How can I access a subversion repository using a local path in Windows?

I have CollabNet Subversion server and client installed, running off of Apache that came with it. From the command line on the server, I can easily access the repository using a path like

http://server:port/svn/repository

but I can't access it using its actual location on the disk, like

c:\repositories\repository

I just get "[path] is not a working copy." What am I misunderstanding?

Common mistake. You have to use the file:// pseudo-protocol like this:

file:///C:/repositories/repository

SVN repository paths have to be URIs.

Try:

svn checkout "file:///C|/repositories/repository"

and see if you can see the files inside the repo.