USB Stick with speed limit? Suse 10rc1

mykrob · 09-12-2005, 08:03 AM

I recently installed Suse 10rc1. Everything works fine, but i am having a transfer rate problem with my USB stick. It is an LG 1GB stick, and it worked flawlessly in Suse 9.3. However, in the newer version, it seems that my transfer rate is limited to about 95KB/s. What can i do to get the transfer speed back up to normal?

Thanks,

-myk

abisko00 · 09-12-2005, 08:55 AM

Have a look at the output of dmesg after you plugged in the drive. There you should see which driver is used. This should be ehci-hcd. If it is uhci-hcd, it runs with the USB1 protocol. In a previous SUSE version it was sometimes necessary to load the ehci driver first during boot, to allow proper use of USB2 devices. Have a look here: http://portal.suse.com/sdb/en/2004/01/USB_2_0.html

mykrob · 09-12-2005, 09:17 AM

Thanks for the reply. I'm not really sure what i'm looking at, but here's the last bit of dmesg that appears to pertain to the USB stick

Quote:

sda: Mode Sense: 03 00 00 00
sda: assuming drive cache: write through
sda: sda1
usb 4-5: USB disconnect, address 5
usb 4-5: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 6
scsi3 : SCSI emulation for USB Mass Storage devices
usb-storage: device found at 6
usb-storage: waiting for device to settle before scanning
Vendor: LG Model: USB Drive Rev: 2.00
Type: Direct-Access ANSI SCSI revision: 02
sda: Unit Not Ready, sense:
: Current: sense key: Unit Attention
Additional sense: Not ready to ready change, medium may have changed
sda : READ CAPACITY failed.
sda : status=1, message=00, host=0, driver=08
sd: Current: sense key: Unit Attention
Additional sense: Not ready to ready change, medium may have changed
sda: test WP failed, assume Write Enabled
sda: assuming drive cache: write through
sda: Unit Not Ready, sense:
: Current: sense key: Unit Attention
Additional sense: Not ready to ready change, medium may have changed
sda : READ CAPACITY failed.
sda : status=1, message=00, host=0, driver=08
sd: Current: sense key: Unit Attention
Additional sense: Not ready to ready change, medium may have changed
sda: test WP failed, assume Write Enabled
sda: assuming drive cache: write through
sda: Unit Not Ready, sense:
: Current: sense key: Unit Attention
Additional sense: Not ready to ready change, medium may have changed
sda : READ CAPACITY failed.
sda : status=1, message=00, host=0, driver=08
sd: Current: sense key: Unit Attention
Additional sense: Not ready to ready change, medium may have changed
sda: test WP failed, assume Write Enabled
sda: assuming drive cache: write through
sda:end_request: I/O error, dev sda, sector 0
printk: 9 messages suppressed.
Buffer I/O error on device sda, logical block 0
Buffer I/O error on device sda, logical block 0
Buffer I/O error on device sda, logical block 0
unable to read partition table
Attached scsi removable disk sda at scsi3, channel 0, id 0, lun 0
Attached scsi generic sg0 at scsi3, channel 0, id 0, lun 0, type 0
usb-storage: device scan complete
sda: Unit Not Ready, sense:
: Current: sense key: Unit Attention
Additional sense: Not ready to ready change, medium may have changed
sda : READ CAPACITY failed.
sda : status=1, message=00, host=0, driver=08
sd: Current: sense key: Unit Attention
Additional sense: Not ready to ready change, medium may have changed
sda: test WP failed, assume Write Enabled
sda: assuming drive cache: write through
sda: Unit Not Ready, sense:
: Current: sense key: Unit Attention
Additional sense: Not ready to ready change, medium may have changed
sda : READ CAPACITY failed.
sda : status=1, message=00, host=0, driver=08
sd: Current: sense key: Unit Attention
Additional sense: Not ready to ready change, medium may have changed
sda: test WP failed, assume Write Enabled
sda: assuming drive cache: write through
sda:end_request: I/O error, dev sda, sector 0
Buffer I/O error on device sda, logical block 0
Buffer I/O error on device sda, logical block 0
Buffer I/O error on device sda, logical block 0
unable to read partition table
Buffer I/O error on device sda, logical block 0
Buffer I/O error on device sda, logical block 1
Buffer I/O error on device sda, logical block 2
Buffer I/O error on device sda, logical block 3
sda: Unit Not Ready, sense:
: Current: sense key: Unit Attention
Additional sense: Not ready to ready change, medium may have changed
sda : READ CAPACITY failed.
sda : status=1, message=00, host=0, driver=08
sd: Current: sense key: Unit Attention
Additional sense: Not ready to ready change, medium may have changed
sda: test WP failed, assume Write Enabled
sda: assuming drive cache: write through
sda: Unit Not Ready, sense:
: Current: sense key: Unit Attention
Additional sense: Not ready to ready change, medium may have changed
sda : READ CAPACITY failed.
sda : status=1, message=00, host=0, driver=08
sd: Current: sense key: Unit Attention
Additional sense: Not ready to ready change, medium may have changed
sda: test WP failed, assume Write Enabled
sda: assuming drive cache: write through
sda:end_request: I/O error, dev sda, sector 0
unable to read partition table
SCSI device sda: 2045440 512-byte hdwr sectors (1047 MB)
sda: Write Protect is off
sda: Mode Sense: 03 00 00 00
sda: assuming drive cache: write through
SCSI device sda: 2045440 512-byte hdwr sectors (1047 MB)
sda: Write Protect is off
sda: Mode Sense: 03 00 00 00
sda: assuming drive cache: write through
sda: sda1

i also ran lsmod to check loaded modules. I do see ehci_hcd, but in the "used by" column, there isa 0.

Iwill look at the link you post as well, but based on the info here, do you see anything out of place?

Thanks,
-myk

mykrob · 09-12-2005, 09:40 AM

The plot thickens... usbview shows it to be using the correct driver, and also shows it correctly with a maximum speed of 480MB/s

http://img78.imageshack.us/img78/7430/usbview0ae.jpg

WHat's wrong???

-myk

mykrob · 09-12-2005, 09:50 AM

Okay, seems there is an open bug report for this identical problem:

https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=105871

i will proceed from there.

THanks,
-myk

mykrob · 09-12-2005, 09:53 AM

Here's the deal, new kernels now include syncronized writing by default on usb devices. You can disable it and regain your speed like this:

Quote:

If writing to USB storage devices like USB sticks or USB hard drive is
rather slow or if you do not want synchronized writing to these devices,
disable the sync mount option.

1.
Create the directory /usr/share/hal/fdi/policy/95userpolicy:

mkdir -p /usr/share/hal/fdi/policy/95userpolicy/

2.
Create a file with the name nosync.fdi and the following contents:

vi /usr/share/hal/fdi/policy/95userpolicy/nosync.fdi

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<deviceinfo version="0.2">
<device>

<match key="block.is_volume" bool="true">
<match key="volume.fsusage" string="filesystem">
<match key="volume.uuid" string="==UUID==">
<merge key="volume.policy.mount_option.sync" type="bool">false</merge>
</match>
</match>
</match>
</device>
</deviceinfo>

3.
Adjust the line <match key="volume.uuid" string="==UUID=="> according to
your hardware. Run 'lshal' to retrieve the "volume.uuid" and enter this id
instead of ==UUID==

4.
Finally restart the HAL service with

rchal restart

havent tried it yet, but on the bug report, people have claimed this works fine.

mykrob · 09-12-2005, 10:11 AM

IT WORKS!!!

I just transfered 79MB in about 3 seconds!

abisko00 · 09-12-2005, 10:15 AM

Cool!
But one question: Doesn't disabling sync require extra care to unmount the drive before removing it? And does this go well with submount? I remember that there is no 'unmount' button available for subfs mounted drives. At least I know a couple of threads where people where confused about the best way to remove a USB drive on submount systems. Any idea/comments about this?

mykrob · 09-12-2005, 12:03 PM

dont have a clue. this was mentioned in the bug report, but no one commented on it. I would presume a kernel fix is required.

apachedude · 10-20-2005, 03:54 PM

Does this mean I have to write new rules for every USB storage device I own?