LinuxQuestions.org
Latest LQ Deal: Latest LQ Deals
Go Back   LinuxQuestions.org > Forums > Linux Forums > Linux - Hardware
User Name
Password
Linux - Hardware This forum is for Hardware issues.
Having trouble installing a piece of hardware? Want to know if that peripheral is compatible with Linux?

Notices


Reply
  Search this Thread
Old 11-10-2003, 10:52 AM   #1
esteeven
Senior Member
 
Registered: Oct 2001
Location: Bristol UK
Distribution: Arch Slackware Ubuntu
Posts: 1,081

Rep: Reputation: 51
Dead or dying HDD


My box boot - with difficulty. The master HDD is not detected every time. A reboot
sometimes solves this. The box freezes if left unattended - the screen blackens and there's no way back to my desktop. Sometimes kdm is left on the screen but nothing responds. I can't even ssh into this box.

I updated software recently but nothing related to the system. I was also playing with gnome-control-center settings - but nothing other than fonts and window behaviour.

Am I correct to think that the HDD is dying? Is there anything I can try to solve the problem??
 
Old 11-10-2003, 11:13 AM   #2
LogicG8
Member
 
Registered: Jun 2003
Location: Long Island, NY
Distribution: Gentoo Unstable (what a misnomer)
Posts: 380

Rep: Reputation: 30
It does sound like your hdd is dying especially if it is not
being detected every time at boot.

Their are a few tricks you can do to prolong its life
but I'd reccomend you make sure all your back-ups are
up to date and that all important cannot be lost files
are in a safe place.

If you can't get a new hdd to back up to soon I'd
shutdown unplug the drive, and use knoppix
till I could get a new one.

When the new drive arrives and copy over all
the files to it. If your old drive seems dead at
that point try freezing it for about 45 minutes
and try again.
 
Old 11-10-2003, 11:18 AM   #3
jim mcnamara
Member
 
Registered: May 2002
Posts: 964

Rep: Reputation: 36
You can also get this behavior as a result of overheating. Especially, if it goes south after running for a while, consider the overheating problem, too.

Make sure your cooling system works and the box does not have airvents blocked by furniture or dust.

And, as LogicG8 says, ' back-it-up'.
 
Old 11-10-2003, 04:10 PM   #4
esteeven
Senior Member
 
Registered: Oct 2001
Location: Bristol UK
Distribution: Arch Slackware Ubuntu
Posts: 1,081

Original Poster
Rep: Reputation: 51
Well - I couldn't ssh into my box from work today and found that it had frozen when I got home. I opened it up and hoovered out the dust and reorganised the cables at the back. I also checked all the internal cables etc. Rebooted fine. Uptime is now 2:22 - I'm going to bed in a moment. Let's hope that tomorrow will find me with a happy box.
 
Old 11-11-2003, 02:02 AM   #5
esteeven
Senior Member
 
Registered: Oct 2001
Location: Bristol UK
Distribution: Arch Slackware Ubuntu
Posts: 1,081

Original Poster
Rep: Reputation: 51
uptime 12:16 now - wow!!
edit
Now over 17 hours uptime but ssh into it is *very* slow - I'm starting to think that it's time to buy a new HDD. The failing disk is only for / so no need to back up really.

Last edited by esteeven; 11-11-2003 at 07:50 AM.
 
  


Reply


Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off



Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Harddrive dying. eggoz Linux - Hardware 2 08-15-2005 06:40 PM
My hdd dead? Low hdparm score. Silent1 Linux - Hardware 4 12-29-2004 12:56 AM
Xinetd dead --xinetd dead but pid file exists hillxy Linux - General 1 04-15-2004 02:10 PM
Dead Display = Dead Machine chris319 Linux - Hardware 1 12-05-2003 06:37 AM
Squid:2nd Browser access Internet SPEED dead becomes dead slow mwj Linux - Software 1 10-04-2003 01:40 PM

LinuxQuestions.org > Forums > Linux Forums > Linux - Hardware

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 01:22 AM.

Main Menu
Advertisement
My LQ
Write for LQ
LinuxQuestions.org is looking for people interested in writing Editorials, Articles, Reviews, and more. If you'd like to contribute content, let us know.
Main Menu
Syndicate
RSS1  Latest Threads
RSS1  LQ News
Twitter: @linuxquestions
Open Source Consulting | Domain Registration