Re: hda: irq timeout
"E.L. Meijer \(Eric\)" <tgakem@sg10.chem.tue.nl> wrote:
>
> Make backups quickly! I have seen this kind of messages three times
> now, and each time they came from a dying hard disk. Especially the
> fact that it occurs at decreasing intervals is alarming. Try to
> backup
> valuable data first, and then do a fsck on the disk. If you find a
> lot
> of errors, it is almost certain the disk is failing.
>
> The problem could also be in the hard disk controller or the
> motherboard. Maybe reseating the connectors helps.
About 18 months ago I upgraded my hard drive and was plagued with these
messages. I got a Quantum Bigfoot and ended up taking it back and
swapping it for something else. To cut a long story short, I went
through a few drives before I found one which did not exhibit the
errors.
I still don't really know what caused the problem. I have seen *many*
postings about it on the 'net and no real answers. I suppose people
don't usually try half a dozen disk drives and log the problems
encountered with each. I do suspect it does not necessarily mean a
failing drive since it occurs with brand new drives too. Have a look at
whether you are using Ultra DMA and try disabling it.
I have had few problems with drives bought in the last year - my current
drive, a Quantum Fireball EX 6.4 GB, has behaved flawlessly. Maybe it is
the interaction between motherboard and hard drive?
--
Phillip Deackes
Debian Linux (Potato)
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