No, you have to use windows partitions. This is the first time I used windows in a long time as a main OS and I am not too happy with windows 8. I ran windows 7 under FreeBSD and GNU/Linux and I liked that version more. I already ran into a big problem just installing software on windows 8 which killed my boot loader... not good. I'd like to go back to win 7 if I didn't have to pay for it. This came with the PC so whatever.
Thanks for your feedback. But here is another possible trick by Paragon and it's free: http://www.paragon-software.com/home/extfs-windows/ - The only solution with Ext4 read-write support! - Provides fast and transparent access to Ext2 / Ext3 / Ext4 under Windows - Support for Windows 8 It would be nice if someone is able to run some tests.
Some software lets Windows read/access non-native file-systems. However, you still cannot run Windows itself off ext4 native. This path you're on has a dead end.
I work in the IT field and to be perfectly honest. I have ran TOS thinkorswim on all OS. My favorite is Linux Mint. Linux Mint 15 mate edition seems to be pretty stable and extremely quick. I can multi-task while trading without fear of crashing my system. One of my machines has a SSD drive 80 gig with 12 gig of ram memory, flies on Linux Mint and Windows 8. Duo boot OS on one machine. The macbook I run TOS in OSX 10. something, works great there too. I have used Windows previously and of all the OS Linux wins by far with Mint being my favorite. You have to install it with root permissions, but after getting over the hurdles it's smooth sailing.
On your third partition, pick a version of linux and during install, setup 3 partitions - root, /home and swap By doing it this way, you can try any number of linux distros - during reinstall, format the root partition, but not /home. Create the same account each time and your profile is there waiting for you. The only extra setup you need to do is install any custom software that you had on previously that you still need. I do this on my laptop when I get bored of my current distro and want to try something new. Have installed Ubuntu/Mint/Crunchbang, currently running Mageio. Works a treat.
Linux may build up system detritus over time, but it doesnt affect the system as it does in Windows. Each time you install anything in windows, more entries are added to the registry - so each process task that needs to scan through the registry for even the most simple of tasks takes longer - this is what slows down windows over time and requires a reinstall to get back to a lean setup. The decay starts all over again unless the machine is single purposed for trading and apps are kept to a bare minimum.
but you can't simply swap the paging system file and the software & databases into ext4 partition in order to get better performance than Windows native management under NTFS?
.... no. Just no. Windows NT has been build to use NTFS from multiple (lower) levels of the OS, not just the read/write aspect. It simply won't work. I didn't say "the path you're on is a dead end" flippantly.
Linux distros are a great example of what a community can do just by pooling resources and sharing work. I've always enjoyed linux, but I found my 'tinkering' time was becoming too much. It's great for a simple webserver or a personal computer, but when it comes to my trading I find that I'd rather focus my time on actually trading rather than working out some driver problem in linux. I do have to say it's getting better and better though, so in time my complaints will probably be erased.