[comp.unix.sysv386] Drive errors on Interactive 2.2 UNIX...

howardl@wb3ffv.ampr.org ( WB3FFV) (09/29/90)

   Hello All,

I am running into a really big problem here at my site with the new 2.2
release from Interactive, and wanted to see if anybody has any ideas, or
at least has experienced the same thing.

I am now getting the folowing errors from my harddisk:

Aug 15 10:29:10 wb3ffv unix: *** DEVICE ERROR: Sector not found ***
Aug 15 10:29:11 wb3ffv unix: *** Controller 0 (Primary AT Hard Disk), DISK Drive 0, Absolute Sector # 1281499 ***
Aug 15 10:29:11 wb3ffv unix: *** DEVICE ERROR: Sector not found ***
Aug 15 10:29:11 wb3ffv unix: *** Controller 0 (Primary AT Hard Disk), DISK Drive 0, Absolute Sector # 1292631 ***
Aug 15 10:29:11 wb3ffv unix: *** DEVICE ERROR: Sector not found ***
Aug 15 10:29:11 wb3ffv unix: *** Controller 0 (Primary AT Hard Disk), DISK Drive 0, Absolute Sector # 1292654 ***


I received this error message a while back and my machine finally died, so I
started doing some testing.  To my suprise I found that it was only one of
the four diffent file systems on the machine (/usr/spool), and that if I 
unmounted the file system all would be OK. (At least this allowed me to
make a good backup set of everything but /usr/spool)  Well I reformated my
harddisk and ran diagnostics for quite a while and the drive and controller
seemed OK.  For the sake of information the Drive is a Miniscribe 9780e
which is attached to a DPT SmartCache controller.  At this point I then 
reloaded my Interactive 2.2 release, restored the backup and all proceeded
as normal.  Now it is about 1-2 months later and the problem is starting 
all over again :-( ;-(  Before Interactive 2.2 I was using AT&T V/386 
release 3.2 with out a single problem, but I wanted X11 and TCP/IP, and the
improved file system was a very nice idea.  I had run the AT&T release
for well over a year with no trouble. Well to see if it made any difference
I loaded the Interactive 2.2 release on another machine that was running
a WesternDigital 1006 controller with a Maxxtor 1140 drive, and after a 
couple weeks of running it is now showing the same *** Sector not found
problem.  Now I find it really hard to believe that I have two different
386 machines that were running perfectly fine with AT&T UNIX, and after
switching to Interactive 2.2 the harddisk/controllers have both failed.

If anybody has any comments, suggestions, ideas, etc... please let me
know as this is a really serious problem in my book! Also if any other
users are experiencing the same thing let me know so I can jump on 
Interactives can about the problem (if that will do any good :-).  I am
very worried as I have recently sold Interactive to several customers, 
and I don't even want to think of what is going to happen if their 
systems start crashing all over the place do to a file system bug...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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cpcahil@virtech.uucp (Conor P. Cahill) (09/29/90)

In article <3706@wb3ffv.ampr.org> howardl@wb3ffv.ampr.org ( WB3FFV) writes:
>
>seemed OK.  For the sake of information the Drive is a Miniscribe 9780e
>which is attached to a DPT SmartCache controller.  At this point I then 

I have been running ISC UNIX 2.2 for about 4 months on a DPT ESDI controller
with a pair of CDC Wrens (676MB) with no disk related problems.  The system
is up 24 hrs a day 7 days a week.

>reloaded my Interactive 2.2 release, restored the backup and all proceeded
>as normal.  Now it is about 1-2 months later and the problem is starting 
>all over again :-( ;-(

Have you tried mapping out the bad blocks?  That sounds like a good idea.

If the number of bad blocks is growing, I would guess that your disk 
drive has some marginal problem that gets worse over time.


-- 
Conor P. Cahill            (703)430-9247        Virtual Technologies, Inc.,
uunet!virtech!cpcahil                           46030 Manekin Plaza, Suite 160
                                                Sterling, VA 22170