Node Sync Errors and CPU Overheating Issues

Started syncing a Bitcoin Knots node from scratch on Debian, hit a couple of weird errors. Saw an error window pop up while downloading blocks. This repeated after a few hours. Luckily, a reset sorted it, no need to reindex or redownload everything. Now I'm at 53.45%, says 18 hours left but I bet that’ll change with more block activity.

Have you checked your hardware? When was the last time you cleaned your laptop? Overheating is likely a hardware issue, especially with your cooling. Bitcoin Core isn’t pushing it to its max. Make sure to check the fan, heatsink, and thermal paste.

If it's only syncing Bitcoin Core, you might want to increase that dbcache. Debian isn’t a RAM hog, so it should help speed things up. But yeah, I doubt RAM is causing the CPU to overheat. Running a memtest could be wise since you mentioned Bitcoin Knots crashing.

How’s your laptop looking? Specs matter a lot. An early 2010 i5 isn't the same as the 12th gen stuff. And what about the drive? New SSDs run cooler than old spinning ones.

I kept the node syncing overnight using -par=1, seems limiting to one core did the job. Speed didn’t drop too much, but it got super slow at about 70%. Getting like 0.12% an hour. This is dragging, like a year behind on blocks. The net activity graph shows major gaps. Hope this isn't due to schnorr signatures messing up things.

Yeah, let us know how big is your external SSD. A 1TB might not cut it, 2TB is better. And what i5 gen do you have? If it’s 8th gen or newer, it should hold up.

Maybe your node hit a block height that requires full validation instead of lighter checks. Talkin’ about the default "assumevalid" block value. If you're on v29.0, watch out for block 886157 onwards. It's almost done syncing, so don’t mess with it.

Instead of just cpulimit, look into lowering the CPU frequency. Read up on scaling_governor powersave and cpufrequtils. I clean the fan every few months. To fix overheating, more RAM is key. My chainstate is 11GB, your RAM's only 8GB. Even with 16GB, it’s still SSD reliant for syncing.

This is not normal at all. At this rate, could take 7 weeks to sync. Something is definitely off here. Might have to ditch the laptop, try the desktop using a USB. Debian's on the laptop, so different hardware should help.

That’s typical when facing a bottleneck. Find it, and things could speed up. What's in your laptop? If it’s an SSD, maybe symlink the chainstate to your local disk.

Yeah, it’s way too slow now. I suspect it’s either: 1. dbcache is too low, just 2GB. 2. If your 2TB SSD has other data, it might slow down when full. 3. SSD has too much written, maybe it switched to TLC/QLC mode which drags performance.

OS and node are on the same external SSD to keep it all encrypted. Thought it'd be easy to sync on the go. With the blockchain at about 685MB and just Debian installed, it should last a while before needing upgrades. After a cooldown, it’s running better than 2% an hour, might finish in 10 hours.

Others have offered good advice, but I gotta throw in my two cents. I wouldn't recommend running this setup. Speed is one thing, but USB is iffy for something as intensive as Bitcoin Core. A glitch or cable twist could corrupt everything.

Are you really gonna run your OS off an external USB on a stranger’s machine? Trust is a big deal here! Just bring a cheap laptop instead. I got a secondhand travel laptop for a bit over a hundred euros, with an SSD upgrade. It’s quiet, compact, and tough as nails. The main downside is 8GB RAM that can’t be upgraded.

Probably folks think you’ll multitask on this machine. If you’re just syncing Bitcoin Core and not running big RAM apps, boost that value based on free RAM.

From what I've experienced, I’ve had my Raspiblitz and Umbrel nodes up and running solidly on two Raspis with 8GB RAM. Safe, reliable, with a SATA SSD connected. No issues with it. But yeah, a Raspi isn’t a laptop or desktop. Wish there were alternatives to USB for 24/7 use.

If RAM is failing, the CPU could be overworking itself refreshing caches. But usually, modern systems with ECC catch those issues before they affect the CPU. The OP should also look into BIOS settings that might be overloading the CPU.

I don't think 3.0+ interfaces are the issue here. I finished syncing on my desktop, and now the laptop keeps up fine. I like the small drive for travel, gives me flexibility. Why haul around a laptop that raises eyebrows crossing borders?