No error file at all

You will understand why a missing `LAST_FATAL_ERROR.md` file does not by itself mean the device is healthy.

This page only applies when you deploy to an SD-card device.

Your device may seem dead, with no LAST_FATAL_ERROR.md file anywhere on the card. This does not always mean good news, and it does not always mean bad news either. Two situations can cause this.

The fault happened before the device could write to the card. The error file lives on the boot partition. Two kinds of fault happen before the device mounts that partition, and neither can leave a file behind. See GOSD-EARLY-MOUNT and GOSD-BOOT-MOUNT in the system error codes reference.

Or the card lost the write. The boot partition uses the FAT32 format, an old format with no journal. The device can attempt a write and lose it, or write an empty, zero-length file instead. This is more likely if you cut power at the wrong moment.

In both cases, the same rule applies.