COMPTIA A+ Practice Exam 2026 - Free CompTIA A+ Practice Questions and Study Guide

The correct choice highlights the backward compatibility of the ext4 file system with ext2 and ext3. This means that an ext4 file system can read and write data from ext2 and ext3 file systems without requiring data conversion or loss. This compatibility is important for users who may want to upgrade their file system from ext3 to ext4 while maintaining access to existing data.

Ext4 maintains the same underlying storage structure as ext2 and ext3, allowing for an easier transition. Users can also mount ext3 and ext2 partitions in read/write mode on an ext4 system, ensuring seamless data access across different versions of the ext file system. This feature facilitates system upgrades and enhances data integrity over time by allowing users to retain older filesystems alongside newer ones.

Other choices involve file systems that do not share this backward compatibility with ext4, primarily because they belong to different families or have differing architectures. For instance, HFS+, NTFS, exFAT, and FAT16 are primarily used in different operating environments and not designed to support ext file systems, which is why they are not relevant to this question about ext4’s compatibility.