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HOWTO Documents > How to access your CCIS home directory from both Windows and Unix

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Introduction

It is now possible to use the same home directory when logged into either Unix or Windows. This means that instead of having to store files in two different places and then use something like ssh to synchronize them you can now access all of your data all of the time.

Getting started

All you need to do to make this happen is to log into any Solaris machine in the college and change your password with the command "passwd". This will set your password for both Unix and Windows to the same thing.

What you will see from a CCIS Windows machine

When you first log into a college managed Windows machine you will find exactly what you expect to find when using Windows with a few changes. The folder "My Documents" will now point to the same home directory as the Unix machines. And you will also find that the Z: drive is also mapped to your home directory as well.

When you open the My Documents you will see quite a few files beginning with a period. These dot-files are used by unix programs to store state and settings. Unless you are sure about what they contain and what they do you should not delete any of these dot-files.

What you will see from a CCIS Unix machine

Once you have logged into a CCIS Windows machine you will find a few changes the next time you login to a Unix machine. Three directories will be created by Windows. The important directory is .WIN_PROFILE, this is where Windows will store your settings for both the OS and for various applications. The other two directories are called My Music and My Pictures. Both of these can be deleted as they aren't necessary.

One important note about the .WIN_PROFILE directory when the directory is initially created the unix permissions will look like this:

   drwxrwxrwx   12   colinj   ccsstaff   4096 Oct 14 14:59 .WIN_PROFILE

While it does look like the directory is world readable and world writable this is not really the case. The permissions are an artifact of the Network Appliance that we use as a file server and how it manages the permissions for both Windows and Unix. If you feel better having the permissions read differently you can change it with the command

   % chmod -R 700 .WIN_PROFILE

Which will result in the following:

   drwx------  12 colinj    ccsstaff    4096 Oct 14 14:59 .WIN_PROFILE

You may also see one file that is created by Windows. Windows uses the file desktop.ini to store information about changes that you make to your desktop.

Separating Windows from Unix

*What follows must be done from a Unix computer.

If you would like to keep your Windows data and Unix data separate you can do that as well. To do this simply create a directory called .WIN_HOME (it must began with a period and be named exactly ".WIN_HOME") and that will, the next time you logon to a Windows computer, be the root level of your home directory for Windows. The command to do this:

   % mkdir .WIN_HOME

If you have made changes to your profile you can copy the .WIN_PROFILE directory into the .WIN_HOME directory and your changes will be maintained. To do this the command is:

   % mv .WIN_PROFILE .WIN_HOME

Once you do this you will not be able to access the rest of your Unix data from a Windows computer. You will be able to access your Windows data from a Unix computer since .WIN_HOME is simply a sub-directory of your Unix home directory. If at some later point you want to undo this you can just delete the .WIN_HOME file (after you have moved any data that you want to save from it).