Copy Files Between Drives Causes Kernel Panic/Freeze of the System

php · 08-04-2003, 11:18 AM

I have noticed that on a default install of slackware 9, I can't copy large amounts of files between hard drives without the kernel panic and the whole computer freezing up. The caps lock and scroll lock lights on the keyboard both blink when this happens. Has anyone else noticed this?

fancypiper · 08-04-2003, 01:38 PM

Any hints in the system log (/var/log/messages)?

# Watch error messages as they happen (sysklog needed)
as root, tail -f /var/log/messages (shows last 10 lines, use a number in front of f for more lines)

zero_copy · 08-06-2003, 03:09 AM

what filesystems are u trying to read and write from/to. there are some (like NTFS) that are read only shoudl not be written to....check the kernel config to see if that particular fs is deemed "dangerous/experimental"

php · 08-07-2003, 04:45 PM

It doesn't leave anything in the logs.. Well, in this particular instance its reading/writing from a ReiserFS to FAT32, but I have had the same problem with ReiserFS to EXT3, and vice versa, I don't think its a file system problem really, as it doesn't seem to matter which file system because they all lock up at some point anyway...

php · 08-12-2003, 12:20 PM

sucks

fancypiper · 08-12-2003, 12:31 PM

What are your hdparm settings for the drive(s)? My conservative settings:

Code:

root@uilleann # hdparm /dev/hda

/dev/hda:
 multcount    = 16 (on)
 I/O support  =  0 (default 16-bit)
 unmaskirq    =  0 (off)
 using_dma    =  1 (on)
 keepsettings =  0 (off)
 nowerr       =  0 (off)
 readonly     =  0 (off)
 readahead    =  8 (on)
 geometry     = 4865/255/63, sectors = 78165360, start = 0
 busstate     =  1 (on)
root@uilleann # hdparm /dev/hdc

/dev/hdc:
 multcount    = 16 (on)
 I/O support  =  0 (default 16-bit)
 unmaskirq    =  0 (off)
 using_dma    =  1 (on)
 keepsettings =  0 (off)
 nowerr       =  0 (off)
 readonly     =  0 (off)
 readahead    =  8 (on)
 geometry     = 9729/255/63, sectors = 156301488, start = 0
 busstate     =  1 (on)

Using some agressive settings that may freeze drives:

hdparm -X69 -d1 -u1 -m16 -c3 /dev/hd<X>

php · 08-14-2003, 07:10 PM

bash-2.05b# hdparm /dev/hda

/dev/hda:
multcount = 0 (off)
IO_support = 0 (default 16-bit)
unmaskirq = 0 (off)
using_dma = 1 (on)
keepsettings = 0 (off)
readonly = 0 (off)
readahead = 8 (on)
geometry = 59554/16/63, sectors = 60030432, start = 0

bash-2.05b# hdparm /dev/hdb

/dev/hdb:
multcount = 0 (off)
IO_support = 0 (default 16-bit)
unmaskirq = 0 (off)
using_dma = 1 (on)
keepsettings = 0 (off)
readonly = 0 (off)
readahead = 8 (on)
geometry = 9345/255/63, sectors = 150136560, start = 0
bash-2.05b# hdparm /dev/hdd

/dev/hdd:
multcount = 0 (off)
IO_support = 0 (default 16-bit)
unmaskirq = 0 (off)
using_dma = 1 (on)
keepsettings = 0 (off)
readonly = 0 (off)
readahead = 8 (on)
geometry = 9929/240/63, sectors = 150136560, start = 0

fancypiper · 08-14-2003, 07:30 PM

I would try changing some paramaters and see if it still occurs.

Try changing these settings back and forth and see if that fixes it.

hdparm -d1 -u1 -m16 -c3 /dev/hd<X>

Speeding up Linux Using hdparm
Not mentioned in the article:
UDMA 33/66/100. Add the -X option, and then this number i.e. (-X 69)
-X 33 ====> Multiword DMA
-X 66 ====> ATA-33 (UDMA2)
-X 68 ====> ATA-66 (UDMA4)
-X 69 ====> ATA-100 (UDMA 5)