Hi, all;

I have a device attached as a storage drive. I'm receiving the above error, with a further of message of 'the superblock could not be read or does not describe...' etc.

When I tried the recommended alternate superblock run (-b 8193, and -b 32768), they both returned the same error on running them individually.

I don't have anything on the drive that I need to recover; it would be nice, but not needed.

Is this error the result of a hardware failure/drive going bad? If so I need to replace the drive. Or, is it more a logical error/ext format problem, that can be solved by re doing the partion (reformating/building/etc)? And, if it is a partiton error, does it mean that there may be a hardware failure looming, anyway, in the future?

Thanks for guidance - I'm not sure what this means, if it's salvagable or fatal.

It's a hardware error. Most likely the drive, but also check power, cooling and cables. In very rare cases could be the disk controller. Note that external enclosures can be bad. If you have one, make sure it is plugged into the same outlet strip as the computer.

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the usual way is to try it using another cable, another OS, another PC, another enclosure or another disk. Probably you only need a better power source (more current).

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Is this newly changed behavior, or has it always happened?

What form factor is it?

How is it attached?

If externally via USB, what is its power source? As pan64 implied, if a 2.5" drive getting power from the USB port, the port used might not be providing adequate power.

If an external drive that can be removed from its container, attaching it via SATA internally should be a good way to tell if its container or the USB power bus is the problem, and the drive itself OK.

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WRONG. it's usually the cables. check Tom's Hardware if you unsure which is more frequent.

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seriously. what kind of drive. did OP post and run without marking solved?

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Hi, all;

Thank you for the answers - I didn't post and run, it just took me a bit to get to checking everything, lol.

The drive is a Seagate NAS (ST12000VN0008) ~8 months old, in a system (not external enclosure). It had never given an error before, so I was thinking maybe a hardware/disk failure developing.

I reseated the power cables and replaced the hardware cable, no errors when I test the drive now. I didn't read the dmesg output first, so I can't compare before/after. Are the sata cables that fragile? I guess I could have jostled it a tiny bit loose when I was in the case, or bumped a loose fitted cable just enough to break the connection.

Off to run smart etc checks, just to make there's nothing still happening in the harddrive itself.

Yes! SATA cables & connectors are well-known for loose connections. Don't use SATA cables with plugs without clamps.