Access Linux Ext2 / Ext3 / Ext4 partitions from Windows

Access Linux Ext2 / Ext3 / Ext4 partitions from Windows

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The extended file system (ext) is the first file system designed specifically for Linux. Ext2 file system is the second extended file system, ext3 is the third extended files ystem, and ext4 is the forth extended file system. Today, Ext2, ext3, ext4 are widely used file systems in Linux operating systems. Linux supports Windows FAT, NTFS file system, thus you can access Windows partitions in Linux. However, Windows doesn't recognize Linux ext partitions because it doesn't support ext2 / 3 / 4 file systems. You may have difficulty if you want to open files in a Linux drive from Windows. PowerISO can list files in a Linux ext2 / ext3 / ext4 partitions, and open the files if needed.

To access files in Linux Ext partitions, please follow the steps,

Connect the drive containing Linux ext partitions to the computer. The drive can be connected through USB port, internal SATA / IDE surface, and etc.
Run PowerISO.
Choose "Files > Open USB drive / hard drive..." menu.

PowerISO shows "Open USB drive / hard drive" dialog. If you are using Windows Vista or above operating systems, you need confirm UAC dialog box to continue.

Select the correct drive from the drive list. The detailed information of the drive shows in the dialog, such as capacity, sector size, total sectors, and etc..

Click "OK" button in the dialog.

A dialog box will open showing all partitions in the drive. You can select the desired partition from the list and click "Open" button to open the selected partition.

PowerISO will open the selected partition in the drive and list all files in the partition. To extract files in the linux Ext partition, select the files in PowerISO window, and click "Extract" button.

The "Extract" dialog will open. Enter the extract destination folder, and press "OK" button to start extraction.

PowerISO will start extracting selected files and folders. You can access extracted files after the extraction completes.