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Old March 6th 08, 10:45 PM posted to comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage,comp.os.linux.hardware,comp.os.linux.misc,alt.comp.periphs.hdd
Rod Speed
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Posts: 8,559
Default Is my HDD dying or something else from these errors and symptoms?

Ant wrote:

For about two weeks ago, I had two of these incidents (13 days apart between them):


hdb: dma_timer_expiry: dma status == 0x61
hdb: DMA timeout error
hdb: dma timeout error: status=0x58 { DriveReady SeekComplete
DataRequest } ide: failed opcode was: unknown
hda: DMA disabled
hdb: DMA disabled
ide0: reset: success
hdb: dma_timer_expiry: dma status == 0x41
hdb: DMA timeout error
hdb: dma timeout error: status=0x58 { DriveReady SeekComplete
DataRequest } ide: failed opcode was: unknown
hdb: DMA disabled
ide0: reset: success
hdb: dma_timer_expiry: dma status == 0x41
hdb: DMA timeout error
hdb: dma timeout error: status=0x58 { DriveReady SeekComplete
DataRequest } ide: failed opcode was: unknown
hdb: DMA disabled
ide0: reset: success
hdb: dma_timer_expiry: dma status == 0x41
hdb: DMA timeout error
hdb: dma timeout error: status=0x58 { DriveReady SeekComplete
DataRequest } ide: failed opcode was: unknown
hdb: DMA disabled
ide0: reset: success


Thats normally just a bad cable. And since the problem is seen with
more than one hard drive, its almost certainly just a bad cable.

Can be a bad hard drive controller on the motherboard etc but thats much less likely.

From this, my old Linux/Debian system became slow and
unresponsive due to high CPU usage (e.g., 7.xx in top).


Because its turned the DMA off, as it says.

I had to shutdown (shutdown -r now) Linux/Debian,
reboot, and things are back to normal speed.


Because its turned the DMA on again.

I doubt it is temperature related because the room is in the 60s and 70s
degrees(F) and computer wasn't working intensely (e.g., surfing the Web).


Yeah, most likely just a bad cable.

Also, I recalled before these problems started, my motherboard (CMOS
and BIOS) didn't see both of my primary master drives (both HDDs: hda
and hdb), but can see my secondary master (DVD-ROM drive = hdc).


More evidence of a bad cable to the hard drives.

I had to open the case, but didn't see anything wrong.
I wiggled the cable ends for the HDDs.


And that likely got it going again. Those cable piercing connectors
can bend one of the things that bite the cable when the cable is made
and can get loose if you reef the cable off the drive or motherboard
end by pulling on the ribbon etc.

If its a round cable, its ****ed by design.

I booted my machine up and it seemed fine for a few days/a
week and then these errors came up (not disconnections).


I ran smartctl utility on both of my HDDs for information and results:
http://pastebin.ca/930776 ...


My full system specifications can be found he
http://alpha.zimage.com/~ant/antfarm.../computers.txt
(secondary/backup machine). Does that mean my decade old Quantum
6.4 GB HDD (already made a backup just in case) is finally dying?


Nope, just the cable.

Or is it something else?


Yep, the cable.