EXT4-fs error on Slackware-current

ppencho · 04-06-2013, 04:23 AM

(Full slackware-current with the latest updates)

Last night I tried to log off from KDE in the usual way (right click and Leave... from the menu). But the menu didn't appear and KDE as though freezed with mouse still moving normally. I switched to console (Ctrl-Alt-F1/F2/F3) and you can see the result in the attached JPGs - lots of EXT4-fs errors.

After some fight to close KDE from inside it I killed it from the console (Ctrl-C) and tried to shutdown the PC by short press of the power button (that's how I stop it each time). It didn't work saying 'shutdown' command not found. So I stopped it in the brutal way by holding the power button. On the next start it repaired some issues:

Code:

Apr  5 23:06:47 homepc kernel: [    3.690617] Freeing unused kernel memory: 720k freed
Apr  5 23:06:47 homepc kernel: [    3.694686] Freeing unused kernel memory: 260k freed
Apr  5 23:06:47 homepc kernel: <30>[    3.707219] udevd[987]: starting version 182
Apr  5 23:06:47 homepc kernel: [    5.316951] EXT4-fs (sda1): INFO: recovery required on readonly filesystem
Apr  5 23:06:47 homepc kernel: [    5.320118] EXT4-fs (sda1): write access will be enabled during recovery
Apr  5 23:06:47 homepc kernel: [    6.999563] EXT4-fs (sda1): orphan cleanup on readonly fs
Apr  5 23:06:47 homepc kernel: [    7.002785] EXT4-fs (sda1): 5 orphan inodes deleted
Apr  5 23:06:47 homepc kernel: [    7.005912] EXT4-fs (sda1): recovery complete
Apr  5 23:06:47 homepc kernel: [    7.065606] EXT4-fs (sda1): mounted filesystem with ordered data mode. Opts: (null)
Apr  5 23:06:47 homepc kernel: [    7.698749] loop: module loaded
Apr  5 23:06:47 homepc kernel: <30>[    7.839369] udevd[1151]: starting version 182
Apr  5 23:06:47 homepc kernel: [    8.459296] ACPI: If an ACPI driver is available for this device, you should use it instead of the native driver

Now the system works fine. I tested the partitions (sda1 - root, sda2 - home, sda3 - data) with fsck.ext4 (run from another Slackware installed on different partition) and the hard disk with smartctl tool, it shows no errors:

Code:

smartctl 5.43 2012-06-30 r3573 [x86_64-linux-3.8.4] (local build)
Copyright (C) 2002-12 by Bruce Allen, http://smartmontools.sourceforge.net

=== START OF INFORMATION SECTION ===
Model Family:     Western Digital Caviar Black
Device Model:     WDC WD7501AALS-00J7B1
Serial Number:    WD-WMAU00104838
LU WWN Device Id: 5 0014ee 056b4c50d
Firmware Version: 05.00K05
User Capacity:    750,156,374,016 bytes [750 GB]
Sector Size:      512 bytes logical/physical
Device is:        In smartctl database [for details use: -P show]
ATA Version is:   8
ATA Standard is:  Exact ATA specification draft version not indicated
Local Time is:    Sat Apr  6 10:25:09 2013 EEST
SMART support is: Available - device has SMART capability.
SMART support is: Enabled

=== START OF READ SMART DATA SECTION ===
SMART overall-health self-assessment test result: PASSED

General SMART Values:
Offline data collection status:  (0x84)	Offline data collection activity
					was suspended by an interrupting command from host.
					Auto Offline Data Collection: Enabled.
Self-test execution status:      (   0)	The previous self-test routine completed
					without error or no self-test has ever 
					been run.
Total time to complete Offline 
data collection: 		(15960) seconds.
Offline data collection
capabilities: 			 (0x7b) SMART execute Offline immediate.
					Auto Offline data collection on/off support.
					Suspend Offline collection upon new
					command.
					Offline surface scan supported.
					Self-test supported.
					Conveyance Self-test supported.
					Selective Self-test supported.
SMART capabilities:            (0x0003)	Saves SMART data before entering
					power-saving mode.
					Supports SMART auto save timer.
Error logging capability:        (0x01)	Error logging supported.
					General Purpose Logging supported.
Short self-test routine 
recommended polling time: 	 (   2) minutes.
Extended self-test routine
recommended polling time: 	 ( 185) minutes.
Conveyance self-test routine
recommended polling time: 	 (   5) minutes.
SCT capabilities: 	       (0x303f)	SCT Status supported.
					SCT Error Recovery Control supported.
					SCT Feature Control supported.
					SCT Data Table supported.

SMART Attributes Data Structure revision number: 16
Vendor Specific SMART Attributes with Thresholds:
ID# ATTRIBUTE_NAME          FLAG     VALUE WORST THRESH TYPE      UPDATED  WHEN_FAILED RAW_VALUE
  1 Raw_Read_Error_Rate     0x002f   200   200   051    Pre-fail  Always       -       0
  3 Spin_Up_Time            0x0027   230   228   021    Pre-fail  Always       -       8458
  4 Start_Stop_Count        0x0032   099   099   000    Old_age   Always       -       1174
  5 Reallocated_Sector_Ct   0x0033   200   200   140    Pre-fail  Always       -       0
  7 Seek_Error_Rate         0x002e   200   200   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
  9 Power_On_Hours          0x0032   087   087   000    Old_age   Always       -       9546
 10 Spin_Retry_Count        0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
 11 Calibration_Retry_Count 0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
 12 Power_Cycle_Count       0x0032   099   099   000    Old_age   Always       -       1166
192 Power-Off_Retract_Count 0x0032   200   200   000    Old_age   Always       -       141
193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0032   200   200   000    Old_age   Always       -       1174
194 Temperature_Celsius     0x0022   098   087   000    Old_age   Always       -       52
196 Reallocated_Event_Count 0x0032   200   200   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
197 Current_Pending_Sector  0x0032   200   200   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
198 Offline_Uncorrectable   0x0030   200   200   000    Old_age   Offline      -       0
199 UDMA_CRC_Error_Count    0x0032   200   200   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
200 Multi_Zone_Error_Rate   0x0008   200   200   000    Old_age   Offline      -       0

SMART Error Log Version: 1
No Errors Logged

SMART Self-test log structure revision number 1
Num  Test_Description    Status                  Remaining  LifeTime(hours)  LBA_of_first_error
# 1  Extended offline    Completed without error       00%      9546         -
# 2  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      9543         -
# 3  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      9543         -

SMART Selective self-test log data structure revision number 1
 SPAN  MIN_LBA  MAX_LBA  CURRENT_TEST_STATUS
    1        0        0  Not_testing
    2        0        0  Not_testing
    3        0        0  Not_testing
    4        0        0  Not_testing
    5        0        0  Not_testing
Selective self-test flags (0x0):
  After scanning selected spans, do NOT read-scan remainder of disk.
If Selective self-test is pending on power-up, resume after 0 minute delay.

Could you propose some additional hard disk tests just to be sure that it is in good condition? The disk is a little bit noisy at times.
.

GazL · 04-06-2013, 05:01 AM

While you're getting a lot of fs errors there, I didn't see anything in the way of I/O errors reported from the underlying block device containing the fs. It's possible that the disk is not at fault here and you hit some weird kernel filesystem/vfs-cache bug. I did notice there were a number of ext4 related fixes that went into linux-3.8.5

Not saying this is what happened, just raising it as a possibility.

ppencho · 04-06-2013, 06:40 AM

Thanks, GazL. Is there a log file written at the time the problem happened? (containing the messages from the first attachment)

Because I just remembered that minute or two before the freeze I touched the disk bottom side to feel how hot is it and if there are any vibrations. I did it because of the strange noise (with not visible disk LED activity) that I mentioned in the first post, it occurs frequently in the time. It is not the first time I touch the disk (yes, I should not do that!), even now I didn't resist the temptation to check it again in a try to reproduce the EXT4-fs error (no success).

So the above could be connected or not to my issue, but is is good to be known.

GazL · 04-06-2013, 08:13 AM

system messages normally go to /var/log/messages, but if the disk was playing up at the time then there's a chance they didn't get written.

I can't really offer anything on the noise, or impact of whatever actions you were taking at the time, as only you will know what was going on.
Having said that, noise from a drive isn't generally a good sign. If you don't already have backups of your important data, now would be a good time to start taking them.

ppencho · 04-06-2013, 09:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GazL

...but if the disk was playing up at the time then there's a chance they didn't get written.

Damn true