Can a fs cause hd errors?

Mol_Bolom · 02-20-2011, 11:31 PM

After about a year I've been using a two partition scheme on a Maxtor hd, 1@ jfs and 1@ ext3.

smartctl gives some dma errors, and jfs_fsck doesn't finish because of the errors, also the jfs partition will not mount, but e2fsck and mount runs just fine on the ext3 partition.

Anyway, I'm just curious if it was the jfs modules/software/etc that "may" have caused it. I had been running Slackware current since about March-May of last year.

I doubt that's it for it has been running for about a year now, but I am curious as to why the ext3 partition is fine but not the jfs partition. From what tiny bit of understanding I have, dma errors shouldn't care about "where" a problem would be, right?

(Not too worried about fixing the HD, I'm still reading about jfs. Just want to know if it's possible for a fs to cause dma errors only on one partition).

BoraxMan · 02-20-2011, 11:59 PM

It shouldn't matter what filesystem you are using, because its the kernel which controls the disk, not the filesystem module itself. However this may have something to do in the way the disk is being used.

Does this happen when you use a live CD and mount the partitions from there?

Mol_Bolom · 02-21-2011, 12:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BoraxMan

It shouldn't matter what filesystem you are using, because its the kernel which controls the disk, not the filesystem module itself. However this may have something to do in the way the disk is being used.

So the jfs kernel module doesn't control the disk then?
<Edit>
After thinking about it, I don't see how any module, etc could have caused the issue. Even if some ambiguous writes were taking place the jfs_fsck would have caught it long before the drive started acting up. This was rather sudden, just yesterday, and even after rebooting after the first crash, the system ran slow.

So I'd have to say then that in this case the fs did not cause the hd to crash. At least I'm guessing.
</Edit>

Quote:

Does this happen when you use a live CD and mount the partitions from there?

Haven't tried it with a live CD, but have put the HD into another computer running Slackware 13.0 which the problems still persist. (2.0ghz 1gb 266mhz ram - old computer, 3.0ghz 1.5gb ???mhz ram - this computer)

Code:

bash-3.1$ dmesg | tail
hda: dma_intr: error=0x40 <3>{ UncorrectableError }, LBAsect=1967666, sector=1967564
ide: failed opcode was: unknown
end_request: I/O error, dev hda, sector 1967564
Buffer I/O error on device hda2, logical block 7634
hda: dma_intr: status=0x51 { DriveReady SeekComplete Error }
hda: dma_intr: error=0x40 <3>{ UncorrectableError }, LBAsect=1967666, sector=1967565
ide: failed opcode was: unknown
end_request: I/O error, dev hda, sector 1967565
Buffer I/O error on device hda2, logical block 7635
hda: UDMA/16 mode selected

Though, I wonder why the last line "UDMA/16 mode selected after I switched to udma0.

<Edit>
Just ran jfs_fsck and it completed this time, though with errors.

Code:

bash-3.1# jfs_fsck /dev/hda2
jfs_fsck version 1.1.14, 06-Apr-2009
processing started: 2/21/2011 1.12.46
Using default parameter: -p
The current device is:  /dev/hda2
Block size in bytes:  4096
Filesystem size in blocks:  12207391
**Phase 0 - Replay Journal Log
ujfs_rw_diskblocks: read 0 of 4096 bytes at offset 3858432
logredo failed (rc=-271).  fsck continuing.
**Phase 1 - Check Blocks, Files/Directories, and  Directory Entries
ujfs_rw_diskblocks: read 0 of 16384 bytes at offset 14876672
Unrecoverable error reading M from /dev/hda2.  CANNOT CONTINUE.

Before hand this is as far as it got.

Code:

bash-3.1# jfs_fsck /dev/hda2
jfs_fsck version 1.1.14, 06-Apr-2009
processing started: 2/20/2011 23.12.48
Using default parameter: -p
The current device is:  /dev/hda2
Block size in bytes:  4096
Filesystem size in blocks:  12207391
**Phase 0 - Replay Journal Log
....|....

Well, the only reason I want to get into this drive is to figure out how I set up the utf8 locale. xev shows everything is fine, but the characters aren't printing out to the screen.

Either way, I was just curious. So this isn't important.

onebuck · 02-21-2011, 08:34 AM

Hi,

Actually the harddisk interface doesn't know a thing about the filesystem. The drive electronics just handles the data presented to it via the hardware drivers. Hardware drivers are presented data via the correct block device.

You can look at Kernel Interactive Map to get a general idea of the inner workings.

For your device I would first use the Manufacturers hardisk diagnostic set or use:

(R)ecovery (I)s (P)ossible RIP Slackware® Linux rescue system

OR

UBCD Ultimate Boot CD allows users to run floppy-based diagnostic tools from most CDROM drives on Intel-compatible machines, no operating system required. The cd includes many diagnostic utilities.

OR

SystemRescueCd is a Linux system on a bootable CD-ROM for repairing your system and recovering your data after a crash. It aims to provide an easy way to carry out admin tasks on your computer, such as creating and editing the partitions of the hard disk. It contains a lot of system utilities (parted, partimage, fstools, ...) and basic tools (editors, midnight commander, network tools).

You will find good diagnostic tools in the above referenced LiveCDs.

The above links and others can be found at 'Slackware-Links'. More than just Slackware® links!

Mol_Bolom · 02-21-2011, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by onebuck

Hi,

Actually the harddisk interface doesn't know a thing about the filesystem. The drive electronics just handles the data presented to it via the hardware drivers. Hardware drivers are presented data via the correct block device.

You can look at Kernel Interactive Map to get a general idea of the inner workings.

For your device I would first use the Manufacturers hardisk diagnostic set or use:

Thanks onebuck. I'll get around to looking that over later...(Had tried to find hd diag from Seagate (who owns maxtor now) before starting the OP (If I understand OP correctly), will take a bit more time to do some reading though).

Quote:

UBCD Ultimate Boot CD allows users to run floppy-based diagnostic tools from most CDROM drives on Intel-compatible machines, no operating system required. The cd includes many diagnostic utilities.

OR

SystemRescueCd is a Linux system on a bootable CD-ROM for repairing your system and recovering your data after a crash. It aims to provide an easy way to carry out admin tasks on your computer, such as creating and editing the partitions of the hard disk. It contains a lot of system utilities (parted, partimage, fstools, ...) and basic tools (editors, midnight commander, network tools).

You will find good diagnostic tools in the above referenced LiveCDs.

The above links and others can be found at 'Slackware-Links'. More than just Slackware® links!

Well slap me happy with a wet spaghetti noodle.
I had ran across your posting this several times, but had no real need to use it, until another issue popped up. So after reading lots of things, I downloaded the UBCD and a BIOS upgrade, which had to use wine to install then copy to usb, then I crossed my fingers and upgraded the bios using the UBCD.

Anyway, either the time spent trying to figure out how to remove the BIOS (eeprom/whatever) password, or just some fluke, after rebooting I ran jfs_fsck on the drive again, and lo and behold no DMA errors reported in dmesg and jfs_fsck didn't freeze. Mounted up normally without any issues...Will have to wait and see if the same problems occur later...

Mol_Bolom · 03-11-2011, 12:21 PM

Well, I decommissioned that old computer and began using another one with a SATA hd which a 3.0ghz cpu with hyperthreading. Well, I began having the same problems.

Slackware 13.1 upgraded a week ago.

Another odd thing was a couple of days ago I began having "usb enum" problems with a belkin wireless adapter. This is the same thing that occurred with the last computer as well. However, it began several weeks before the HD began failing.

Now going to run a few more tests and look for some other info. One drive failing on one system, fine, but two on two different systems with what seems to be similar errors and different types of drives in such a short period of time, odd...

<Edit>
This is worse than before. At least the old ATA disk could be loaded/tested/etc this SATA one can not. Ran the Western Digital quick test, computer locked up. Before that I tried using Slackware's 13.1 disk 1 CD, but the partitions didn't exist, though fdisk would show them...

<Edit2>
Ok, I think the drive is dead...

Trying to boot into the UBCD a second time, I got these noises...
whiiiiiIIIIIIIRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR grind grind grind grind grind click...Repeat...

<Edit3>
Holding the drive where the connectors are facing down and the circuit board is facing me, about an inch from the top right corner in a quarter moon shape on the black plastic, there's a lot of tiny bumps. After checking all the other 10-40gb hd's I have laying around, not a single one has anything like that.