How to read external USB hard drive formatted ext3 from Windows 7?

I had to format a USB hard drive to ext3 to use it with a Linksys nas box. Now I can't read the hd when I unplug it from the nas and plug it directly into my Windows 7 computer. (The computer accesses the nas over a wireless connection, so I like to plug the hd directly into my pc when transferring large files.)

How can I leave the hd formatted with ext3 and yet be able to access it (read/write) when I plug it directly into my pc?

CChriss

Posted 2010-02-02T05:24:50.277

Reputation: 1 193

Answers

You can try Ext2 IFS for Windows, which may require a bit of tweaking on 7. Another option is to use Cooperative Linux within Windows itself to access the volumes.

John T

Posted 2010-02-02T05:24:50.277

Reputation: 149 037

Thanks, John. I tried but couldn't get ext-ifs to install on my W7. On first glance, it looks like Co-op Linux means basicially installing Linux on my pc. If that's true, I think I'll hold off and hope for an option with less overhead. – CChriss – 2010-02-02T05:44:02.617

Check out this article for getting Ext2IFS running on 7: http://www.networkedmediatank.com/showthread.php?tid=23220 you may be interested in Ext2FSD alternatively: http://www.ext2fsd.com/

– John T – 2010-02-02T05:54:13.483

Note that Ext2 IFS can only read an ext2/3 file system if: A. it was removed safely from the Limux machine, B. the node size is 128 bit. To check this, download "mountdiag.exe" and run: "mountdiag.exe <drive-letter>:". http://www.fs-driver.org/download/mountdiag.exe

– Erel Segal-Halevi – 2012-07-03T17:50:21.200

EXT2FSD works great for me on Windows 7 X64. http://www.ext2fsd.com/

Seffyroff

Posted 2010-02-02T05:24:50.277

Reputation: 137

I would recommend using Total Commander with DiskInternals Reader Plugin! Easy and powerful!

Ilia Rostovtsev

Posted 2010-02-02T05:24:50.277

Reputation: 185

Just good to know: Read-only access – user1251007 – 2018-04-05T19:41:37.653

Another option is Diskinternals Linux Reader, which is free software.

However, it provides read-only access.

user1251007

Posted 2010-02-02T05:24:50.277

Reputation: 643