Let the Tux enter through the open Windows…
Always we are busy thinking that how easily can we access ‘ntfs’ partitions residing in Linux? And then we talk about ‘fuse’ and ‘ntfs-3g’ packages, but have we ever thought the other way round? Yes, I am talking about accessing Linux (ext2 / ext3) file system from windows. It will just be an awful experience when we are using windows and want to access some files of /root or /home mount point, and we need to reboot our PC for that.
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INTRODUCTION:
Once, I was surfing net in windows and need to download new ‘wine’ package, but I didn’t remember the previous version I was using :(( and had to disconnect net, reboot my system and then get into the linux to see the version of wine. Then and there I thought of something which should me to see the readme file of wine present in linux and there I found myself very helpless.
This tutorial will show the three different ways, how we can access linux within Windows in a dual boot system.
Explore2fs, Disk Internals Linux Reader, and the Ext2 Installable File System for Windows are those three different tools by help of which we can access ext2/ext3 file system. While the first two provide read-only access, the Ext2 Installable File System is the best among these and can be used for read and write operations.
We can download these softwares from the link given below:
1.Explore2fs - http://www.chrysocome.net/explore2fs
2.Disk Internals Linux Reader - http://www.diskinternals.com/linux-reader
3.Ext2 Installable File System - http://www.fs-driver.org/index.html
We can download and use Explore2fs and Disk Internals Linux Reader tools where we need not to specify both read / write permission. It will work only in read only mode. It is easy to install and work.
WORKING WITH EXT2 INSTALLABLE FILE SYSTEM:
Download the software ‘Ext2IFS_1_11a’ from http://www.fs-driver.org/index.html. The size of the software is only 1,431 KB so it can be downloaded easily from slow speed also.
Now, double click on the downloaded executable file.
The installation window will appear showing about the freeware nature of the software as shown in (fig 1.1)
Read the contents for knowledge and click next
fig 1.1
The second window will appear displaying the same old License Agreement as the exe tradition says (fig 1.2), but here I will suggest you to go through
the agreement because it shows something about the origin of the software and how it works rather not to simply agree by checking, click Next
fig 1.2
After that we will encounter a ‘read only option’ window, unlike the exe tradition (fig 1.3)
If we will check the ‘Enable read only’ option, it will work as the previous two Explore2fs and Disk Internals Linux Reader softwares as in read only mode. We can browse the Linux file system but we don’t have the permission to edit/write them. So, click on next without checking it and gain the 100% access to the Linux mount points.
fig 1.3
The next windows is about the encoding, use the recent Linux encoding for better results and check the ‘enable UTF-8 encoding’ as shown as (fig 1.4) and click next
fig 1.4
The next window will appear asking weather we need to enable large file feature or not, don’t get panic here, just check on ‘Enable large file feature’ for storing and accessing files larger than 2 GB, i.e. we won’t get any problem copying DVDs and watching movies, as shown in (fig 1.5)
Check and click next
fig 1.5
Now, we will encounter the most interesting window for assigning drive letters to linux partitions (fig 1.6), so that windows explorer can easily display the ext2 / ext3 file systems.
It will show all the partitions made on our hard disk.
I choose Y for /boot, Z for / and X for swap.
We can choose letter for swap FS also just for distinguishing it, but it will be only displayed, won’t be accessed.
If you want, check the option given below for automatically assigning letters to pluggable devices. fig 1.6
Click next and go through the README window at least once. Then click on Finish and end the installation process.
After the installation, you can find your Linux partition(s) in the normal Windows Explorer (under the drive letter that you assigned to it during the installation):
We can now browse and use your Linux partition(s) like a normal Windows partition.
Open My Computer and we will see linux partitions as shown in figure below:
As mentioned in the introduction of this article, the Ext2 Installable File System For Windows supports read and write operations on the Linux partitions. In order to test if the write support really works, we can try to create an empty folder on a Linux partition. Right-click on an empty area on the Linux partition and select New > Folder
The work for you is to install the rest of the two tools named Explore2fs and Disk Internals Linux Reader and note the difference. And simultaneously find out whether these tools works correctly on ext4 file system or not.
By: Adarsh
M.C.A and RedHat Certified Engineer
Email: addi_adarsh@yahoo.co.in
Hobby: Experimenting with Linux distros and listening old songs
Address: c/o MR. P.K. Singh,
10/5 Semal Road,
Shipra Suncity,
Indirapuram,
Ghaziabad U.P
Pin: 201014
