[comp.unix.i386] Disk error question

marc@dumbcat.sf.ca.us (Marco S Hyman) (08/20/90)

Since adding a second SCSI disk to my ISA box, a second Seagate ST-296N,
I've been getting occasional error message like:

*** DEVICE ERROR: Uncorrectable data error in sector ***
*** Controller 0 (Adaptec AHA-1540 SCSI Host Adapter), DISK Drive 1, Absolute Sector # 40205 ***

*** DEVICE ERROR: Uncorrectable data error in sector ***
*** Controller 0 (Adaptec AHA-1540 SCSI Host Adapter), DISK Drive 0, Absolute Sector # 15201 ***

The interesting part is that the errors are on BOTH disks (drive 0 never
gave me any problems before adding drive 1) and that the disks format and
surface scan without error.  I expect this is really a controller problem.
Has anyone on the net seen anything like this before?  (The data read is
usually GOOD!  However, I have had a couple of kernel panics due to this
error).

Note: I am *not* running sync or parity and my AH-1542A is old enough to
have J8, the LA enable jumper.  
No Panic

Thanks for any comments.

// marc
-- 
// marc@dumbcat.sf.ca.us
// {ames,decwrl,sun}!pacbell!dumbcat!marc

carroll@m.cs.uiuc.edu (08/21/90)

/* Written 11:34 pm  Aug 19, 1990 by marc@dumbcat.sf.ca.us in m.cs.uiuc.edu:comp.unix.i386 */
/* ---------- "Disk error question" ---------- */
Since adding a second SCSI disk to my ISA box, a second Seagate ST-296N,
I've been getting occasional error message like:

*** DEVICE ERROR: Uncorrectable data error in sector ***
*** Controller 0 (Adaptec AHA-1540 SCSI Host Adapter), DISK Drive 1, Absolute Sector # 40205 ***

*** DEVICE ERROR: Uncorrectable data error in sector ***
*** Controller 0 (Adaptec AHA-1540 SCSI Host Adapter), DISK Drive 0, Absolute Sector # 15201 ***

/* End of text from m.cs.uiuc.edu:comp.unix.i386 */
I've had something very similar to this happen to me. ISC 2.0.2, Adaptec 1542
SCSI, Maxtor drive. I would get the error in different sectors as time went
on (i.e., sector X for a while, then sector Y for a while, etc.). Sometimes
the sector would not be any sector on the disk, e.g. a sector number in the
millions (for a 330 meg disk)! I eventually tracked the original sector number
down a particular file. I deleted the file, rebooted, and it's been fine
every since. As with you, surface scans/etc. indicated no problems.

larry@nstar.uucp (Larry Snyder) (08/26/90)

marc@dumbcat.sf.ca.us (Marco S Hyman) writes:

>*** DEVICE ERROR: Uncorrectable data error in sector ***
>*** Controller 0 (Adaptec AHA-1540 SCSI Host Adapter), DISK Drive 1, Absolute Sector # 40205 ***

>*** DEVICE ERROR: Uncorrectable data error in sector ***
>*** Controller 0 (Adaptec AHA-1540 SCSI Host Adapter), DISK Drive 0, Absolute Sector # 15201 ***

Is it possible that your hard drive doesn't default to enabling the
automatic hard disk bad sector relocation?  I had a Miniscibe 9380S
which defaulted with this off which produced errors - as Miniscribe
in all their wisdom considered this to be enabled in the driver - not
in the drives firmware..

-- 
      Larry Snyder, Northern Star Communications, Notre Dame, IN USA 
            uucp: iuvax!ndmath!nstar!larry  -or-  larry@nstar
     Public Access Unix Site (219) 289-0282 (5 lines/PEP/HST/Hayes-V)

marc@dumbcat.sf.ca.us (Marco S Hyman) (08/29/90)

Thanks to Larry and all the others who offered help via email.  I do not
know the cause of the problem but am suspicious of heat -- it's hot in this
room and adding the second drive didn't help matters there.

To solve the problem I booted from a DOS diskette, went into debug, and then
jumped to the format/scan section of the Adaptec BIOS (dc00:6 if I recall
correctly).  Doing a scan/verify found recoverable errors that the BIOS
re-mapped to a different sector.  I continued the scans until no errors were
found three scans in a row.  This took about 10 scans on one disk and 20 on
the other.  Most scans found 2-5 bad sectors.

The only hard part is finding what files were destroyed in the remapping so
I could restore them from backups.  I'll probably be finding them for a few
more weeks.

Thanks again for everyone's help.

// marc
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// marc@dumbcat.sf.ca.us
// {ames,decwrl,sun}!pacbell!dumbcat!marc