Libra Can a power outage when connected to computer corrupt DB?

ownedbycats · Yesterday, 09:59 AM

Last night, power outage at almost exact moment I plugged Kobo into PC.

When I plugged in today, got a "there's a problem with this drive..." message. When disconnect, all sideloaded books re-imported.

I plugged in again, restored dates via Kobo Utilities, unplugged and everything imported again. Then I tried restoring to my last good backup but restoring the sideloaded book dates were still wrong and updating metadata with Kobo Utilities not fixed.

I finally logged out and logged in. I put back my events table and imported dates everything's good now.

Any idea? I find it strange that the backups were weird too, maybe another file affected it.

Aleron Ives · Yesterday, 05:32 PM

Yes, if the power goes out, you can't safely eject, and the database could become corrupt from that.

DNSB · Yesterday, 08:20 PM

I have to agree with @Aleron Ives. If a write is in progress when the power went out, you will almost certainly have database corruption. Even if no write is in progress, there is a smaller chance of corruption. Think of it as equivalent to pulling the USB cable out without doing a safely eject.

Quoth · Today, 06:41 AM

Yes, it's bad.

So all our PCs are now on our solar backup ac mains. About 8000 Wh. During summer we set it to PV panel priority. Right now it's set to charge from grid if batteries are less than 90% as there is little charging for the next two months and higher likelihood of power cuts.

We have 12 main PV (400W each at clear sky June/July near noon!) and two auxilary ones that can be on the main system or a portable one. They can fit in the car (100W rating at full sunlight).

You get 1/10th to 1/20th of the solar electricty this time of year. You can't easily "over panel" if you are even only as far north as the Mid West of Ireland. Design for late autumn & early spring, or even winter if you have enough space. Decent panels less than €220 each and need not be on a south facing roof, or even a roof. Batteries are the most expensive bit, but good LiFePO4 can now last 10 to 12 years at deep daily cycling.

Quoth · Today, 06:46 AM

Many PC BIOSes will brick if power fails during update BIOS. We had one that bricked even if the BIOS settings were being edited during a power fail.

An "All in one" PC / Mac is mad. It's basically a laptop MoBo inside a screen with no batteries. Best aspect of a laptop is the built in UPS.

A laptop (with working battery) is the safer solution for connecting an ereader than All-in-one or desktop PC/Mac.

Yesterday, 09:59 AM	#1
ownedbycats Custom User Title Posts: 11,386 Karma: 79699999 Join Date: Oct 2018 Location: Canada Device: Kobo Libra H2O, formerly Aura HD	Can a power outage when connected to computer corrupt DB? Last night, power outage at almost exact moment I plugged Kobo into PC. When I plugged in today, got a "there's a problem with this drive..." message. When disconnect, all sideloaded books re-imported. I plugged in again, restored dates via Kobo Utilities, unplugged and everything imported again. Then I tried restoring to my last good backup but restoring the sideloaded book dates were still wrong and updating metadata with Kobo Utilities not fixed. I finally logged out and logged in. I put back my events table and imported dates everything's good now. Any idea? I find it strange that the backups were weird too, maybe another file affected it.

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Yesterday, 05:32 PM	#2
Aleron Ives Wizard Posts: 1,792 Karma: 16583650 Join Date: Sep 2022 Device: Kobo Libra 2	Yes, if the power goes out, you can't safely eject, and the database could become corrupt from that.

Yesterday, 08:20 PM	#3
DNSB Bibliophagist Posts: 48,677 Karma: 174510110 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Vancouver Device: Kobo Sage, Libra Colour, Lenovo M8 FHD, Paperwhite 4, Tolino epos	I have to agree with @Aleron Ives. If a write is in progress when the power went out, you will almost certainly have database corruption. Even if no write is in progress, there is a smaller chance of corruption. Think of it as equivalent to pulling the USB cable out without doing a safely eject.

Today, 06:41 AM	#4
Quoth Still reading Posts: 15,173 Karma: 111120239 Join Date: Jun 2017 Location: Ireland Device: All 4 Kinds: epub eink, Kindle, android eink, NxtPaper	Yes, it's bad. So all our PCs are now on our solar backup ac mains. About 8000 Wh. During summer we set it to PV panel priority. Right now it's set to charge from grid if batteries are less than 90% as there is little charging for the next two months and higher likelihood of power cuts. We have 12 main PV (400W each at clear sky June/July near noon!) and two auxilary ones that can be on the main system or a portable one. They can fit in the car (100W rating at full sunlight). You get 1/10th to 1/20th of the solar electricty this time of year. You can't easily "over panel" if you are even only as far north as the Mid West of Ireland. Design for late autumn & early spring, or even winter if you have enough space. Decent panels less than €220 each and need not be on a south facing roof, or even a roof. Batteries are the most expensive bit, but good LiFePO4 can now last 10 to 12 years at deep daily cycling.

Today, 06:46 AM	#5
Quoth Still reading Posts: 15,173 Karma: 111120239 Join Date: Jun 2017 Location: Ireland Device: All 4 Kinds: epub eink, Kindle, android eink, NxtPaper	Many PC BIOSes will brick if power fails during update BIOS. We had one that bricked even if the BIOS settings were being edited during a power fail. An "All in one" PC / Mac is mad. It's basically a laptop MoBo inside a screen with no batteries. Best aspect of a laptop is the built in UPS. A laptop (with working battery) is the safer solution for connecting an ereader than All-in-one or desktop PC/Mac.