I have few .txt files I use to store configuration information for some python and shell scripts on my Pi. They are occasionally read from and very rarely written to. The Pi runs 24/7 mostly but will occasionally be unplugged from power so I can move it to a new location. I have noticed that sometimes the .txt files would suddenly become empty. Any idea what causes this? How it can be prevented?
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1What does unplug mean? Unplug from power, ethernet, wifi, USB storage ...? Or from all to move the RasPi? How do you unplug it from power? Never do it before a graceful shutdown by software.– IngoCommented May 16, 2020 at 18:18
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1@Ingo the Pi is enclosed securely and running an automated script. I am unable to securely shutdown from SW. Any suggestions?– presishCommented May 18, 2020 at 18:14
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2 Answers
You may want to set up auto-save since I see that you mention "very rarely written to". I'm not sure what the bug is, but I suggest that you may want to save the file more frequently and set a backup (or a copy of the file) in case there are errors again.
answered May 15, 2020 at 20:48
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1So you suggest creating a copy of the file and save the original to the copy frequently? and load the copy to the original every reboot/system startup?– presishCommented May 15, 2020 at 21:02
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I think so. Also just a "backup" solution in case there is data corruption. Commented May 15, 2020 at 21:04
It sounds like some files that are open/being read during shutdown may become corrupted and wiped. An easy solution is to include a button on the enclosure you are using that registers an interrupt and can issue a shutdown command to the RPi. This link describes how to implement an interrupt using one button and a few lines of python. I would also use the os library and the classic sudo reboot now or sudo shutdown command.
As also suggested, adding a cron job that backs up the files periodically isn't a bad idea. An @reboot ... line can also be added to your crontab to check if the file is empty and recover the last backup.
