[Thad E Ginathom]

NetfreakBombay, what do you suggest to give Windows reliable and transparent access to Ext4-filesystem files?

[manim]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

I don't really want to be asking this but recent advances in AI photo processing and de-noiseing have made me begin to reconsider my MS-Free House status. These advances will probably filter down to FOSS (or even chargeable) Linux software, but I'm not holding my breath.

Tried GIMP? https://www.gimp.org/

I also use gThumb for quick jobs like cropping, resizing, etc.

(I use Ubuntu).

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by manim

Tried GIMP? https://www.gimp.org/

I use it all the time. Many thousands of photos over the past few years. I think my camera's jpeg output is quite good, and I can tweak it to my taste in a minute or two.

If I used RAW/Rawtherapee, I'd be spending five to thirty minutes on each pic. OK, that is because I haven't practised, and that means doing it.

[tbppjpr]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Not much. When I work with raw, I usually use RawTherapee.

I also have used RawTherapee for very long time before switching back onto Darktable few days ago when I tried the new version of it. The difference in the output quality is now so much better over the RawTherepee, images are far more cleaner with far better colours.

I always found the RawTherepee outputs are very noisy by default with uglier looking colours. I was just using it because it was overall easier to use over the Darktable and other alternatives. But no more after the release of newer versions of the Darktable, that software now has graduated into the category of pro-grade raw processors.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by tbppjpr

I also have used RawTherapee for very long time before switching back onto Darktable few days ago ...

Thanks! I am only a little bit attached to RT: Perhaps I will give Darktable another look.

I still want that absolute-magic AI denoise that is coming with the software I mentioned. I usually work at ISO1600, with 3200 if I have to stop down, but more than that I try to avoid. OK, some noise in a stage curtain background can be lived with, but not in skin shadows. I could get a lot more freedom with DXO/Topaz/etc. YouTube guy Andy Astbury is a big fan of RawTherapee and its demosaicing choices, but even he said, "Linux users, if you want to go high ISO, you have to find a way to run this software"

(But hey, I still hate WIndows. What to do! )

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by tbppjpr

I also have used RawTherapee for very long time before switching back onto Darktable few days ago when I tried the new version of it.

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Perhaps I will give darktable another look.

The Next Day...

I installed darktable and took a quick look (several hours is a quick look for software like this!) I could only get 4.2 for my version of Linux Mint, not the latest 4.4. Is there much difference?

I had thought that DT was harder and more complex than RT: I see that, at least for the basics, I'm wrong! First impression is that its colour handling and noise reduction is very good indeed. It would take me a while to achieve the same look that is my jpeg+gimp style, if I can. Maybe some gimp work might be necessary. I want to avoid a two-stage edit: already it takes almost as long to edit the pics as it does to watch the concert!

[tbppjpr]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

I could only get 4.2 for my version of Linux Mint, not the latest 4.4. Is there much difference?

I got the 4.4 in the Mint, you need to use Flatpack to get the latest version.
Not sure how much difference is there but latest will be recommended for latest features.

I want to avoid a two-stage edit: already it takes almost as long to edit the pics as it does to watch the concert!

Believe me, you won't need GIMP or anything else for the single-layer image editing. I use GIMP for some other multi-layer work but never used it for camera photo editing. Even some effects like Bloom etc are available there in Dartable which allow you to create multiple instances of the same effect and set different parameters for all of them if you want. Darktable is so much open.

Download HaldCLUT, put the directory somewhere and configure the path in the Darktable preferences (check some tutorials). And you have different film emulations from Kodak, Fuji to Agfa ready to begin with and then tweak the rest of the image as per your liking.

One thing I feel cumbersome is that we have to show the configured directory in the LUT-3D option everytime when we open the Darktable.

[NetfreakBombay]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

NetfreakBombay, what do you suggest to give Windows reliable and transparent access to Ext4-filesystem files?

If Windows is running on vm; share the directory with vm. I.e. not over the network, mount as a shared folder in VM.

If windows is in dual-boot, don't mount ext-4 in read-write mode.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay

If Windows is running on vm; share the directory with vm. I.e. not over the network, mount as a shared folder in VM.

Thanks!

If windows is in dual-boot, don't mount ext-4 in read-write mode.

Buuut... I have to read and write!

Originally Posted by tbppjpr

I got the 4.4 in the Mint, you need to use Flatpack to get the latest version. ... ... ...Believe me, you won't need GIMP or anything else for the single-layer image editing. I use GIMP for some other multi-layer work but never used it for camera photo editing.

Thanks for that and for all of the advice. Old habits die hard, and it is not easy to give up my zippy work-flow in gimp. But I am open to alternatives!

[NetfreakBombay]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Buuut... I have to read and write!

There are drivers for that , but stay away (unless data is backed up somewhere else and you can restore if corruption happens).

As a last resort :

1. Create a tiny Linux VM within Windows
2. Mount Ext4 volumes/partitions in Linux VM
3. Expose as NAS in "Host Only" network

With this, Windows gets RW access and chances of corruption are minimal. And since filesystem is not shared on network (Only VM and Host PC can see it), data is secure as well.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay

There are drivers for that , but stay away (unless data is backed up somewhere else and you can restore if corruption happens).
... ... ...

So, what you saying is, if I want to use Windows, bootable or VM, with my ext4-based data, your advice is don't?

Yes, my pics are backed up to external drives. I do so every time I do any work, even if it is only culling. But no, I don't to put it at risk.

Heck, OK, I never wanted Windows. It will cause me grief one way or another. That's my history with it .

[ph03n!x]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

So, what you saying is, if I want to use Windows, bootable or VM, with my ext4-based data, your advice is don't?

Yes, my pics are backed up to external drives. I do so every time I do any work, even if it is only culling. But no, I don't to put it at risk.

Heck, OK, I never wanted Windows. It will cause me grief one way or another. That's my history with it .

There used to be ext2fsd for that (XP/ 7 days), and even then I used to mount it read-only if needed. I do not think this was ever updated to support 64-bit Linux's ext4 formatted driver has not been maintained for more than 5 years now. The more recent ext4fsd branch has trouble with driver signing in 64 bit Windows...

There is one option that I have not tested extensively - Windows 10/ 11 has WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) which allows mounting ext4 filesystems natively. While I'll provide the steps, please do a thorough testing of this with a ext4 partition or external drive that is empty or with stuff that you do not mind losing.

1. Go to Start (right-click) -> Run. type optionalfeatures and scroll down the list to find Windows Subsystem for Linux. Enable it
2. Open PowerShell and type wmic diskdrive list brief and make a note of the PHYSICALDRIVE# listed for the ext4 drive (# will be the physical disk number)
3. Assuming the ext4 partition is on its own HDD that does not have any other partition, type wsl --mount \\.\.PHYSICALDRIVE# --partition 1 (replace # with the number from the HDD from the previous command)

The disk should now be available in Windows File Explorer when you choose the Linux option in the left pane. Once you are done, head back to PowerShell and type wsl --unmount \\.\.PHYSICALDRIVE#


Let us know how it goes! Another alternative that I can think of - most routers with USB HDD support will take ext4 HDD(mine is an ASUS RT-AC58U, which supports ext4). The transfer rates while writing to the drive over wired or wireless will be painfully S-L-O-W, and read speeds are only just about better. But it works, and you can mount and configure it to be accessible from any device connected to your router...

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by ph03n!x

There is one option that I have not tested extensively - Windows 10/ 11 has WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux)

... ... ...

Let us know how it goes! Another alternative that I can think of - most routers with USB HDD support will take ext4 HDD(mine is an ASUS RT-AC58U

Many thanks for all this information. My router is Asus too: RT-AC86U. But any degree of s-l-o-w will not do. I'm zipping as quick as I can through editing pics, and I'm used to almost instantaneous read/write to an SSD from GIMP.

[manim]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

All my file systems are ext4, including most of my external backup disks

I too have my backups accessible only through Linux. I use 'Linux-Unified-Key-Setup' (LUKS) disk-encryption on all my drives protected with a password (boot-drive SSD, internal HDD, external-USB-HDD, etc).

I am paranoid about backups and have at-least four copies of all my data. I have a 'family-password' so if anything happens to me, my backups can be accessed by my family. I run a shell script every time before I shut-down which uses 'rsync' (mirror data), 'duplicity' (take incremental-backups) and 'rclone' (mirror on my google-drive accessible from my mobile-phone).

Whenever I travel long distances I take at-least one copy with me so my data is safe even if my house is burgled, a fire-accident, etc happens.

For me it is a good thing that these drives cannot be mounted on windoze, it gives me added protection if someone other than my family gets hold of them.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_Unified_Key_Setup
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duplicity_(software)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rclone

[pandey.jai]

Originally Posted by manim

I run a shell script every time before I shut-down which uses 'rsync' (mirror data), 'duplicity' (take incremental-backups) and 'rclone' (mirror on my google-drive accessible from my mobile-phone).

Do you mind sharing this script (without details of your drive names etc)