From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Received: from lists.gentoo.org ([140.105.134.102] helo=robin.gentoo.org) by nuthatch.gentoo.org with esmtp (Exim 4.60) (envelope-from ) id 1G9348-00027A-Uh for garchives@archives.gentoo.org; Fri, 04 Aug 2006 17:02:29 +0000 Received: from robin.gentoo.org (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by robin.gentoo.org (8.13.7/8.13.6) with SMTP id k74Gxvn1001442; Fri, 4 Aug 2006 16:59:57 GMT Received: from smtp.gentoo.org (smtp.gentoo.org [140.211.166.183]) by robin.gentoo.org (8.13.7/8.13.6) with ESMTP id k74GvsDw011157 for ; Fri, 4 Aug 2006 16:57:54 GMT Received: from localhost (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by smtp.gentoo.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id A9503649F5 for ; Fri, 4 Aug 2006 16:57:53 +0000 (UTC) Received: from smtp.gentoo.org ([127.0.0.1]) by localhost (smtp.gentoo.org [127.0.0.1]) (amavisd-new, port 10024) with ESMTP id 32560-21-2 for ; Fri, 4 Aug 2006 16:57:52 +0000 (UTC) Received: from ciao.gmane.org (main.gmane.org [80.91.229.2]) (using TLSv1 with cipher AES256-SHA (256/256 bits)) (No client certificate requested) by smtp.gentoo.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 6499B64A17 for ; Fri, 4 Aug 2006 16:57:49 +0000 (UTC) Received: from list by ciao.gmane.org with local (Exim 4.43) id 1G92zH-0004l3-O6 for gentoo-user@gentoo.org; Fri, 04 Aug 2006 18:57:27 +0200 Received: from www.buffer.net ([24.73.161.102]) by main.gmane.org with esmtp (Gmexim 0.1 (Debian)) id 1AlnuQ-0007hv-00 for ; Fri, 04 Aug 2006 18:57:27 +0200 Received: from wireless by www.buffer.net with local (Gmexim 0.1 (Debian)) id 1AlnuQ-0007hv-00 for ; Fri, 04 Aug 2006 18:57:27 +0200 X-Injected-Via-Gmane: http://gmane.org/ To: gentoo-user@lists.gentoo.org From: James Subject: [gentoo-user] Re: testing SATA drives Date: Fri, 4 Aug 2006 16:57:21 +0000 (UTC) Message-ID: References: <17CD9CE4C0FA574A8B29EF02D49B385D0F5681@srvexch-01.mcaschool.local> Precedence: bulk List-Post: List-Help: List-Unsubscribe: List-Subscribe: List-Id: Gentoo Linux mail X-BeenThere: gentoo-user@gentoo.org Reply-to: gentoo-user@lists.gentoo.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Complaints-To: usenet@sea.gmane.org X-Gmane-NNTP-Posting-Host: main.gmane.org User-Agent: Loom/3.14 (http://gmane.org/) X-Loom-IP: 24.73.161.102 (Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux i686; en-US; rv:1.7.13) Gecko/20060616) Sender: news X-Virus-Scanned: amavisd-new at gentoo.org X-Spam-Status: No, score=-2.498 required=5.5 tests=[AWL=-0.053, BAYES_00=-2.599, TW_HD=0.077, TW_LV=0.077] X-Spam-Score: -2.498 X-Spam-Level: X-Archives-Salt: e0c22887-5690-4593-8573-a5b38c0c2125 X-Archives-Hash: 9e8d0dfb34fdde02cec2cd578e366605 Timothy A. Holmes 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: all_args="-d1" hda_args="-d1 -u1 -c1 -a256" rc-update add hdparm default 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 to find things to try out. hth, James -- gentoo-user@gentoo.org mailing list