The Ext2 (second extended) file system is an advanced file system for Linux kernel. It is possible to resize the Ext2, while it is mounted. This is possible using the ext2 online utility. However, you should always have a complete and valid backup of your mission critical data before uploading an online or mounted file system. In case anything goes wrong, you may come encounter serious data loss situations, which requires Linux recovery software to be fixed.
You can resize only the mounted Ext2. In order to use the ext2online utility, you must have Online ext2 resize support (CONFIG_EXT2_RESIZE) option enabled in your Linux Kernel. You can enable this feature after applying an appropriate patch for 2.x kernel series.
The files system, which is specified by the device, or the mountpoint must be mounted currently. By default, the mounted files system is enlarged to fill up the device. If you have specified an optional size parameter, then it uses the specified size instead. If optional modifier is not available, it is taken from Ext2 blocks.
The ext2 online utility does not modify size of actual storage device. When you want to enlarge it, you should expand under storage device first. You can do it online for the logical volumes, using the lvextend tool that combines files system resizing and LV extensions.
The original architecture or design of Ext2 does not provide online resizing option. There are some limitations to the amount of resizing, that you can do while your file is mounted. Without any preparation, you can resize Ext2 to next 256 MB range for 1 KB, 2 GB for 2 KB, and 16 GB for 4 KB.
You should always keep in mind that resizing the mounted file system is integrally risky and causes corruption. At this point, Linux data recovery becomes essential.
Linux recovery is best possible using advanced and powerful third-party applications, known as Ext2 Recovery software. With interactive graphical user interface and read-only conduct, they are completely safe and easy to use in all data loss situations.
Stellar Phoenix Linux Data Recovery software ensures absolute recovery of lost Linux data using high-end scanning techniques. The software recovers data from Ext4, Ext3, Ext2, FAT32, FAT16, and FAT12 volumes. It works well with all major distributions of Linux operating system, including Red Hat, SUSE, Mandriva, Fedora, and Ubuntu.