IDE Controller or HD problem ?

Hi all

I am running Debian GNU/Linux Sid on a Pentium4 1.7GHz.

About a week ago it was installed on a Maxtor 30GB IDE HD, as
Secondary Master (hdc). A HP CD writer was set up as Primary Slave
(hdb). With some hours of use the HD and the CD-R led had turned on
and had stayed always on. A few seconds later the System had crashed.
This happened several times.

First I thought the problem was with the hard drive, so I installed
Debian on a Samsung 40gb and have set up as Primary Master (hda), with
the CD writer still as Primary Slave (hdb) and I removed the Maxtor
from the case (hdc).

The system was up and running, but I got this message a few hours
after installation:

hda: lost interruption

And then the System had crashed.

Later, the same problem that happened with the Maxtor started
happening with the Samsung: the led was turned on and never turned
off, followed by a system crash, solution: finger + reset button. This
happend about 3 or 4 times in 3 hours.

I belive the problem isn't with the HDs because both HDs showed the
same behavior, as well the CD writer, no matter where they was set up
(IDE bus 0 or 1). This facts made me believe to an IDE controller
problem, and this means the Motherboard is messed up. That's what I
think. I would like to know if anyone have some thought or
consideration on this issue that could help me. Is really my
motherboard messed up ?


Thanks all,
Gustavo

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Gustavo G. Rondina wrote:

Hi all

I am running Debian GNU/Linux Sid on a Pentium4 1.7GHz.

About a week ago it was installed on a Maxtor 30GB IDE HD, as
Secondary Master (hdc). A HP CD writer was set up as Primary Slave
(hdb). With some hours of use the HD and the CD-R led had turned on
and had stayed always on. A few seconds later the System had crashed.
This happened several times.


Ummm.. you're running Debian 'Sid'? You should be aware that it's a
development release and not considered 'stable'.

I'd suggest you try either Debian 'stable' or even something like a CD image
of Knoppix.
This should show you definitively whether your hardware is the problem.

- --
Ron n1zhi

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Hi

I wouldn't say the problem is immediately to do with your disk
controller on the motherboard. I'd say the CD-R drive seems to be the
problem here. I know that to get CD-R drives working in Linux, it has
to use special SCSI emulation, which can be a bit of a pain to get
working on some distributions.

What I'd recommend here is to remove the CD-R drive, and see if your
problems go away. If they do, then check on the Debian website to see
if anyone else has had trouble with your CD-R drive, and, if so, any
ways to fix this.

If your problem remains, then I would say it is the controller on the
motherboard, OR, your distribution of Linux does not support your
controller properly. To check this, you might want to install a bog
standard OS like Windows 98 just to check the controller is OK, if you
have / can get hold of a copy.

- Tom

(Gustavo G. Rondina) wrote in message om...
Hi all

I am running Debian GNU/Linux Sid on a Pentium4 1.7GHz.

About a week ago it was installed on a Maxtor 30GB IDE HD, as
Secondary Master (hdc). A HP CD writer was set up as Primary Slave
(hdb). With some hours of use the HD and the CD-R led had turned on
and had stayed always on. A few seconds later the System had crashed.
This happened several times.

First I thought the problem was with the hard drive, so I installed
Debian on a Samsung 40gb and have set up as Primary Master (hda), with
the CD writer still as Primary Slave (hdb) and I removed the Maxtor
from the case (hdc).

The system was up and running, but I got this message a few hours
after installation:

hda: lost interruption

And then the System had crashed.

Later, the same problem that happened with the Maxtor started
happening with the Samsung: the led was turned on and never turned
off, followed by a system crash, solution: finger + reset button. This
happend about 3 or 4 times in 3 hours.

I belive the problem isn't with the HDs because both HDs showed the
same behavior, as well the CD writer, no matter where they was set up
(IDE bus 0 or 1). This facts made me believe to an IDE controller
problem, and this means the Motherboard is messed up. That's what I
think. I would like to know if anyone have some thought or
consideration on this issue that could help me. Is really my
motherboard messed up ?


Thanks all,
Gustavo

(Gustavo G. Rondina) wrote in message om...
Hi all

I am running Debian GNU/Linux Sid on a Pentium4 1.7GHz.

About a week ago it was installed on a Maxtor 30GB IDE HD, as
Secondary Master (hdc). A HP CD writer was set up as Primary Slave
(hdb). With some hours of use the HD and the CD-R led had turned on
and had stayed always on. A few seconds later the System had crashed.
This happened several times.

First I thought the problem was with the hard drive, so I installed
Debian on a Samsung 40gb and have set up as Primary Master (hda), with
the CD writer still as Primary Slave (hdb) and I removed the Maxtor
from the case (hdc).

The system was up and running, but I got this message a few hours
after installation:

hda: lost interruption

And then the System had crashed.

Later, the same problem that happened with the Maxtor started
happening with the Samsung: the led was turned on and never turned
off, followed by a system crash, solution: finger + reset button. This
happend about 3 or 4 times in 3 hours.

I belive the problem isn't with the HDs because both HDs showed the
same behavior, as well the CD writer, no matter where they was set up
(IDE bus 0 or 1). This facts made me believe to an IDE controller
problem, and this means the Motherboard is messed up. That's what I
think. I would like to know if anyone have some thought or
consideration on this issue that could help me. Is really my
motherboard messed up ?


Thanks all,
Gustavo

This sounds like a heat issue. It has several common symptoms: occurs
repeatedly, occurs after similar amounts of time, and all components
that usually fail have been eliminated as culprits.

So, if it is heat, you need to find out what is overheating. I guess
motherboard chipsets can overheat, since they come with heatsinks on
them. Check these for airflow, slap in another case fan, etc.

Then again, it might not be heat, but rather the motherboard itself.
But I don't think so.

Aaron

Ron Cook wrote in message ...

Ummm.. you're running Debian 'Sid'? You should be aware that it's a
development release and not considered 'stable'.

I'd suggest you try either Debian 'stable' or even something like a CD image
of Knoppix.
This should show you definitively whether your hardware is the problem.

I don't belive the problem lies on the Operating System. I have run
Debian on this box for about 4-5 months and have never had a problem
like this before.


Gustavo

(Tom) wrote in message . com...
Hi

I wouldn't say the problem is immediately to do with your disk
controller on the motherboard. I'd say the CD-R drive seems to be the
problem here. I know that to get CD-R drives working in Linux, it has
to use special SCSI emulation, which can be a bit of a pain to get
working on some distributions.

What I'd recommend here is to remove the CD-R drive, and see if your
problems go away. If they do, then check on the Debian website to see
if anyone else has had trouble with your CD-R drive, and, if so, any
ways to fix this.

If your problem remains, then I would say it is the controller on the
motherboard, OR, your distribution of Linux does not support your
controller properly. To check this, you might want to install a bog
standard OS like Windows 98 just to check the controller is OK, if you
have / can get hold of a copy.

- Tom

Tom, I am not emulating the CD-R, just left the default configuration
that makes the drive work as a regular IDE CD drive.

I've run Linux on this Box for about 1.5 year (Debian for about 5
months) and the driver have always worked properly, but I'll try
removing the CD-R, after all it is quite damn old HP 9100i that I
bought it in 1999 ...

Thanks
Gustavo