Many times one wants to edit files on a Linux ext partition from Windows. Is there a way to view and edit files in Linux partitions in Windows 7 or 8?
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There are several ways.
First you can install a filing system driver as @redbeam_ has indicated. This gives (more or less) native access to the files. Though extreme care should be taken due to the many differences between Windows and Unix-like filing and operating systems.
Alternatively, you could install a virtual machine application such as VirtualBox, install Linux into a VM and attach the partition to the guest OS.
However, since this question was originally asked in the Raspberry Pi forum, there might be another way for you which would be to leave the partition in an active Pi and simply access remotely using WinSCP. With this, you can directly edit files on the remote Pi from Windows - this is what I do when developing on the Pi.
Julian Knight
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You can use the Ext2Fsd Project driver that will allow Windows to read and write files in ext2, 3, and 4 filesystems. Be careful, as the developer warns:
The driver may crash your system and ruin your data unexpectedly, since there might be software conflicts and I could only test it on some of the popular platforms. You should use it with care and use it at your own risk!
Once you install the driver, you should use an editor like Notepad++ that can edit Linux files without messing up the encoding.
