Q4OS Forum

Rademes

Member

From: Latvia

Registered: 2015-12-13

Posts: 637

Ext2 for USB flash drives [SOLVED]

Good day!
As you know, FAT32 file system has maximum file size limitation - 4GB. Nowadays, with new USB flash drives with capacity more than 32GB, I started to search an alternative filesystem for my USB flash drives. exFAT is not a choice, because it is proprietary and does not supported in Linux. So I decided to try Ext2.
So the question is, can Ext2 filesystem be safely used on USB flash drives?
P.S. I do not use Windows, so I do not need Windows compatible filesystem.

Last edited by Rademes (2018-08-28 12:15)

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Dai_trying

Member

From: UK

Registered: 2015-12-14

Posts: 2,992

Re: Ext2 for USB flash drives [SOLVED]

FAT32 can be used on 32Gb drives I have a few MicroSd cards for my GoPro's and a 32Gb usb stick that uses Fat32 and I just checked my 64Gb Cruzer Edge stick and that is FAT32 too... so I don't know if FAT32 Spec has changed or if it was not true that they could only support 4Gb in the first place?

Just found an interesting post that explains fat limits here (disclaimer and apology: it is a microsoft page )

Last edited by Dai_trying (2018-08-26 19:17)

plambi

Member

From: BG

Registered: 2018-08-06

Posts: 3

Re: Ext2 for USB flash drives [SOLVED]

FAT32:

- Max Volume Size - 2TB (for 64 KiB clusters)
- Max File Size - 4,294,967,295 bytes (4 GB – 1 byte)

Ext2:

- Max Volume Size - 2–32 TB
- Max File Size - 16 GB–2 TB

So - yes, Ext2 is appropriate and safe for using on USB drives.

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HP z230 SFF, Xeon E3-1226 v3, 16 GB DD3L ECC, nVidia Quadro K4000, registered linux user #413596

Dai_trying

Member

From: UK

Registered: 2015-12-14

Posts: 2,992

Re: Ext2 for USB flash drives [SOLVED]

I windows compatibility is not an issue I would be more inclined to use ext4, but I haven't had reason to use it his way so cannot say if there would be any issues (other than the obvious size reduction due to how ext4 works).

Rademes

Member

From: Latvia

Registered: 2015-12-13

Posts: 637

Re: Ext2 for USB flash drives [SOLVED]

I windows compatibility is not an issue I would be more inclined to use ext4, but I haven't had reason to use it his way so cannot say if there would be any issues (other than the obvious size reduction due to how ext4 works).

I was trying to create Timeshift RSYNC backup on my USB 3.0 flash drive, formatted to EXT4, and it was CRAZY slow! So I will not use EXT4 for my USB flash drives anymore! Also, the Ext4 journaling produces extra write operations on flash drive, which reduces performance dramatically, and decreases lifespan.
Also from another forum I found:
Post by Mute Ant » Sun Aug 26, 2018 9:00 pm
"...can an ext2 filesystem safely be used on a USB flash drive..." Yes.
[-] You don't get the benefits of 'journalling' introduced with ext3.
[-] You don't get the benefits of 'extents' introduced with ext4.
...but that's okay...
[+] The flash controller 'journals' into its own workspace. If data gets to the store, it's safe.
[+] 'extents' are irrelevant for SSD stores. The data is kept where the USB controller wants it, not where Linux wants it.
[+] FAT or EXT offer the best chance of data-recovery after an 'accident', just because they are old and stable.
So after all, I think, I will use Ext2 for my USB flash drives.
I haven`t said, that I am planning to use Ext2 formatted USB flash drives mainly for backups, such as Timeshift RSYNC backups and Clonezilla Live created system backups. Also as I said, I do not use Windows any-more.
Thank you for fast response!

Last edited by Rademes (2018-08-28 12:16)

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Before asking for help please read this topic: https://www.q4os.org/forum/viewtopic.php?id=3502   If you have problems with WiFi network, try to install the Network Manager using Q4OS Software Centre.

Dai_trying

Member

From: UK

Registered: 2015-12-14

Posts: 2,992

Re: Ext2 for USB flash drives [SOLVED]

You are welcome, and I hadn't really thought about the extra write cycles of the journal so looks like your original thought of using ext2 is the right choice.