; font-family: 'Monaco'; font-size: 10px">ls -ale</pre>

or did you use another form? The one I provided would have displayed any ACEs present, and your post doesn't have any showing. You need not post them here, but have a look for yourself. It should be pretty obvious if there is an ACE denying access to anyone.

I also don't see the "Shared" folder which you described, so I cannot compare any listing for that with your HOME folder.

Scott

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