Solved Can Windows 11 Pro read EXT4 formatted external drives natively?

SpiritWolfe · Oct 19, 2024

Greetings & Salutations:

I have been a member of the Windows Forums community since Windows 95. I just am new to Windows 11 & I have used Windows 10 for quite some time before switching to Windows 11 Pro. Also, I am just getting around to utilizing SSD drives & flash memory (the NVMe Gen3 SATA) & a Samsung NVMe Gen4 1TB 980 Pro, to replace the 1TB Seagate drive that I have used for over 5 years. I was smiling from ear to ear once I got a fresh copy of Windows 11 Pro on that Samsung 2TB SSD & watched how fast that data transferred over.

I am asking the aforementioned question, but I (already know &) suspect not as when I Googled the answer & found out, it was a flat, "Nope!"

Then Google presented me with that answer and a solution called DiskGenius. Is this worth installing? I really do not like to have to "go through" another "something" to get to "something" else, most of the time. YKWIM?

Then there are the begging questions:

Is DiskGenius the best program out there to read the non-native partitions EXT4/3/2 (Are these Linx partitions?) & are the only partition formats Windows can read are exFAT & FAT32 partitions along with the NTFS partition?

What happens when I cannot execute DiskGenius to access an EXT4 partitioned external SSD drive & am I screwed because I then cannot read my data?

Cheers!

Sawuwaya / SpiritWolfe

antspants · Oct 19, 2024

Install Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to install the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) feature in Windows 10 and Windows 11. The Windows Subsystem for Linux lets developers run a GNU/Linux environment -- including most command-line tools, utilities, and applications -- directly on Windows...

www.elevenforum.com

Possibly helpful, possibly not.

jimbo45 · Oct 19, 2024

WSL for Linux can read ext4 files. The best way to do it is to install SAMBA on your WSL, and then share the ext4 drive as a network drive on Windows - or simply install a Linux VM on Hyper-V, install SAMBA and again share as a network drive.

Cheers
jimbo

glasskuter · Oct 19, 2024

I have never used Disk Denius but I have recovered files from a Linux formatted drive using one of the live Linux distros.(Ubuntu or Mint are good) Create Linux install media and boot from it. Instead of installing Linux using the usb, you are given the option to run Linux off the usb. Files can be copied to an external ntfs drive from within the live distro. Once booted back into Windows the files should be accessible from the external drive.

In fact this is my preferred method of file recovery from old windows formatted drives, too. Doing it this way assures me I won't run into permission issues on the recovered files.

spapakons · Oct 19, 2024

The easiest way is to install an appropriate driver, such as Paragon ExtFS for Windows:

Paragon ExtFS for Windows for Windows - Free download and software reviews - CNET Download

Download Paragon ExtFS for Windows latest version for Windows free to try. Paragon ExtFS for Windows latest update: August 16, 2018

download.cnet.com

jimbo45 · Oct 19, 2024

spapakons said:
The easiest way is to install an appropriate driver, such as Paragon ExtFS for Windows:

Paragon ExtFS for Windows for Windows - Free download and software reviews - CNET Download

Download Paragon ExtFS for Windows latest version for Windows free to try. Paragon ExtFS for Windows latest update: August 16, 2018

download.cnet.com

That thing has been around for ages and doesn't work reliably these days.

Have you actually tried it on a recently formatted ext4 drive (ext4 itself has had quite a few mods itself since 2018 = that's over 6 years ago -- a geoogical era in terms of soft / hardware. It's also not maintained any more.

I think you've just googled and then posted without actually testing the thing.

Cheers
jimbo

XxXxX · Oct 19, 2024

Windows can not 'natively' read/write or even see ext4 partitions.
DiskGenius should be able to read ext4 but am unsure if it can write from ext4.

as stated above a live Linux distro would be able to move data from the ext4 partitions/drives to another location.

hope this is of help, best of luck. Steve ..

spapakons · Oct 19, 2024

jimbo45 said:
That thing has been around for ages and doesn't work reliably these days.

Have you actually tried it on a recently formatted ext4 drive (ext4 itself has had quite a few mods itself since 2018 = that's over 6 years ago -- a geoogical era in terms of soft / hardware. It's also not maintained any more.

I think you've just googled and then posted without actually testing the thing.

Cheers
jimbo

I haven't used it recently, so I am not aware of any incompatibilities, I apologize. Are you sure there isn't a new version that has no issues?

cereberus · Oct 19, 2024

Why not just use a live Linux CD and copy all data from ext4 partitions to an exFat Partition?

spapakons · Oct 19, 2024

That's not very convenient if you dual boot with Linux.

cereberus · Oct 19, 2024

spapakons said:
That's not very convenient if you dual boot with Linux.

Linux can read exFat.

If one justs want to copy ExFat partition to another, clone it using Macrium Reflect (any version including trial)

spapakons · Oct 19, 2024

Better trick: shrink either the Windows or the Linux partition by a few GB and create a FAT32 or ExFAT partition which is fully accessible by both OSes. Copy any data you want to share there.

neves · Oct 19, 2024

Before making any recommendations (there's plenty above already - of which - Linux Live CD would be the simplest/cleanest) - it's important/relevant to know: Do you have any personal data on that external SSD or you just bought it - and it came formatted as ext4 (which is the standard both for for HDDs & SSDs)?!

If it's cause of the last reason (came formatted like that) - you can simply format it as NTFS - to be able to use it from Windows natively without any further complications.

Berton · Oct 19, 2024

I have several Linux LiveUSB Thumb drives of different 'flavors' and Windows cannot read any of them, keeps want to format them. They show in GPARTED as being formatted as ISO9660. The default format of my installed Linux Mint drive is ext4 although the boot partition is FAT32 and EFI.

spapakons · Oct 19, 2024

The only way to read them in Windows is by installing a driver such as Paragon ExtFS or similar. There are also utilities that let you see the contents in a window and copy-paste files from there, but it is far more convenient to install a driver and access them from File Explorer and any Windows application directly. Paragon also makes respective drivers to access HFS and APFS partitions from Mac disks. Useful if you dual boot with Mac OS and Windows on a real Mac or PC (aka Hackintosh).

jimbo45 · Oct 19, 2024

C'mon folks.
95% of this thread is absolute Bovine scatology.
If you install ANY linux distro even from an external USB / Thumbstick you can install SAMBA. Then you can also mount any Windows disk (Linux can read /write NTFS - no problem). Ensure Windows system allows connection from external sources and the workgroup name is the same = and simply then connect as network drive or use something like filezilla to send files to windows.

E.G

I think too may "ants and molehill problems" here when none really exist.

Cheers
jimbo

SpiritWolfe · Oct 19, 2024

Thank you to all who applied to my posting. I have used Linux in the past & I enjoyed the speed of that OS when I was using 32-bit OS back in the day. I am a "K.I.S.S." kind of person when it comes to how two unique OS interact with one another & since Android & Windows can both natively read/write in the ExFAT format, who am I to change that simplicity? It is kind of like pushing the boulder uphill on roller skates...

I wish I had the time to get back into using & understanding the Linux OS again. But my 4-year-old nephew will not grace me with extra time...

spapakons said:
Better trick: shrink either the Windows or the Linux partition by a few GB and create a FAT32 or ExFAT partition which is fully accessible by both OSes. Copy any data you want to share there.

My new external Samsung 4TB T7 SSD has already been ExFAT formatted from the factory. I think I will keep that in mind @spapakons, thanks.

My conclusion from these questions I have posted here is this. Since I am using a Samsung Android phone & Windows PC, I will from now on stick to the ExFAT formatting for most of my smaller external drives. I usually have formatted my external drives as NTFS since I usually do not use external hard drives with my Android. But now as the technology advances & the MicroSD card has gone by the wayside I have to rethink my way of thinking of how I prepare a drive for usage on multi-platform OS.

Cheers & Thanks!

Berton · Oct 19, 2024

I also changed 2 x WD My Book 4TB drives to NTFS, they came as exFAT and the package was marked as for PC or Mac OS X.

spapakons · Oct 19, 2024

Linux and Mac OS access NTFS as read only by default. However you can enable read/write access from the Terminal. I don't remember details. So you can enable read/write access and use an NTFS disk.

Berton · Oct 19, 2024

I have a 500GB HDD as boot/primary drive in my Linux Mint 22 Desktop and a 1TB HDD formatted as NTFS as the second/data drive, default installs, and writing to NTFS did not require any adjustments made to be usable, just plugged it in and started storing on it.

Solved Can Windows 11 Pro read EXT4 formatted external drives natively?

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