How to read EXT3 and EXT4 partitions from Windows

In case you need to access a partition with an ext2, ext3 or ext4 file system from Windows (maybe because you have used it with Linux up to that moment), you will have to use a little trick. 

 

 

 

MOUNTING THROUGH SHELL  

If you prefer not to install any software in Windows, you can use a Linux LIVE distribution (bootable from USB stick). 

I recommend Xubuntu 13.04 or later (xubuntu.org) which is a compact version derived from Ubuntu Linux: to install it on a USB stick you can use utilities like YUMI or SARDU. 

To mount an ext3 or ext4 partition, you can type the commands from the terminal: 

 

sudo mkdir /mnt/hd1 
sudo mount -t ext3 /dev/sdaXXX /mnt/hd1 

 

WHERE: the identification of the partition to be mounted must be specified instead of sdaXXX. 

To obtain information about the partitions: 

 

sudo apt-get install parted 
sudo parted -l 

 

ACCESS THROUGH  GUI

In case you want to use a special software, with graphical interface, you can opt for: 

DiskInternals Linux Reader – www.diskinternals.com  

or 

Paragon ExtFS – www.paragon-software.com  

Using this software, you can connect a hard drive containing Linux partitions to a Windows system using a free SATA connector or a USB-SATA adapter.  

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