Microsoft Windows doesn’t recognize Linux partitions and doesn’t provide any file system drivers for accessing Linux partitions with EXT2/EXT3 file systems. However there are some open source tools which can be used for this purpose.

Explore2fs

Explore2fs Tool

The best and safest way to access files in Linux (EXT2) partitions in Microsoft Windows operating system is to use Explore2fs software. This tool works much like Windows Explorer and pretty easy to use. This provides you read-only access to all Linux partitions present on all hard drives in your system. On the left pane it shows you the recognized Linux partitions along with directory structure and on the right pane it lists the files present in the directory selected in the left pane. You can select one or multiple files and save them in your windows partition. It also supports drag and drop operations. The latest versions can even recognize partitions on Floppy disk, CD/DVD, Zip drives. It can also recognize Logical Volume (LVM)  partitions if your Linux installation is done n a single physical partition.

Here is the list of operating Windows systems it works on:

  • Windows 95
  • Windows 98
  • Windows 98SE
  • Windows ME
  • Windows NT 4.0
  • Windows 2000
  • Windows XP
  • Windows XP SP2
  • Windows Server 2003