I just can share the experience on our board. Most of the issues with external drives are connected to insufficient power. It might be that there as issues on the kernel but this is something out of our scope as DietPi is using Raspberry OS for PRi devices. This include the kernel as well.
BTW there is quite a long post on HDD issues already. Might not fit 100% but probably good to read
https://dietpi.com/forum/t/external-hdd-issues/3829/1