Access Ubuntu Files on NTFS Partition from Windows 7

file-sharingntfswindows 7

I have a dual boot system in place, Ubuntu/Windows, each on its on physical hard drive since I also have SRT active on the Windows partition.

The setup is as follows:

Disk 1:
– Partition 1: System (Windows 7)
– Partition 2: Storage (NTFS)
Disk 2:
– Partition: Ubuntu

Now, I can easily mount the Windows partitions from Ubuntu and read their files. I can even copy the files onto the partition in question (Storage – Disk1/Partition2), and it works flawlessly. However, I cannot see ANY files added by Ubuntu when I boot Windows up. So basically, Windows only sees its own files on the partition, while Ubuntu sees everything.

Is there something I need to do to make Windows see Ubuntu-made files? Keep in mind that the partition is NTFS, not ext2/3/4, so Windows does see it – just not the files which Ubuntu makes (and Win7 doesn't even take those files into account when calculating leftover free space on said partition – they are completely nonexistant to the OS)

My goal is, essentially, to have one Storage partition through which both Operating Systems could share files – thus having music, movies, code samples and downloads all in one place, accessible and changeable by both OS – without having to resort to something like a physically separate network drive.

Best Answer

I've never had this problem. Any files I've created in Ubuntu, and placed on an NTFS partition, have always been visible in Windows 7. Are you saving your files (docs, etc) to their normal ubuntu /home partition, and then copying them over to the NTFS partition? Or, do you have a symlink to the NTFS for your files? Either way, you should see the files while booted into Windows. Also, any files in Ubuntu /home will NOT be visible in Windows 7 (ext4 is not recognized by windows).