I initially set up Start9 on laptop. Should I have done that on my Mac mini? does it matter. Newbie here. any help aprreciated

General
1

Trying to migrate from laptop to Mini. Good idea? currently can’t access start.local either. Spinning my wheels. Any help appreciated.

2

I’m really not sure what you’re asking.

Are you trying to install StartOS on a device to turn it into a server? (Not sure how I could comment which device would be vest for this, that’s up to you)

Or are you setting up the server from a client device? (In which case you need to follow the guides for each and every client device you want to use with the server)

3

i set it up on my laptop with the idea of at least for starters, running a node and setting it up as my own server. I am running a node now.I i downloaded nextcloud with hope of replacing my cloud services but ran in to snags there as well. I was asking chatgpt about it and it seemed to think my Mac mini would be a better long-term place to start because it’s always-on, its wired directly via Ethernet for stability, and has consistent power. I’d like to do as much as I can with my Start9- Vaultwarden would be cool, a lightning node- but I’ve discovering I have a big learning curve ahead of me…

4

Hi outcastcrossing, did you follow this Getting Started Guide? Which steps worked and on which step did you get stuck? Start9 | Getting Started - Initial Setup

Mac mini seems it would make a good StartOS server to me and keeping it always connected with ethernet is a good idea. If this is Apple silicon (an M processor), refer to this guide. Running StartOS on Mac M1/M2

5

i csn’t open start.local on my mini. It says this site cant be reached. Start9 and mini are both hooked to same ethernet terminal. Maybe I need to tweak an Ethernet tab setting in Network Tab?

6

Common issues: Start9 | Common Issues

7

I successfully installed StartOS on my mini. should I start fresh or try to recover data from laptop. I want to make this as simple as possible. i only had knots, Vaultwarden and elctrs running. Any suggestions?

8

Transfering the data from one device to another is done by following this guide: Start9 | Transfer Data to a New Drive

You’d need to extract the laptop SSD and connect it to the mini with a USB adapter.

The only reason you’d do this is if you have data you’d like to preserve, or maybe if your uniquely generated .local is really cool.

9

taking my laptop apart sounds like more of ordeal than just starting over. It hasnt been set up for very long. Im mostly just running a node on it. unless theres a major down side to it, I think i should start over.`

10

Knots keeps staring and stopping. tried trouble shooting with AI. Below is a support ticket that explains. can you help me?

Subject

Repeated Bitcoin Knots LevelDB Chainstate Corruption on Start9 Pure (Internal NVMe)

Device

  • Hardware: Start9 Pure
  • Power: On UPS (no power interruptions)
  • Storage: Internal NVMe (Pure default)

Issue Summary

Bitcoin Knots repeatedly crashes due to LevelDB chainstate corruption, even after multiple clean, uninterrupted reindexes. The issue persists across reinstalls and reindexes and appears unrelated to power loss or user interruption.

Observed Behavior

  • Bitcoin Knots syncs successfully to ~99.9%
  • Runs normally for a period
  • Then crashes with a fatal LevelDB error
  • Corruption occurs in different .ldb files each time
  • Electrs subsequently fails due to loss of RPC
  • Reindexing temporarily resolves the issue, but corruption returns

Key Error (repeats across attempts)

LevelDB read failure: Corruption: block checksum mismatch:
/root/.bitcoin/chainstate/*.ldb
Fatal LevelDB error
Error reading from database, shutting down.
PROCESS TERMINATED

Example from most recent crash:

Corruption: block checksum mismatch:
/root/.bitcoin/chainstate/038987.ldb

Troubleshooting Already Performed

  • Multiple full and chainstate reindexes
  • Reindexes were never interrupted
  • System rebuild performed
  • Services left untouched during sync
  • Electrs and Sparrow troubleshooting ruled out (downstream symptoms)
  • UPS in place to prevent power loss
  • Issue persists after each rebuild

Conclusion

Given:

  • Repeated corruption after clean reindexes
  • Different .ldb files affected
  • Internal NVMe storage (Pure)
  • UPS-protected power
  • No user interruptions

This strongly suggests a storage-level hardware fault or NVMe/controller issue on the Pure.

Request

Please advise on:

  • Any additional diagnostics you would like me to run, or
  • Next steps for hardware inspection / repair / replacement (RMA)

I’m happy to provide additional logs or follow guided steps as needed.

Thank you.