# Help needed! Ignition server won't start **URL:** \ **Category:** Ignition\ **Created:** [June 2, 2025, 9:40pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/help-needed-ignition-server-wont-start/106923 "2025-06-02T21:40:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![richard.d.white](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b2d939/32.png) [@richard.d.white](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/richard.d.white)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2025, 9:40pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/help-needed-ignition-server-wont-start/106923/1 "2025-06-02T21:40:53Z")
We're currently down right now due to this... This morning Ignition was found to be running super slow. CPU usage on the server was basically maxed out (memory and drive space were fine). We did a net stop ignition / net start ignition but right now I've been stuck indefinitely on the "Ignition Gateway is Starting" screen. clearly something is wrong. Please see the attached log file. Prior to the shutdown we did check connectivity to our SQL DB and it seemed OK. Not sure why the log is showing repeated activity with sqllite (we use MSSQL BTW). I really could use some guidance... any feedback would be great! [log file.txt](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/uploads/short-url/oiI9vHCXr8TuAQ55SB7pD5Vcjo9.txt) (8.7 MB) ---
**Author:** ![ryan.white](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/ryan.white/32/73193_2.png) [@ryan.white](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/ryan.white)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2025, 9:48pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/help-needed-ignition-server-wont-start/106923/2 "2025-06-02T21:48:04Z")
SQLite is the internal configuration db for Ignition. If this is a mission critical issue, you need to contact [Support](https://support.inductiveautomation.com). This forum is not an official support venue. ---
**Author:** ![richard.d.white](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b2d939/32.png) [@richard.d.white](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/richard.d.white)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2025, 9:56pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/help-needed-ignition-server-wont-start/106923/3 "2025-06-02T21:56:07Z")
Thank you, I will jump on that ASAP ---
**Author:** ![paul-griffith](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/paul-griffith/32/37249_2.png) [@paul-griffith](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/paul-griffith)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2025, 9:59pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/help-needed-ignition-server-wont-start/106923/4 "2025-06-02T21:59:39Z")
FYI, the quick fix is to delete the `system_logs.idb` file and restart the gateway: > [@Error executing logfile maintenance:org.sqlite.SQLiteException: \[SQLITE\_CORRUPT\] The database disk image is malformed (database disk image is malformed)](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/error-executing-logfile-maintenance-org-sqlite-sqliteexception-sqlite-corrupt-the-database-disk-image-is-malformed-database-disk-image-is-malformed/59200/3): > > Hi, Thank you sharing your solution. Just a clarification - I deleted the "system\_logs.idb" and then restarted the gateway. After those two steps, the gateway logs started to appear as normal. Cheers. ---
**Author:** ![richard.d.white](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b2d939/32.png) [@richard.d.white](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/richard.d.white)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2025, 1:22am UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/help-needed-ignition-server-wont-start/106923/5 "2025-06-03T01:22:03Z")
Thank you both for your responses. FYI I deleted the system\_logs.idb but still was stuck in the "Ignition Gateway is Starting" loop. In the end I decided to just nuke the existing installation and reinstall. Thank goodness for backups! The newly installed instance seems to be working great; CPU usage is ~20% and it's obvious that client connections are running faster than before. Frankly the reinstallation was very fast so this was probably a better option overall considering the amount of time spent trying to troubleshoot. Again thank you for your help! ---
**Author:** ![nminchin](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/nminchin/32/6911_2.png) [@nminchin](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/nminchin)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2025, 1:57am UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/help-needed-ignition-server-wont-start/106923/6 "2025-06-03T01:57:48Z")
> [@richard.d.white](#): > > FYI I deleted the system\_logs.idb but still was stuck in the "Ignition Gateway is Starting" loop. I assume you restarted the service after doing this? ---
**Author:** ![jespinmartin1](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/jespinmartin1/32/57175_2.png) [@jespinmartin1](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/jespinmartin1)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2025, 4:45am UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/help-needed-ignition-server-wont-start/106923/7 "2025-06-03T04:45:34Z")
Malformed internal db was common on older versions of 8.1.25 ish. Which version are you using? ---
**Author:** ![richard.d.white](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b2d939/32.png) [@richard.d.white](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/richard.d.white)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2025, 5:36pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/help-needed-ignition-server-wont-start/106923/8 "2025-06-03T17:36:59Z")
nminchin - by "restarted service" you mean doing net stop ignition / net start ignition? If so then yes, I absolutely was doing this with no avail. jespinmartin1 - I'm pretty sure I was running 8.1.1 so maybe that's part of the issue. I took advantage of this situation to upgrade to the latest version, so that's good! Speaking of malformed internal db: Could this happen with an abrupt power loss on the server? It turns out we DID have a blackout late last week and I do recall noticing the system starting to run really slow after that. It was at an absolute crawl yesterday which is why I attempted to restart the Ignition server and then found it wouldn't restart. ---
**Author:** ![pturmel](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/pturmel/32/3295_2.png) [@pturmel](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/pturmel)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2025, 5:49pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/help-needed-ignition-server-wont-start/106923/9 "2025-06-03T17:49:19Z")
> [@richard.d.white](#): > > Could this happen with an abrupt power loss on the server? Yes.