Read/write Ext2/Ext3/Ext4 File System in Windows 7

The format of the Linux File System is usually Ext3, And now Ext4 is available. How can I read and write these partitions on Windows?

The following software is recommended:

1. ext2Fsd (http://www.ext2fsd.com /)

You can read and write Ext2/Ext3 file systems. Ext4 file systems and LVM are not supported.

In Windows 7, the installation file ext2fsd-0.51.exe must be set to run as an administrator and compatible with Windows XP SP3 mode.

Ext2Fsd is an ext2 file system driver for Windows (2 k, XP, Vista and Win7). It's a free software. Anyone can modify or distribute it under GPL2.

Features ext2fsd supports:

1. Ext2/ext3 volume reading & Writing
2. Ext3 journal replay when mounting
3. Various codePage: utf8, cp936, cp950...
4. Mountpoint automatical assignment
5. Large inode size: 128,256 ,...
6. Large file size bigger than 4G
7. CIFS sharing over network
8. Htree Directory Indexing
9. Ext4 extent read-only, no size truncating and expanding support
10. Fast fsck (uninit_bg) and group block checksum support
11. 64 K block-size, support compatible to Linux ext4 and e2fsprogs
12. OS: 2 K, XP, Vista, Server 2003/2008, win7

Features ext2fsd doesn't support:

1. Fully ext3 journal support
2. Ext4 extent support
3. LVM and Linux RAID (MD)
4. NT4 is no longer supported.

2. Ext2Read (http://sourceforge.net/projects/ext2read)

Ext2/Ext3/Ext4 and LVM are supported, but they are read-only.

Ext2Read is an explorer like utility to convert e ext2/ext3/ext4 files. it now supports LVM2 and EXT4 extents. it can be used to view and copy files and folders. it can recursively copy entire folders. it can also be used to view and copy disk and file

Features

• View and copy ext2/ext3/ext4 files and folders.
• Ext4 extents support.
• Lvm2 support
• Recursively copy whole directories
• LRU based block cache for faster concurrent access

3. Ext2IFS (http://www.fs-driver.org /)

You can read and write Ext2. The Ext3 file system is mounted in Ext2 mode (Ext3 logs are not supported) and Chinese characters are not supported!

It provides Windows NT4.0/2000/XP/2003/Vista/2008 with full access to Linux Ext2 volumes (ReadAccess andWriteAccess). This may be useful if you have installed both Windows and Linux as a dual boot environment on your computer.

What features are supported?

• CompleteReadingAndWritingAccess to files and directories of volumes withExt2OrExt3File system.
• Supports features which are specific to the I/O-system of Windows: Byte Range Locks, Directory Notfication (so the Explorer updates the view of a directory on changes within that directory ), oplocks (so SMB clients are able to cache the content of files ).
• Allows Windows to runPaging filesOn Ext2 volumes.
• UTF-8 encoded file names are supported.
• The driver treats files with file names that start with a dot "." characterHidden.
• Supports GPT disks if the Windows version used also does.
• Supports use of the WindowsMountvolUtility to create or delete drive letters for Ext2 volumes (volume t on Windows NT 4.0). See also section "Can drive letters also be configured from scripts? ".

What features are * not * supported?

• Inodes that are larger than 128 bytes are not supported.
• Access rightsAreNotMaintained. all users can access all the directories and files of an Ext2 volume. if a new file or directory is created, it inherits all the permissions, the GID and the UID from the directory where it has been created.
  There is one exception to this rule: a file (but not a directory) the driver has created always has cleared "x" permissions, it inherits the "r" and the "w" permissions only. see also section "What
  Limitations arise from not maintaining access rights? ".
• The driver does not allow accessingSpecial filesAt Ext2 volumes, the access will be always denied. (Special files are sockets, soft links, block devices, character devices and pipes .)
• Alternate 8.3-DOS namesAre not supported (just because there is no place to store them in an Ext2 file system ). this can prevent legacy DOS applications, executed by the NTVDM of Windows, from accessing some files or directories.
• Currently the driver does not implementDefragging support. So defragmentation applications will neither show fragmentation information nor defragment any Ext2 volume.
• This software does not achieve booting a Windows operating system from an Ext2 volume.
• LVM volumes are not supported, so it is not possible to access them.

4. DiskInternals Linux Reader for Windows (http://www.diskinternals.com/linux-reader)

Supports Ext2/Ext3/Ext4, HFS, and ReiserFS, read-only.

There are a number of evident merits of the program, which you shoshould know. First of all,DiskInternals Linux Reader is absolutely free. Secondly, the program provides for read-only access and does not allow you to make records in file system
Partitions. this guarantees that the interference in an alterative file system will not affect the work of Linux later. apart from this, it is necessary to note, that it gives you an opportunity to use common Windows Explorer for extracting data. A preview
Option for pictures is one more pleasant point, which is worth mentioning.

How to Get safe and quick access to any file systems? Diskinternals Linux reader is an easy and short way to solve the problem!

While saving, it ignores file security policies. It means that it is possible to access absolutely any file on a Linux disk from Windows. The program can create and open Disk Images.

Linux reader is 100% free.

Reference link:

Http://www.ubuntugeek.com/how-to-read-ext3ext4-linux-partition-from-windows-7.html