Linuxphile.org

My laptop is setup in a dual environment. I have both Windows XP and Ubuntu 8.04. I switch regularly between the two operating systems throughout the day as there are tools on both systems that I need tow ork with for my job. In doing this, however, I am often creating documents in both environments that I may need while working within the other operating system.

When I encounter the need for documents hosted on the Windows XP partition there is no problem. Linux can mount FAT, FAT32, and NTFS partitions in read/write mode without a problem. However, if I am working within Windows XP and need a document stored on the Linux partition I was stuck with the rebooting into Ubuntu, copying the file to the Windows partition and rebooting back into Windows.

I know I could have created a separate FAT32 or NTFS partition to store these documents, but I didn't think of that before I created my setup. This would be the preferred manner for working. In fact with all that I have gone through in the last two weeks toting the files back and forth I will likely resize one of the existing partitions and create a separate partition.

While experiencing this problem I started looking for ways to mount Linux partitions within Windows XP. If you formatted your Linux partitions in the ext2/ext3 formats you are in luck. All four tools listed below support ext2/ext3. The first tool in the list below will actually mount the ext2/ext3 partition with a lettered drive making the partition accessible within Windows Explorer.

When installing Ubuntu on my laptop I choose the ReiserFS filesystem for my Linux partitions. Choosing ReiserFS as the filesystem has eleminated all but one of the tools below. Virtual Volumes, which is currently in a beta release will support the ReiserFS using another open source tool, rfstools. Virtual Volumes does not mount the ReisferFS partition as a Windows lettered drive, however, a graphical interface is available to allow you to open files from your ReisferFS.

Of all the tools listed below, the one I would recommend the most is Ext2IFS. This tool, as mentioned before, allows you to mount the ext2/ext3 partition as a lettered drive within Windows and supports all versions of Windows.

Ext2IFS
Allows Ext2 and Ext3 partitions to be mounted in Windows as any other drive, both read and write. Works with all versions of Windows.

Ext2Fsd
Noted to work with NT and XP.
Read/write support

Explore2fs
Allows Ext2/3 in an explorer mode. Not mounted as a drive.

Virtual Volumes
Reads LVMS, ext2/3.
Allows beta read access to ReiserFS. Uses rfstools.
Could double click to open file, however, I couldn't copy.