umkfs.ext3.or mkfs.msdos

[Bart Silverstrim]

Neil wrote:
> On Tue, Sep 9, 2008 at 3:05 AM, Chris Jeffries <chris at candm.org.uk> wrote:
>> On Mon, 2008-09-08 at 21:56 +0100, ubuntu-users-request at lists.ubuntu.com
>> wrote:
>>>         Bart Silverstrim wrote:
>>>         > Carl Friis-Hansen wrote:
>>>         >
>>>         >> Karl, you might miss out on the extra attributes assigned
>>>         to files in
>>>         >> ext2 file system. Like owner, rights and more advanced time
>>>         information.
>>>         >> If I were you, I would just have one stick with FAT32.
>>>         >
>>>         > Unless the UID's don't match between systems :-)
>>>
>>>         Been there, then it is something with find and chown :-(
>>>         --
>>>
>> Karl,
>>
>> I have not tested the following out with USB sticks, but there is an
>> ext2/3 installable driver for Windows which I have installed and it
>> works fine for getting to my Ubuntu hard disk partition from Windows, so
>> it probably will work for USB sticks too.
>>
>> I can read AND write AND create AND delete files. The restrictions are
>> primarily in managing rights and ownerships.
>>
>> Without rebooting to Windows, I cannot give you chapter and verse, but
>> if you google for 'ext2 windows' then I am sure you will find it easily.
>> Although it is called an ext2 driver it works fine with ext3 as well.
>>
>> Chris
> 
> Hi Chris
> 
> The last line is essentially the result of the fact that ext2 is the
> same as ext3 on most accounts. A pure ext2 driver will indeed be able
> to read and write and do anything on ext3. However, there are some
> improvements on ext3, the journaling function is the most known one
> (and the only one I know). The pure ext2 driver will not be able to
> use journaling. So if your system crashes while writing, the data will
> be seriously damaged.

I think in journaling it's still very possible your data is hosed. The 
filesystem should not be.

Journaling is meant to keep your filesystem consistent. It doesn't care 
if all of your home movie was saved properly before the power goes 
*blink* :-)

Pedantic, but there's a significant difference when it comes to data 
protection. Otherwise you're right. EXT3 and EXT2 are compatible, just 
with EXT2 you won't have access to journaling capabilities which in some 
cases can speed filesystem alterations up.

-Bart