Re: ext2 on flash memory

DervishD
2007-06-11T16:43:26Z

Hi Alan :)

* alan <alan@clueserver.org> dixit:
> On Mon, 11 Jun 2007, DervishD wrote:
> > I was wondering: is there any reason not to use ext2 on an USB
> >pendrive? Really my question is not only about USB pendrives, but any
> >device whose storage is flash based. Let's assume that the device has a
> >good quality flash memory with wear leveling and the like...
>
> Do you need to use OSes other than Linux? FAT16/32 seems to be a pretty
> universal filesystem at this point. You can mount ext2 on Windows, but it
> is a pain. Not certain what it takes to mount it on OS X.

I don't really need to use ext2, I just was curious. I have a couple
of pendrives and I was thinking about using one of them to store a
"live" copy of my home. So, I wanted ext2 for that. I can access the
data from Windows if I need to, but usually I try not to touch a Windows
even with a 100 mts pole ;)

Portability (so to speak), is not important for me.

> I have encountered flash drives that do not format well for anything
> other than FAT16, but they were old and small. Hopefully that problem
> no longer exists with modern hardware. I would format it then test
> the hell out of it before trusting it with important data.

That's the answer I was looking for ;))) I mean, will the pendrive
have problems with ext2 due to some strange behaviour of the hardware? I
know about cheap pendrives that you cannot format even with FAT32, only
with FAT16. The pendrive I was considering to have the "live" copy of my
home was a Kingston Data Traveler.

Of course, I can go with a loopback: this way I'll have a "live"
backup of my home, with all UNIX metadata saved but able to reside on a
FAT16 filesystem. Not very comfortable, given that I won't use it
outside Linux (probably).

I just was curious about the issue and I was asking to know if
anybody had tried this.

Raúl Núñez de Arenas Coronado

--
Linux Registered User 88736 | http://www.dervishd.net
It's my PC and I'll cry if I want to... RAmen!