INFO [05-16|10:32:21] Starting peer-to-peer node instance=Geth/v1.6.1-stable-021c3c28/windows-amd64/go1.8. 1 INFO [05-16|10:32:21] Allocated cache and file handles database=C:\Users\Tariq\AppData\Roaming\Ethereum\ge th\chaindata cache=128 handles=1024
the disk is being used by geth while this is happening, and then after say 20 minutes? geth closes it self, do i have to redownload the blockchain? is there another solution since it takes quite some time for me to sync.
Is the geth data directory on a network share, USB key or other slowish storage medium? I saw the same issue when I moved the geth data directory from an SSD to a network share. It moved past this stage after about 5 minutes (instead of a few seconds) and eventually started syncing.
I did not see geth exit on its own as you did. To troubleshoot that you could try increasing the verbosity level:
$ geth --verbosity 6 console
Delete the LOCK file in geth
It is possible that this file was left after a forced shut down and it's preventing further synchronization.
How do I find it?
The Ethereum Wallet is installed in different locations depending on your operating system:
~/.ethereum on Linux~/Library/Ethereum on OS X~/AppData/Roaming/Ethereum on WindowsYou may need to show hidden files to see these directories on your system.
Locate the geth sub-directory and delete the file named LOCK. This should enable geth to proceed with synchronization.
How do I sync from scratch now the lock is gone?
If you want to restart synchronization from scratch, as fast as possible, then you need to delete the contents of the chaindata sub-directory (same level as the geth directory earlier). You can do this through geth by issuing the command
geth removedb
If that command hangs, then you've still got the LOCK issue so delete it again.
To start synchronization issue the command
geth --syncmode=fast --cache 1024
In a few seconds your screen should be filled with block downloads. If you have a lot of memory consider --cache 2048.
