firmware VS log2ram

the usual error is the image was made before the 8gb pi4 was released so is compatible with the 1,2 and 4gb models only without updating - for this error you can grab the latest boot file versions (kernel7l.img, start4.elf and the fixup4.dat are required for pi4) from here - https://github.com/raspberrypi/firmware/tree/master/boot - they go into the /boot partition of the microsd/usb/ssd overwriting the old versions.

But oddly enough, they don't support some screen resolutions: https://github.com/raspberrypi/firmware/issues/1202#issuecom...

i went with the classic, you just need their special boot firmware (everything but the kernels, dtbs and overlay folder)

USB3 and 2.4 GHz Wifi · Issue #1430 · raspberrypi/firmware

OK for anyone else experiencing this problem - seems to be due to a breaking change in Raspberry Pi OS! - https://github.com/raspberrypi/firmware/issues/1795

RetroArch can switch resolution like you said (https://github.com/libretro/RetroArch/pull/11590), and this fixes the bug (https://github.com/raspberrypi/firmware/issues/1357) that the new DRM interface does not work for switching DPI displays (like our SCART hats.

Based on https://github.com/raspberrypi/firmware/issues/1734 a kernel change may have caused my problem. I will check this tomorrow.

Those happened ~9 seconds after startup and it's a known error, so it's probably fine.

Reducing logging, logging to ram and writing to the sdcard once a day helps longevity a lot, especially with quality sd cards.

99% of the time it's the verbose logging of application servers that is the culprit of sdcard failures.

https://github.com/azlux/log2ram

I always use this: https://github.com/azlux/log2ram

If you've got other issues then it's quite likely that lots of small writes from logging and similar has worn out the SD card, mounting the SD card as read only or installing log2ram could prevent it happening to another SD card.

> writing permanent its log files and swap partition

If this is the problem, the solutions are no swap and log2ram https://github.com/azlux/log2ram

I also noticed that Armbian logs to a ramdisk. I didn't investigate the implementation and if its contents survive a reboot.

The only real problems for me are that the SD card will eventually fail no matter what (I mean, much sooner than a SDD or HDD) and that there are basically no Pis at sale at a reasonable price. As a platform it is nearly dead.

For Pi-hole, I have an Rpi Zero with $10 Usb-to-Ethernet adapter, SD-card barely written (with Log2Ram) to avoid wear. Running about 3 years now almost unattended (besides security updates).

In addition to the other helpful suggestions you’ve received, look into using Log2Ram. It does what it sounds like, puts log writes in ram and then writes them to disk on a slower cadence that doesn’t work your SD card that much.

https://github.com/azlux/log2ram

Log files are a bit trickier. I want these to stick around between reboots, so just storing them on a ramdisk wouldn't really work. Thankfully, log2ram solves this problem. Written primarily for Raspberry Pi machines, it works fine on x86-64 laptops. This stores /var/log in RAM but will sync the contents to disk from time to time, ideal for our needs.