SD Card corrupted when hdd disconnected without unmount

[newbiee]

Hello,

I have a RaspberryPi model B with Archlinux installed. I have the system, cache, etc. on SD card, but I also have mounted 2,5" harddrive in an external powered case. I use RaspberryPi as a NAS server to access the data on the harddrive (mounted on /mnt, samba and there is also a downloader application stored on SD card, but accessing data on HDD).

The problem is, that about once a month somebody in the house accidentally nudges (pushes) the RaspberryPi a little and because the external powered case connection is loose, the HDD disconnects.

That's fine with me, but the RaspberryPi doesn't take this well and the SD card is corrupted, so besides connecting the HDD again I have to open the rPi case and reformat the card from backup which is exhausting to do once a month..

Is it possible to somehow make the RaspberryPi to withstand the HDD disconnection loss (shut the downloaded app, samba, anything..)?

[DougieLawson]

Try updating to the latest firmware with the re-written USB interface code. Hitting the HDD should just be a USB disconnection event it shouldn't crash the OS.

sudo apt-get install rpi-update
sudo rpi-update
sudo reboot

[newbiee]

Does this apply also to Archlinux? As I said in the question above I don't use Raspbian (doesn't support applications I need).

If so, is

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pacman -Syu

enough?

[DougieLawson]

No idea how the folks running Arch do this stuff.

I've no idea why a Linux newbie would choose Arch rather than Raspbian.

[Joe Schmoe]

I've no idea why a Linux newbie would choose Arch rather than Raspbian.

I would assume this quote answers your question:

I don't use Raspbian (doesn't support applications I need).

[sdjf]

Yes, Pacman is our package manager in Arch. That should work, as far as using pacman for updating goes.

But here is a thought - I have had problems (although not as extreme as yours) because one of my USB sockets on my Pi is loose, and I find that if I stick a thin wooden toothpick in, it tightens the connection and makes the cable less likely to wobble. While more resilient software is good too, if you can do anything to keep the cable or connector from wobbling or coming loose, that would be a good idea as well.

Also, if formatting another card is that much hassle, having to get it set up and all that, you might make two cards at the same time so you have one ready. I understand that maybe opening up the case is a big deal, but you might not always have time to also do the formatting when that happens, and if you make a point of having a spare formatted backup card ready to use, that might make things easier if the card gets corrupted again.

[newbiee]

Hello,

thanks for the idea. I managed to get a new cable and HDD case - it's not loosened now, but the problem persist. I believe there is a problem with software configuration.

The harddrive is partitioned as 2* ext3 partition. It's the latest Archlinux from for rPi from this site + samba + fatrat package + all the subpackages it needs. Nothing else.

The /etc/fstab table looks like this:

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/dev/sda2  /mnt/myfolder    ext3    rw,sync  0  2

And I also have a graphic memory set to low (I don't use GUI, just SSH console + samba for data).

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gpu_mem_512=64

Any ideas why the linux crashes when HDD is forced unmount (unplugged without unmouting first)?

[sdjf]

Power surge??? If you have things set up via a powered hub that back feeds power, that could do cause Pi to crash and reboot.

But you really should not be unplugging the drive without properly unmounting the file system.

If you have logging enabled, you might see the kworker or something else going nuts when the drive disappears, have you run dmesg right after an event, or looked at /var/log/everything.log?

The Pi only has so much memory and if it performing emergency rescue operations, everything else pretty much grinds to a halt, at least from what I see with my Pi.

That sync in your /etc/fstab may be part of the problem - I mean, if you unplug while it is trying to sync, not so cool. i realize these may be accidental events, but may be a recipe for trouble.

[newbiee]

In the end it had to be software related because I have solved the issue by switching to Raspbian (I had to find an alternative Debian-based applications for my needs).

[jamesh]

In the end it had to be software related because I have solved the issue by switching to Raspbian (I had to find an alternative Debian-based applications for my needs).

I'm intrigued to know what package was available on Arch but not on Raspbian.