Max storage sizes and types

What is the current max size of a disc/storage device when using RISC OS with both ‘native’ RO formats and Fat32fs? And is there any prospect of being able to use something like ext3 or ext4?

I ask for two reasons:

1) I also use Linux quite a lot. And although I have a NAS I prefer to keep ‘old data for reference’ on devices which are normally unpowered when not in use – i.e. HDs/SSDs/DVDs/etc.

2) I have hundreds of old RO-created backups on DVDs and it would be good to put their contents onto a twinned pair (for safety) of large USB HDs/SSDs as it would make access and searching much easier than scrabbling though loads of DVDs.

I could use Linux and shove the content onto big ext4 USB storage devices, but that adds the complication of file types and searching using on type of machine to find data and old programs for the other! Having already started using 8TB drives for Linux it set me wondering about the above for RO.

FileCore is limited to 256GB (512-byte sectors) or 2TB (4k sectors).

IIRC, the effective limit for FAT32 is also 2TB.

Thanks. So it should be fine so far as the OS, etc, are concerned to use something like a 1TB external USB drive of some kind.

That then leads to the questions of if it would be safest to stay with something like a spinning rust disc with its own PSU, or if something like one of the samsung SSD’s I’m using with Linux would be OK. These are USB3 and bus powered. Stunningly fast. Has anyone tried something like this?

I don’t think RISC OS 5 has support for USB3 yet?

SSDs can be powered from any RISC OS machine, even using USB 2. A 2.5" laptop drive can be powered by some machines, but it depends on how good your PSU is and if you have any other devices attached. A powered hub will allows any sort of drive.

But only at USB2 speeds obviously.

I assume/hope that if the host hardware can’t cope with USB3 it will work using USB2. Slower, but fairy snuff. More wary about power as a power glitch might futz up what’s on the SSD. And the only USB2+3 hubs I’ve tried all showed annoying problems of other kinds like trying to back-power their host machine.

For some things my ARMX6 also seems fussy about which USB ports will work. But I’ll ask about potentially ARMX6 issues elsewhere that it will be more relevant. And I’ll put getting another 1TB samsung on my list of todos. I can experiment with that on RO first and if it won’t work or gives problems I’ll then use it for Linux stuff instead.