[gentoo-user] Re: testing SATA drives

[James <wireless@tampabay.rr.com>]

Timothy A. Holmes <tholmes <at> mcaschool.net> writes:
> I now want to test the drives (they are now blank except for
> the os) to see if the problem was with fedora and lvm (the old one) or
> if it is a physical or electrical problem with the disks.  The disks are
> SATA drives 2x 250gb -- I am not sure how to proceed and I googling has
> not been helpful -- it may be there, I just haven't found it.

We'll testing is a word that is 'wide open' for interpretation.

reformatting the drives, if practical is not a bad idea:
fdisk.... gparted.....

Other programs use numerous types of writes to essentially
blank the drivers so the old files cannot be recovered
(paranoid security measure)... It is also good,
again if you have the time and can erase the drives completely,
when weird issues arise. These (2) are extreme measure, but I 
have been successful in revitalizing drives by using extreme measures.
You may need to map out bad sectors several times to completely
repair a older drive. 

On the performance side of the drive issue
read about hdparm and all of the tests you can find. 

hdparm -i /dev/hda
hdparm -I /dev/hda

Then use  /etc/conf.d/hdparm to initialize the drives correctly:

Here's one of etc/conf.d/hdparm ; your will need to adjust per 
your drives:
<snip>
all_args="-d1"
hda_args="-d1 -u1 -c1 -a256"
<snip>

rc-update add hdparm default <to activate your custom drive
settings upon reboot.>


Also, your performance depends on the file system as well as
the hard drive's interface chip. Make sure you have the correct
IDE driver built into the kernel for optimum performance. 'dmesg'
is your friend.


Also, you can use 'bonnie' and 'bonnie++' to test the
performance of your drives.  It's a real time sink
using all of this stuff, but, you really get to know
your drives. This experience will be very valuable when
you go to purchase new hard drives. Separating fact
from hype.

 Also 'hddtemp' is a good tool for monitoring your drives' 
temperatures....  Hot equipment rarely performs optimally,
and often has flaky (inconsistent) performance.


There are many other tools and packages. Google and use
eix <keyword> to find things to try out.

hth,

James





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