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How To: Converting an EXT3 Filesystem back to EXT2
Most of the time, a journaling filesystem like ext3 ist preferable over a non-journaling one. But sometimes, like with SSD HDs or for energy saving reasons, converting back to ext2 is an option. This shows how.
Before we start, let us define the parameters for the example.
We use a SATA disk, called /dev/sda, with a large partition sda2 mounted on /home.
It is best to boot your system into single user mode or switch to it with
# init SGive the root password to login.
Unmount the partition. On the command prompt type the command:
# umount /dev/sda2
Now change the file system type to ext2 by typing the following command
# tune2fs -O ^has_journal /dev/sda2
Verify that there are no error:
# e2fsck -y /dev/hda5
Mount the file system to the original mount point /home (you can aslo use /mnt):
# mount -t ext2 /dev/sda2 /home
Change into the mount point and remove the .journal file
# rm -f .journal
Don't forget to change the entry in /etc/fstab from ext3 to ext2.
Reboot your system and be happy.