On a 32GB build, you likely have a modest PC. To improve performance:
You will hit the limit eventually. Solution: Network Storage.
Batocera supports mounting external SMB (Windows) shares or NFS drives. If you have a NAS or a PC on your network, move your PS1 or Dreamcast ROMs to the network folder and link them in Batocera. Your 32GB PC stays lean while accessing terabytes remotely.
Once installed, your drive looks like this:
This SHARE partition holds your ROMs, BIOS, saves, and scraped metadata (box art, videos, descriptions). Scraping is the process of downloading artwork for your games.
The Danger: If you scrape video previews for 500 arcade games, those MP4 files can fill 5-10GB instantly. Here is how to stay under 32GB.
Go to the official Batocera website (batocera.org). Download the latest stable version (e.g., v39 or v40). Choose the correct architecture:
Warning: Avoid 32GB Chromebooks unless you are comfortable flashing custom firmware (MrChromebox). Standard Batocera installation on Chromebooks is tricky.
To respect the 32GB limit, here is a sample curated library that maximizes fun while staying under 15GB, leaving room for saves and scraped art.
Arcade (MAME 2003+): 100 games (300MB)
NES (50 games): 5MB
SNES (50 games): 150MB
Sega Genesis (50 games): 200MB
N64 (20 games): 800MB
Nintendo DS (10 games): 300MB
PlayStation 1 (10 games, CHD compressed): 4GB
Total used: ~5.75 GB. You still have over 20GB free for more N64, GBA, or a few PSP games.
