balena-engine crashing on Pi3B

[rgaudin]

One demo user (112616 in the desk) experienced crashes of the balena-engine on two different Pi3B 1.2 devices.

Haven't been able to reproduce on similar HW (Pi3B 1.2 1GB).
Haven't been able to track down the issue.
Recording the case here.

bootlog.txt
bootlog2.txt
boot1.txt
boot2.txt
boot3.txt
boot4.txt

[kelson42]

corrupted sd card?

[rgaudin]

Nope. I can forward you the whole conversation if you want but the ticket is just to record the problem should we encounter it again.

[kelson42]

OK, concerning...

[garywwilliams]

As the user who experienced the issue, I wanted to provide some additional information. I purchased a new Pi 5, and ran over all of my tests again with the Pi 5, and my old Pi 3B. All of my tests were with the demo_2026-04_69e101a837.img downloaded via torrent. I have 3 SD cards; one brand new 32GB card, and two old cards that have been used for other projects, one 16GB and one 128GB. I used the imaging software to load all 3 of the cards, and none of them worked on my Pi 3B. I then reimaged all of the cards, and and tested on my Pi 5. The 128GB card worked as expected, but the 16GB and 32GB cards failed. Bringing the working 128GB card back to my Pi 3B failed, but reinstalling the card in the Pi 5 worked.

I don't know if these results indicate that both my old 16GB card and my new 32GB card are not working properly, or if they are too small to run the demo. I don't recall seeing a card size requirement for the demo, but assumed that a 9GB download image would run on a 16GB card, or at least a 32GB card.

I also don't know if these results indicate a hardware problem with both my personal Pi 3B, and the Pi 3B that I tested where I work. I believe that I tested all 3 cards in my work's Pi 3B, but I can't be certain of that.

I'm happy to run other tests if you think it would be helpful. Otherwise I will just continue with my new Pi 5, and purchase a larger card to test and use for my planned purchase of one of your content bundles.

Thanks again for spending the time trying to debug the problems I've been experiencing.

[rgaudin]

assumed that a 9GB download image would run on a 16GB card, or at least a 32GB card.

Indeed. Requirement is just that the image is lower than the card.

I believe that I tested all 3 cards in my work's Pi 3B, but I can't be certain of that.

OK that's interesting to me.