Hello,

I'm wondering what's the best way to get rid of the vfat filesystem used on Maemo on N900 for /home/user/MyDocs.

I particularly want to solve the following problems:
1. Small files take up too much space, in particular OpenStreetMap tiles for Mappero (and FoxtrotGPS under Easy Debian) take up 10 times more space than they should.
2. I can't use symlinks.
3. For me vfat filesystems tend to break a lot (though I can't be certain other filesystems are better)
4. The file size is limited to 4 GB (not really significant to me, but nevertheless I might want to transfer some huge files)

There's also another issue: If I plug the phone to someone else's system in mass storage mode they can access all the files, including GPS tracks and possibly mailbox folders (say I move them there). It would be great if the solution could also help with this one, though I'm willing to live with it.

I'd like to be able to retain the ability to access the files from Windows.

Will I be able to change the file system and/or partitioning easy, without too much modifications? I.e. would it be as easy as changing the filesystem and the fstab entry?

So far I've considered the following:
1. Format to ext3, install a DHCP, FTP and/or Samba server that start with PC suite mode.
Sounds like an overkill, and I'm afraid that starting PC suite mode when the phone is connected to someone else's PC might be a grave security issue. Otherwise it does all that I need, and any suggestions on the possible issues would be welcome.

2. Repartition, have a main ext3 partition and a vfat partition for the mass storage
My main issues here are that 1) I don't know if it is possible, 2) partitioning is difficult, i.e. the choice of partition sizes is always an issue, and 3) I'm not familiar with how the USB mass storage mode works, and how easy it would be to change the behaviour. Suggestions on whether it can be done, and possible divisions are welcome.

3. Format as UDF
UDF seems to be the best choice for a partition. It works under all operating systems, appears to be a fine filesystem, I can use files of any sizes – small and big, symlinks work, permissions work. Only downside I can see is that I can't really separate sensitive files from the rest, but I can live with this. Are there any issues with this option at all, or should I just go ahead and try it?

4. Install NTFS-3G and use NTFS
I don't like this as an option, because NTFS is proprietary, NTFS-3G takes too much resources on my desktop (it would be too much for the phone), and still asks you to check it on Windows if there are any errors. But it's been my filesystem of choice for external drives (because Windows XP doesn't see UDF on partitions – it does on whole disks)

5. Leave it as is, create another ext3 image in MyDocs and use it for the maps, etc.
The biggest issue is that I can't use symlinks on vfat, so I have to create many images if I want to use it for more than maps. Also, the solution I found for this is a sloppy (i.e. it waits 40 seconds until everything mounts, and mounts .maps), and I doubt I can think of a better one.

For comparison, 172 MB map tiles take up:
- 221 MB on ext4
- 236 MB on udf
- 1.4 GB on vfat

P.S. I already use Kernel Power.