Recovering from hard disk trouble

English Hardware
1

I ran into serious trouble when openSUSE running on a reliable desktop machine was halted for no reason. DVI output was halted too shutting down the monitor because of missing video signal. This behaviour was reproduced several times.

When booting the machine from openSUSE 13.1 netinstall everything was fine again. Two system partitions were verified using *fsck -f, *which succeeded for both of them. Running fsck on the home partition revealed an inconsistent file system and soon halted the system with symptoms described above reproducibly. When I tried smartctl -t long I reproducibly got the symptoms already described.

As a last resort I booted live openSUSE 13.2 and tried dd if=/dev/sda6 of=/dev/null bs=4M Obviously reading the whole partition put the disk back to normal and the fsck now succeeded. The machine now is back to normal. No events were logged in messages and even the S.M.A.R.T log is pretty normal, showing no entries for the few past days:


hofkirchen:~ # smartctl -x /dev/sda
smartctl 6.2 2013-07-26 r3841 [i686-linux-3.11.10-25-desktop] (SUSE RPM)
Copyright (C) 2002-13, Bruce Allen, Christian Franke, www.smartmontools.org

=== START OF INFORMATION SECTION ===
Model Family:     SAMSUNG SpinPoint F1 DT
Device Model:     SAMSUNG HD103UJ
Serial Number:    S13PJDWS158660
LU WWN Device Id: 5 0000f0 000ee4e0b
Firmware Version: 1AA01113
User Capacity:    1,000,203,804,160 bytes [1.00 TB]
Sector Size:      512 bytes logical/physical
Device is:        In smartctl database [for details use: -P show]
ATA Version is:   ATA/ATAPI-7, ATA8-ACS T13/1699-D revision 3b
Local Time is:    Sun Dec 28 17:03:46 2014 CET
SMART support is: Available - device has SMART capability.
SMART support is: Enabled
AAM feature is:   Disabled
APM feature is:   Disabled
Rd look-ahead is: Enabled
Write cache is:   Enabled
ATA Security is:  Disabled, NOT FROZEN [SEC1]
Wt Cache Reorder: Enabled

=== START OF READ SMART DATA SECTION ===
SMART overall-health self-assessment test result: PASSED

General SMART Values:
Offline data collection status:  (0x00) Offline data collection activity
                                        was never started.
                                        Auto Offline Data Collection: Disabled.
Self-test execution status:      (   0) The previous self-test routine completed
                                        without error or no self-test has ever 
                                        been run.
Total time to complete Offline 
data collection:                (12507) seconds.
Offline data collection
capabilities:                    (0x7b) SMART execute Offline immediate.
                                        Auto Offline data collection on/off support.
                                        Suspend Offline collection upon new
                                        command.
                                        Offline surface scan supported.
                                        Self-test supported.
                                        Conveyance Self-test supported.
                                        Selective Self-test supported.
SMART capabilities:            (0x0003) Saves SMART data before entering
                                        power-saving mode.
                                        Supports SMART auto save timer.
Error logging capability:        (0x01) Error logging supported.
                                        General Purpose Logging supported.
Short self-test routine 
recommended polling time:        (   2) minutes.
Extended self-test routine
recommended polling time:        ( 209) minutes.
Conveyance self-test routine
recommended polling time:        (  22) minutes.
SCT capabilities:              (0x003f) SCT Status supported.
                                        SCT Error Recovery Control supported.
                                        SCT Feature Control supported.
                                        SCT Data Table supported.

SMART Attributes Data Structure revision number: 16
Vendor Specific SMART Attributes with Thresholds:
ID# ATTRIBUTE_NAME          FLAGS    VALUE WORST THRESH FAIL RAW_VALUE
  1 Raw_Read_Error_Rate     POSR--   100   100   051    -    0
  3 Spin_Up_Time            POS---   077   077   011    -    7670
  4 Start_Stop_Count        -O--CK   099   099   000    -    575
  5 Reallocated_Sector_Ct   PO--CK   100   100   010    -    0
  7 Seek_Error_Rate         POSR--   100   100   051    -    0
  8 Seek_Time_Performance   P-S--K   100   100   015    -    10377
  9 Power_On_Hours          -O--CK   094   094   000    -    30921
 10 Spin_Retry_Count        PO--CK   100   100   051    -    0
 11 Calibration_Retry_Count -O--C-   100   100   000    -    0
 12 Power_Cycle_Count       -O--CK   099   099   000    -    575
 13 Read_Soft_Error_Rate    -OSR--   100   100   000    -    0
183 Runtime_Bad_Block       -O--CK   100   100   000    -    0
184 End-to-End_Error        PO--CK   100   100   000    -    0
187 Reported_Uncorrect      -O--CK   100   100   000    -    0
188 Command_Timeout         -O--CK   100   100   000    -    0
190 Airflow_Temperature_Cel -O---K   062   059   000    -    38 (Min/Max 34/40)
194 Temperature_Celsius     -O---K   062   057   000    -    38 (Min/Max 33/42)
195 Hardware_ECC_Recovered  -O-RC-   100   100   000    -    73423112
196 Reallocated_Event_Count -O--CK   100   100   000    -    0
197 Current_Pending_Sector  -O--C-   100   100   000    -    0
198 Offline_Uncorrectable   ----CK   100   100   000    -    0
199 UDMA_CRC_Error_Count    -OSRCK   100   100   000    -    5
200 Multi_Zone_Error_Rate   -O-R--   100   100   000    -    0
201 Soft_Read_Error_Rate    -O-R--   100   100   000    -    0
                            ||||||_ K auto-keep
                            |||||__ C event count
                            ||||___ R error rate
                            |||____ S speed/performance
                            ||_____ O updated online
                            |______ P prefailure warning

General Purpose Log Directory Version 1
SMART           Log Directory Version 1 [multi-sector log support]
Address    Access  R/W   Size  Description
0x00       GPL,SL  R/O      1  Log Directory
0x01           SL  R/O      1  Summary SMART error log
0x02           SL  R/O      2  Comprehensive SMART error log
0x03       GPL     R/O      2  Ext. Comprehensive SMART error log
0x04       GPL     R/O      2  Device Statistics log
0x06           SL  R/O      1  SMART self-test log
0x07       GPL     R/O      2  Extended self-test log
0x09           SL  R/W      1  Selective self-test log
0x10       GPL     R/O      1  NCQ Command Error log
0x11       GPL     R/O      1  SATA Phy Event Counters
0x21       GPL     R/O      2  Write stream error log
0x22       GPL     R/O      2  Read stream error log
0x80-0x9f  GPL,SL  R/W     16  Host vendor specific log
0xe0       GPL,SL  R/W      1  SCT Command/Status
0xe1       GPL,SL  R/W      1  SCT Data Transfer

SMART Extended Comprehensive Error Log Version: 1 (2 sectors)
Device Error Count: 8
        CR     = Command Register
        FEATR  = Features Register
        COUNT  = Count (was: Sector Count) Register
        LBA_48 = Upper bytes of LBA High/Mid/Low Registers ]  ATA-8
        LH     = LBA High (was: Cylinder High) Register    ]   LBA
        LM     = LBA Mid (was: Cylinder Low) Register      ] Register
        LL     = LBA Low (was: Sector Number) Register     ]
        DV     = Device (was: Device/Head) Register
        DC     = Device Control Register
        ER     = Error register
        ST     = Status register
Powered_Up_Time is measured from power on, and printed as
DDd+hh:mm:SS.sss where DD=days, hh=hours, mm=minutes,
SS=sec, and sss=millisec. It "wraps" after 49.710 days.

Error 8 [7] occurred at disk power-on lifetime: 29566 hours (1231 days + 22 hours)
  When the command that caused the error occurred, the device was active or idle.

Some errors omitted, too big ... 

SMART Extended Self-test Log Version: 1 (2 sectors)
Num  Test_Description    Status                  Remaining  LifeTime(hours)  LBA_of_first_error
# 1  Extended offline    Completed without error       00%     30885         -
# 2  Extended offline    Interrupted (host reset)      80%     30876         -
# 3  Extended offline    Completed without error       70%     30875         -
# 4  Extended offline    Completed without error       00%     30487         -
# 5  Extended offline    Completed without error       00%     26724         -
# 6  Conveyance offline  Completed without error       00%     14557         -
# 7  Extended offline    Completed without error       00%     12580         -
# 8  Extended offline    Completed without error       00%      9253         -
# 9  Extended offline    Aborted by host               90%      9249         -
#10  Extended offline    Completed without error       00%      7494         -
#11  Extended offline    Completed without error       00%      2803         -
#12  Extended offline    Completed without error       00%      1499         -
#13  Extended offline    Completed without error       00%       644         -
#14  Extended offline    Completed without error       00%        13         -

SMART Selective self-test log data structure revision number 1
 SPAN  MIN_LBA  MAX_LBA  CURRENT_TEST_STATUS
    1        0        0  Not_testing
    2        0        0  Not_testing
    3        0        0  Not_testing
    4        0        0  Not_testing
    5        0        0  Not_testing
Selective self-test flags (0x0):
  After scanning selected spans, do NOT read-scan remainder of disk.
If Selective self-test is pending on power-up, resume after 0 minute delay.

SCT Status Version:                  2
SCT Version (vendor specific):       256 (0x0100)
SCT Support Level:                   1
Device State:                        Active (0)
Current Temperature:                 38 Celsius
Power Cycle Max Temperature:         43 Celsius
Lifetime    Max Temperature:         43 Celsius
SCT Temperature History Version:     2
Temperature Sampling Period:         1 minute
Temperature Logging Interval:        1 minute
Min/Max recommended Temperature:     -4/72 Celsius
Min/Max Temperature Limit:           -9/77 Celsius
Temperature History Size (Index):    128 (81)

Index    Estimated Time   Temperature Celsius
  82    2014-12-28 14:56    39  ********************
 ...    ..( 99 skipped).    ..  ********************
  54    2014-12-28 16:36    39  ********************
  55    2014-12-28 16:37    38  *******************
  56    2014-12-28 16:38    39  ********************
  57    2014-12-28 16:39    39  ********************
  58    2014-12-28 16:40    38  *******************
  59    2014-12-28 16:41    39  ********************
  60    2014-12-28 16:42    38  *******************
  61    2014-12-28 16:43    39  ********************
  62    2014-12-28 16:44    38  *******************
 ...    ..( 18 skipped).    ..  *******************
  81    2014-12-28 17:03    38  *******************

SCT Error Recovery Control:
           Read: Disabled
          Write: Disabled

ATA_READ_LOG_EXT (addr=0x04:0x00, page=0, n=1) failed: scsi error aborted command
Read Device Statistics page 0 failed

SATA Phy Event Counters (GP Log 0x11)
ID      Size     Value  Description
0x000a  2           48  Device-to-host register FISes sent due to a COMRESET
0x0001  2            1  Command failed due to ICRC error
0x0002  2            0  R_ERR response for data FIS
0x0003  2            0  R_ERR response for device-to-host data FIS
0x0004  2            0  R_ERR response for host-to-device data FIS
0x0005  2            0  R_ERR response for non-data FIS
0x0006  2            0  R_ERR response for device-to-host non-data FIS
0x0007  2            0  R_ERR response for host-to-device non-data FIS
0x0008  2            0  Device-to-host non-data FIS retries
0x0009  2           49  Transition from drive PhyRdy to drive PhyNRdy
0x000b  2            0  CRC errors within host-to-device FIS
0x000d  2            0  Non-CRC errors within host-to-device FIS
0x000f  2            0  R_ERR response for host-to-device data FIS, CRC
0x0010  2            0  R_ERR response for host-to-device data FIS, non-CRC
0x0012  2            0  R_ERR response for host-to-device non-data FIS, CRC
0x0013  2            0  R_ERR response for host-to-device non-data FIS, non-CRC

hofkirchen:~ #

Is there some more reliable option to use when recovering from disk trouble in case this happens again?

2

On 2014-12-28 17:16, karlmistelberger wrote:

> Code:
> --------------------

> ID# ATTRIBUTE_NAME FLAGS VALUE WORST THRESH FAIL RAW

> 9 Power_On_Hours -O–CK 094 094 000 - 30921

The disk is old.

> Error 8 [7] occurred at disk power-on lifetime: 29566 hours (1231 days + 22 hours)
> When the command that caused the error occurred, the device was active or idle.
>
> Some errors omitted, too big …

Well, there is evidence of (unknown) problems there.

> SMART Extended Self-test Log Version: 1 (2 sectors)
> Num Test_Description Status Remaining LifeTime(hours) LBA_of_first_error
> # 1 Extended offline Completed without error 00% 30885 -

This is good.

> --------------------
> Is there some more reliable option to use when recovering from disk
> trouble in case this happens again?

Keep backups and spares… your disk is old.

–
Cheers / Saludos,

Carlos E. R.
(from 13.1 x86_64 “Bottle” at Telcontar)

3

That’s the error section omitted above. Nothing special there.

Error 8 [7] occurred at disk power-on lifetime: 29566 hours (1231 days + 22 hours)
  When the command that caused the error occurred, the device was active or idle.

  After command completion occurred, registers were:
  ER -- ST COUNT  LBA_48  LH LM LL DV DC
  -- -- -- == -- == == == -- -- -- -- --
  00 -- 48 00 03 00 00 08 80 24 ac 40 00   at LBA = 0x088024ac = 142615724

  Commands leading to the command that caused the error were:
  CR FEATR COUNT  LBA_48  LH LM LL DV DC  Powered_Up_Time  Command/Feature_Name
  -- == -- == -- == == == -- -- -- -- --  ---------------  --------------------
  61 00 00 00 18 00 00 00 80 24 97 40 00     00:03:01.380  WRITE FPDMA QUEUED
  61 00 00 00 10 00 00 00 80 24 b7 40 00     00:03:01.380  WRITE FPDMA QUEUED
  61 00 00 00 08 00 00 00 80 25 1f 40 00     00:03:01.380  WRITE FPDMA QUEUED
  61 00 00 00 08 00 00 00 80 25 97 40 00     00:03:01.380  WRITE FPDMA QUEUED
  61 00 00 00 08 00 00 00 80 25 a7 40 00     00:03:01.370  WRITE FPDMA QUEUED

Error 7 [6] occurred at disk power-on lifetime: 28055 hours (1168 days + 23 hours)
  When the command that caused the error occurred, the device was active or idle.

  After command completion occurred, registers were:
  ER -- ST COUNT  LBA_48  LH LM LL DV DC
  -- -- -- == -- == == == -- -- -- -- --
  00 -- 48 00 7c 00 00 40 b4 5b f4 40 00   at LBA = 0x40b45bf4 = 1085561844

  Commands leading to the command that caused the error were:
  CR FEATR COUNT  LBA_48  LH LM LL DV DC  Powered_Up_Time  Command/Feature_Name
  -- == -- == -- == == == -- -- -- -- --  ---------------  --------------------
  61 00 00 00 88 00 00 00 b4 5b e8 40 00     00:06:49.280  WRITE FPDMA QUEUED
  61 00 00 00 38 00 00 00 b4 97 40 40 00     00:06:49.280  WRITE FPDMA QUEUED
  61 00 00 00 08 00 00 00 b4 8f b8 40 00     00:06:49.280  WRITE FPDMA QUEUED
  61 00 00 00 88 00 00 00 00 eb 08 40 00     00:06:49.280  WRITE FPDMA QUEUED
  61 00 00 01 00 00 00 00 00 b2 08 40 00     00:06:49.280  WRITE FPDMA QUEUED

Error 6 [5] occurred at disk power-on lifetime: 24196 hours (1008 days + 4 hours)
  When the command that caused the error occurred, the device was active or idle.

  After command completion occurred, registers were:
  ER -- ST COUNT  LBA_48  LH LM LL DV DC
  -- -- -- == -- == == == -- -- -- -- --
  00 -- 48 01 bd 00 00 0b e7 45 f0 40 00   at LBA = 0x0be745f0 = 199706096

  Commands leading to the command that caused the error were:
  CR FEATR COUNT  LBA_48  LH LM LL DV DC  Powered_Up_Time  Command/Feature_Name
  -- == -- == -- == == == -- -- -- -- --  ---------------  --------------------
  61 00 00 00 48 00 00 00 e7 77 d5 40 00     00:02:11.780  WRITE FPDMA QUEUED
  61 00 00 01 98 00 00 00 e7 76 15 40 00     00:02:11.780  WRITE FPDMA QUEUED
  61 00 00 00 b8 00 00 00 e7 73 55 40 00     00:02:11.770  WRITE FPDMA QUEUED
  61 00 00 01 a0 00 00 00 e7 5b d5 40 00     00:02:11.770  WRITE FPDMA QUEUED
  61 00 00 04 00 00 00 00 e7 57 d5 40 00     00:02:11.770  WRITE FPDMA QUEUED

Error 5 [4] occurred at disk power-on lifetime: 10112 hours (421 days + 8 hours)
  When the command that caused the error occurred, the device was active or idle.

  After command completion occurred, registers were:
  ER -- ST COUNT  LBA_48  LH LM LL DV DC
  -- -- -- == -- == == == -- -- -- -- --
  00 -- 48 00 88 00 00 40 b4 40 d0 40 00   at LBA = 0x40b440d0 = 1085554896

  Commands leading to the command that caused the error were:
  CR FEATR COUNT  LBA_48  LH LM LL DV DC  Powered_Up_Time  Command/Feature_Name
  -- == -- == -- == == == -- -- -- -- --  ---------------  --------------------
  60 00 00 00 20 00 00 00 d7 56 57 40 00     00:01:32.200  READ FPDMA QUEUED
  61 00 00 03 18 00 00 00 b4 3e 40 40 00     00:01:32.200  WRITE FPDMA QUEUED
  60 00 00 00 08 00 00 00 62 53 f8 40 00     00:01:32.200  READ FPDMA QUEUED
  60 00 00 00 28 00 00 00 d7 57 9f 40 00     00:01:32.200  READ FPDMA QUEUED
  60 00 00 00 08 00 00 00 62 53 f0 40 00     00:01:32.200  READ FPDMA QUEUED

Error 4 [3] occurred at disk power-on lifetime: 5424 hours (226 days + 0 hours)
  When the command that caused the error occurred, the device was active or idle.

  After command completion occurred, registers were:
  ER -- ST COUNT  LBA_48  LH LM LL DV DC
  -- -- -- == -- == == == -- -- -- -- --
  00 -- 48 00 2c 00 00 05 66 22 fb 40 00   at LBA = 0x056622fb = 90579707

  Commands leading to the command that caused the error were:
  CR FEATR COUNT  LBA_48  LH LM LL DV DC  Powered_Up_Time  Command/Feature_Name
  -- == -- == -- == == == -- -- -- -- --  ---------------  --------------------
  61 00 00 00 50 00 00 00 52 f2 b7 40 00     00:02:07.510  WRITE FPDMA QUEUED
  61 00 00 01 a0 00 00 00 66 30 3f 40 00     00:02:07.510  WRITE FPDMA QUEUED
  61 00 00 00 88 00 00 00 66 2f b7 40 00     00:02:07.500  WRITE FPDMA QUEUED
  61 00 00 05 40 00 00 00 66 2a 77 40 00     00:02:07.500  WRITE FPDMA QUEUED
  61 00 00 00 a0 00 00 00 52 f2 17 40 00     00:02:07.500  WRITE FPDMA QUEUED

Error 3 [2] occurred at disk power-on lifetime: 919 hours (38 days + 7 hours)
  When the command that caused the error occurred, the device was active or idle.

  After command completion occurred, registers were:
  ER -- ST COUNT  LBA_48  LH LM LL DV DC
  -- -- -- == -- == == == -- -- -- -- --
  00 -- c0 00 a0 00 00 07 58 38 6f 40 00   at LBA = 0x0758386f = 123222127

  Commands leading to the command that caused the error were:
  CR FEATR COUNT  LBA_48  LH LM LL DV DC  Powered_Up_Time  Command/Feature_Name
  -- == -- == -- == == == -- -- -- -- --  ---------------  --------------------
  60 00 00 00 08 00 00 00 47 93 a7 40 00     00:00:41.590  READ FPDMA QUEUED
  61 00 00 00 98 00 00 00 58 39 0f 40 00     00:00:41.590  WRITE FPDMA QUEUED
  61 00 00 04 00 00 00 00 58 35 0f 40 00     00:00:41.590  WRITE FPDMA QUEUED
  61 00 00 00 30 00 00 00 58 34 d7 40 00     00:00:41.590  WRITE FPDMA QUEUED
  60 00 00 00 08 00 00 00 4a 42 2f 40 00     00:00:41.590  READ FPDMA QUEUED

Error 2 [1] occurred at disk power-on lifetime: 720 hours (30 days + 0 hours)
  When the command that caused the error occurred, the device was active or idle.

  After command completion occurred, registers were:
  ER -- ST COUNT  LBA_48  LH LM LL DV DC
  -- -- -- == -- == == == -- -- -- -- --
  00 -- 48 00 05 00 00 0a 04 2a c2 40 00   at LBA = 0x0a042ac2 = 168045250

  Commands leading to the command that caused the error were:
  CR FEATR COUNT  LBA_48  LH LM LL DV DC  Powered_Up_Time  Command/Feature_Name
  -- == -- == -- == == == -- -- -- -- --  ---------------  --------------------
  61 00 00 00 08 00 00 00 24 25 af 40 00     00:03:09.410  WRITE FPDMA QUEUED
  61 00 00 00 18 00 00 00 24 24 af 40 00     00:03:09.410  WRITE FPDMA QUEUED
  61 00 00 00 08 00 00 00 1c 25 ff 40 00     00:03:09.410  WRITE FPDMA QUEUED
  61 00 00 00 08 00 00 00 1c 25 67 40 00     00:03:09.410  WRITE FPDMA QUEUED
  61 00 00 00 08 00 00 00 10 25 97 40 00     00:03:09.400  WRITE FPDMA QUEUED

Error 1 [0] occurred at disk power-on lifetime: 150 hours (6 days + 6 hours)
  When the command that caused the error occurred, the device was active or idle.

  After command completion occurred, registers were:
  ER -- ST COUNT  LBA_48  LH LM LL DV DC
  -- -- -- == -- == == == -- -- -- -- --
  00 -- 48 01 b0 00 00 07 58 a9 df 40 00   at LBA = 0x0758a9df = 123251167

  Commands leading to the command that caused the error were:
  CR FEATR COUNT  LBA_48  LH LM LL DV DC  Powered_Up_Time  Command/Feature_Name
  -- == -- == -- == == == -- -- -- -- --  ---------------  --------------------
  60 00 00 00 20 00 00 00 63 52 c7 40 00     00:01:27.260  READ FPDMA QUEUED
  60 00 00 00 08 00 00 00 50 2b 77 40 00     00:01:27.260  READ FPDMA QUEUED
  60 00 00 00 f0 00 00 00 dd a9 6f 40 00     00:01:27.250  READ FPDMA QUEUED
  61 00 00 03 80 00 00 00 58 a8 0f 40 00     00:01:27.250  WRITE FPDMA QUEUED
  61 00 00 04 00 00 00 00 58 a4 0f 40 00     00:01:27.250  WRITE FPDMA QUEUED
4

On 2014-12-28 18:56, karlmistelberger wrote:

> That’s the error section omitted above. Nothing special there.

Mmm.
But I’m unable to interpret those logs, sorry.

I did not ask for you to post them, perhaps I did not explain myself
correctly. I simply noticed that the disk did report recent errors of
some kind. Maybe somebody else can tell what they are.

The error #8 is quite recent, happened at 29566 hours. The disk has
30921 hours, so maybe it is not relevant to your recent trouble, not
recent enough.

–
Cheers / Saludos,

Carlos E. R.
(from 13.1 x86_64 “Bottle” at Telcontar)

5

Problem could be in the disk’s onboard circuitry, which would not necessarily show up in the normally available disk tests on disks from the last decade.

I think, as Carlos indicated, that you should keep good backups handy, and backup frequently now. There is a good chance your disk may fail soon, and in some disk onboard breadboards, it could just disappear completely without warning.

SMART does not even detect nor record that event.

6

Backups are:

  • WD Elements Desktop 640GB USB 2.0 3.5", bought in 2009 with unknown but presumably few Power_On_Hours
  • WD Elements Portable 1TB USB 3.0 2.5", bought in May 2014
  • rsync -a is used for synchronizing two boxes and both external disks

The current system was assembled in 2009 and has some 4 years uptime. I never needed to reboot the machine and it never went down by itself. However its GA-MA78G-DS3H has some issue with USB. Plugging in the 3.5" WD needed to be done by first connecting USB and then the power cable. Connecting the USB cable with the powered up disk would return the box to BIOS, but never caused any damage to the built in disk. Connecting the 2.5" disk to USB was found to be safe until Dec, 26, when attaching it halted the system and left the internal disk damaged.

7

… sounds good.:wink:

8

On 2014-12-30 09:36, Fraser Bell wrote:
>
> karlmistelberger;2685942 Wrote:
>> Backups are:
>>
>> - WD Elements Desktop 640GB USB 2.0 3.5", bought in 2009 with unknown
>> but presumably few Power_On_Hours
>> - WD Elements Portable 1TB USB 3.0 2.5", bought in May 2014
>> - rsync -a is used for synchronizing two boxes and both external disks
>>
>> The current system was assembled in 2009 and has some 4 years uptime. I
>> never needed to reboot the machine and it never went down by itself.
>> However its GA-MA78G-DS3H has some issue with USB. Plugging in the 3.5"
>> WD needed to be done by first connecting USB and then the power cable.
>> Connecting the USB cable with the powered up disk would return the box
>> to BIOS, but never caused any damage to the built in disk. Connecting
>> the 2.5" disk to USB was found to be safe until Dec, 26, when attaching
>> it halted the system and left the internal disk damaged.
>
> … sounds good.:wink:

LOL.

Check the ground connection. Not visually, but with testers. If you
don’t know how, hire an electrician.

I know how, but as playing with mains is dangerous, I will not explain.

–
Cheers / Saludos,

Carlos E. R.
(from 13.1 x86_64 “Bottle” at Telcontar)

9

Both ground and RCD have been tested. The PC plugs into the same receptacle as the router, which is always on since 2009 and never had any problems.

Overnight I had some heavy testing, with no SMART events and nothing in /var/log/messages. But I failed to have some global comparison.

10

On 2014-12-31 11:26, karlmistelberger wrote:
>
> robin_listas;2686010 Wrote:
>> Check the ground connection. Not visually, but with testers. If you
>> don’t know how, hire an electrician. I know how, but as playing with
>> mains is dangerous, I will not explain.Both ground and RCD have been tested. The PC plugs into the same
> receptacle as the router, which is always on since 2009 and never had
> any problems.

The problem I’m thinking of is that the house ground connection is not
really “grounded”. In this case, some computer power supplies push a
voltage on the ground connector that can not dissipate to ground, and
appears on the ground connections of other devices on the same circuit
or even the house.

This happened to me. Mains here is 220, and the ground circuit at the
place I was working at we found later that had half that voltage, 110.
We found out after connecting a parallel printer port cable between
printer and computer, and I noticed a small spark. Then I measured and
found out the problem, but the computer port was destroyed.

If the leak is not that dramatic, it can cause devices to fail, without
destruction.

The RCD would not necessarily detect this fault.

–
Cheers / Saludos,

Carlos E. R.
(from 13.1 x86_64 “Bottle” at Telcontar)