1. Creating Symbolic Links and Hard Links with the MKLink Command
The MKLink command helps
you create symbolic or hard links. You use these links to make it
appear that the link is actually part of the system. Junctions, another
type of link, provide a connection between a nonexistent directory and
an existing directory. For example, Windows Server 2008 uses a junction
to provide support for the Documents and Settings folder that used to
appear in Windows. The real directory is now the Users folder. This
utility uses the following syntax:
MKLink [[/D] | [/H] | [/J]] Link Target
The following list describes each of the command line arguments.
/D
Creates a directory symbol link. The default setting creates a file symbolic link. You can't use the /D command line switch with the /H or /J command line switches.
/H
Creates a hard link instead of a symbolic link. You can't use the /H command line switch with the /D or /J command line switches.
/J
Creates a directory junction instead of a symbolic link. You can't use the /J command line switch with the /D or /H command line switches.
Link
Specifies the new symbolic link name.
Target
Specifies the path (relative or absolute) that the new link references (points at).
2. Mounting a Volume with the MountVol Utility
The MountVol utility
helps you create, delete, and list mount points. You can use this
utility to manage mount points without using a drive letter. Windows
2003 and above provides functionality that older versions of Windows
don't provide. You can't use the Windows 2003 version of the utility on
older Windows versions since these older versions won't provide the
required support as part of the file system. This utility uses the
following syntax:
MOUNTVOL [drive:]path VolumeName
MOUNTVOL [drive:]path /D
MOUNTVOL [drive:]path /L
MOUNTVOL [drive:]path /P
MOUNTVOL /R
MOUNTVOL /N
MOUNTVOL /E
MOUNTVOL drive:/S
The following list describes each of the command line arguments.
[drive:spath
Specifies the
existing NTFS directory to use for the mount point. When you don't
specify the drive, the utility assumes you want to use the current
drive. You can use an absolute or relative path.
VolumeName
Specifies the name of the volume that you want to make the target of the mount point.
/D
Removes the volume mount point from the specified directory.
/L
Lists the mounted
volume name for the specified directory. If the directory doesn't
include a mount point, the utility displays an "The file or directory is
not a reparse point." error message.
/P
Removes the
volume mount point from the specified directory. The system dismounts
the basic volume at this point and takes the volume offline, which makes
it unmountable. When other processes are using the volume, the system
closes any open handles before dismounting the volume. The system marks
volumes dismounted using this technique with the NOT MOUNTED UNTIL A VOLUME MOUNT POINT IS CREATED attribute. If the volume has additional mount points, remove them first using the /D command line switch. You can re-create the basic volume by assigning the volume a mount point.
/R
Removes the
volume mount point directories. In addition, this command line switch
removes the registry settings for volumes that are no longer in the
system. This approach prevents the system from mounting new volumes
automatically and using the previously assigned mount points.
/N
Disables automatic
mounting of new basic volumes. After you use this command line switch,
the system won't automatically mount new volumes when you add them to
the system.
/E
Enables automatic mounting of new basic volumes. This is the default setting for a new system.
/S
Mounts the EFI system partition on the specified drive. You can use this command line switch only on Itanium-based computers.
