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I'm new in this. I want to have a dual boot with Windows 10 and Ubuntu 20.04, I know I have to split the disk for installing Ubuntu in one partition without making any changes to my actual Windows, but I want to share files between both OS, so I want to know if it'd be useful to make a third partition to be able to access files in this partition from both OS

evening_g
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  • I you want to go the dual-boot method, then a separate common data partition can be wise. There are other ways, like Virtual Machines, that are more complex but also more convenient. – user535733 Apr 20 '20 at 18:03

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There are a few ways to share files between dual-booted Windows and Ubuntu systems.

1. Use a flash/thumb drive.

Obviously, one way to do this is to plug in a flash drive and just copy the files over to it. Reboot into your other installation and plug the drive back in.

2. Set up a mutual partition

Like you suggested, you could set up a mutual partition that can be accessed by both systems. If you don't want to use a flash drive, this is probably the cleanest method.

3. Install Ext4 drivers on Windows

This method only works if you didn't install Ubuntu using LVM (Logical Volume Management). Most Linux systems use a file system called Ext4. Normally, Windows can't read this type of file system, but you can install the necessary driver for Windows here. I've tested this method myself, and it worked perfectly for me. Be sure to add Ext2Fsd to your Windows startup applications, otherwise you'll have to manually start the program to access your Linux partitions. This method allows you to have the most storage space allocated to each system.

Which method you use is mainly a matter of preference. Using a mutual partition is a perfectly viable option, but it would take up disk space that could be allocated to your installed systems. Using Ext2Fsd allows you to free up that disk space you would have used for your partition, but you would have another set of drivers to manage on your Windows system.

Hope this helps!

Curtice Gough
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  • Your post is really helpful, I have 1TB of storage, so I think the second option would be ok. Just another question, this should be an usual partition or it'd have something different? – evening_g Apr 20 '20 at 19:30
  • @GasparHuerta You would need to create the partition using a file system that Windows can recognize. Windows uses NTFS by default, but can also use FAT32. Either one will work, but NTFS is more efficient. – Curtice Gough Apr 20 '20 at 19:34
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Multiple versions of ext4 drivers on Windows, including the latest ext2fsd, have failed many folks here, including me. and resulted in severe corruption 1 2 3 4 5.

Instead, I'd suggest a fourth method; just mount the NTFS partition in Linux where the data is, and read and write from Linux with its native NTFS support.

If you're skittish, make a new NTFS partition on your internal drive, and test reading and writing files you copy into it.

K7AAY
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