File size limit exceeded

R quits with the message above?

'R quits'?  What exactly happens? -- please see the posting guide.

What is the cause of the message and how can I avoid this?
I am using R.2.1.0 on a debian box.

Which platform (please see the posting guide)?

I guess it means you have exceeded the 2Gb file size limit of a 32-bit OS, 
but it is possible that you have a file size limit set in your shell.

If the former, you need the configure option --enable-linux-lfs, and you 
need a very recent R-patched as that option got inadvertently broken in 
2.1.0.  (I've spent a couple of hours this afternoon checking that it 
works again on i686 linux -- another alternative is to use a 64-bit 
platform which is what most people needing large files do.)

Brian D. Ripley,                  ripley at stats.ox.ac.uk
Professor of Applied Statistics,  http://www.stats.ox.ac.uk/~ripley/
University of Oxford,             Tel:  +44 1865 272861 (self)
1 South Parks Road,                     +44 1865 272866 (PA)
Oxford OX1 3TG, UK                Fax:  +44 1865 272595