Is it possible to use the EXT3 file system on USB storage devices connected to my Keenetic router?
Yes, it can. Keenetic router supports USB storage devices using the following EXT3 file system.
EXT3 is a journaling file system used in Linux kernel operating systems. EXT3 is one of the major file systems in many Linux distributions. EXT3 is based on the EXT2 file system and is fully compatible with it.
The main difference from EXT2 is that EXT3 is journaling, which means that some data is written in it, allowing the file system to be recovered in case of computer crashes.
You can find more information on the Internet at http://wikipedia.org/wiki/Ext3.
The advantages of using the EXT3 file system:
- Full compatibility with EXT2, making it very easy to migrate from EXT2 to EXT3 and vice versa, with no errors in the transition.
- EXT3 has an option to recover deleted files or restore the file system.
- The EXT3 file system can support files up to 2TB. It can support file names up to 255 characters long.
- The EXT3 file system can make very efficient use of the free disk space. The EXT3 file system handles the hard disk so efficiently that disks usually do not need to be defragmented.
To format a drive to the EXT3 file system, we recommend using one of many freeware programs (e.g. EaseUS Partition Master Home Edition) to format disks to the EXT3 file system under Windows.
NOTE: Important! A drive formatted in the EXT3 file system can only be viewed under Windows using special utilities or by installing a special driver (http://sourceforge.net/projects/ext2fsd/).
EaseUS Partition Master Home Edition is a handy tool for partitioning your hard disk. It allows you to quickly and easily create, delete and format partitions, resizing and repartitioning them without data loss, using free disk space. This version of the software (EaseUS Partition Master Home Edition) is free for home use only.
You can download it from the manufacturer's website: http://www.partition-tool.com/download.htm.
Its use is quite simple. Install the program in Windows and run it. Select the disk or partition you wish to use. Right-click on it and click Format partition.
Select the EXT3 file system in the File System field.
NOTE: Important! Formatting a drive partition will lose all data on the partition.
After specifying the file system, press Apply to start formatting.
You will see another window with a warning: '1 operation is currently pending. Apply the change now?'. Click Yes if you are sure you want to format the disk or partition to the file system you specified earlier. Otherwise, click No.
You will then see a window showing the status of the formatting process.
After successful formatting, you will see a confirmation window. Press the OK button.
In the same program, you can browse a disk partition in the EXT3 file system. To do this, select the disk or disk partition you want. Right-click on it and click Explore partition.
A window will open in which you can view the contents of the specified partition.