Question

I know in linux it is as simple as /dev/sda but in Windows how do you open a disk and start reading data at the low level?

In python I’ve tried:

f = open("K:", "r")

and I get this error:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
IOError: [Errno 13] Permission denied: 'K:'

I get this error even as administrator.

Answer 1

From http://support.microsoft.com/kb/100027

To open a physical hard drive for
direct disk access (raw I/O) in a
Win32-based application, use a device
name of the form

\\.\PhysicalDriveN

where N is 0, 1, 2, and so forth,
representing each of the physical
drives in the system.

To open a logical drive, direct access
is of the form

\\.\X: 

where X: is a
hard-drive partition letter, floppy
disk drive, or CD-ROM drive.