Ext4 File Recovery on Windows: Challenges & Solutions

Overview about Ext4 File System

The Ext4 (Fourth Extended File System) is one of the most commonly used file systems for Linux-based operating systems. One of the key advantages of Ext4 is its scalability, supporting large volumes and files up to 1 exabyte in size. Additionally, Ext4 offers faster file system checks, improved allocation strategies, and larger file sizes, making it a favorite for modern Linux distributions.

However, if you have an Ext4 partition and need to recover data from it on a Windows system, you’ll quickly realize that Windows doesn't natively support Ext4 file systems. This presents a challenge, especially when trying to access or recover data stored on Ext4 partitions. But don’t worry—there are ways to make this process easier.

Challenges During Ext4 File Recovery in Windows

Before entering the Ext4 file recovery, the incompatibility between Ext4 and Windows poses many obstacles, which can make the recovery process more challenging. Understanding these issues can help avoid falling into despair during recovery and increase the likelihood of successful data recovery.

🔥Windows Incompatibility: As mentioned, Windows doesn’t support the Ext4 file system natively, which makes it difficult to directly access an Ext4 partition.

🔥Data Corruption: If the Ext4 partition is corrupted, it can further complicate the recovery process. There are risks of losing important files or partitions being unreadable.

🔥Risk of Complete Data Loss: When Windows fails to recognize an Ext4 drive, it may prompt you to format the drive. Directly formatting it in this case can cause permanent data loss.

🔥Risk of Overwriting: After data loss, it’s essential not to write new data to the Ext4 partition, as doing so can overwrite the lost data, making recovery more difficult.

How to Recover Data from Ext4 Partition on Windows

For traditional Windows data recovery methods like built-in Windows backup tools and Windows File Recovery, they won't work at all due to compatibility issues between the Ext4 file system and Windows. Third-party data recovery software like MyRecover is highly recommended, which can directly scan and recover data from Ext4 partitions.

MyRecover is highly proficient in recovering data from formatted hard drives. Additionally, it supports data recovery from various complex scenarios such as, unreadable partitions, deleted partitions, and crashed systems.

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4 steps to recover files from Ext4 partition

Step 1. Download and install MyRecover on your computer from secure channel, avoid installing it on the Ext4 drive.

Step 2. Launch it and select the drive to scan for lost files, then click "Scan". If the quick scan doesn't find your data, MyRecover will automatically start a "Deep scan" to locate more clues of data fragments.

Step 3. Choose the files you want to recover from the recoverable lists and click "Recover".

Step 4. Select a different location (not the Ext4 drive) to save the recovered files.

Once the process is completed, the message "Files have been recovered successfully" will pop up. Then you can click the path to access and check the recovered files.

Bonus Reading: How to Make the Ext4 Partition Readable on Windows

If you need to copy files from an Ext4 partition to a Windows system or have to use Windows to read data from an Ext4 partition under special circumstances, you can choose between the following two options based on your needs.

Option 1. Linux Reader (Read Only)

If you just need to recover or access files from an Ext4 partition and don’t want to risk any accidental modification, Linux Reader is the simplest and most effective tool to access Ext4 files on Windows. This tool allows you to mount the Ext4 file system in read-only mode, meaning that you can safely view and copy files from the partition without risking accidental modification or overwriting.

Step 1. Download and install Linux Reader on your computer.

Step 2. Launch it and double click the Ext4 partition to access the files stored in it.

Step 3. Select the file you want to recover and right click it, select "Save" to save the file to Windows.

Step 4. Choose "Save Files" and click "Next".

Step 5. Select a destination for saving your files and click "Next".

When the process is completed, you can click the location of recovered files to check them.

This method is best when you only need to recover a few files and want to ensure that no data is modified or overwritten during the process.

Option 2. Format the Partition to NTFS or exFAT

Another approach is to format the Ext4 partition to NTFS or exFAT, enabling it to be read on Windows. However, this method is accompanied by the risk of complete data loss, as formatting will erase all data on the partition.

Step 1. Before formatting the partition, ensure that you've backed up all the data existing on the Ext4 partition. This step is crucial because formatting the partition will erase all existing data.

Step 2. Right click the Ext4 partition in File Explorer and choose "Format".

Step 3. Check the "Quick format" options and click "Start" to begin the process.

Notes:✎...

"Full format" will completely erase the data on the partition, making data recovery highly unlikely.

If you need to share data between Windows and Linux, consider formatting the partition to NTFS or exFAT for better compatibility.

This method is only suitable if you have already backed up the data on the partition and you don't care about data loss on this partition, but only want to retain a usable hard drive.

Conclusion

Recovering data from an Ext4 partition on Windows system is not straightforward due to the incompatibility between Windows and Ext4. However, by using professional data recovery tool like MyRecover for comprehensive data recovery, you can easily retrieve your files.

If you have more advanced data recovery needs on Windows, MyRecover also offers the Professional and Technician Edition. These editions allow unlimited data recovery quota and support previewing file contents before the recovery is complete.