Re: Do I need a new hard drive?
On 4/26/22 15:04, Charles Curley wrote:
<top post moved to bottom>
On Mon, 25 Apr 2022 14:56:50 -0700 David Christensen wrote:
On 4/25/22 07:18, Charles Curley wrote:
On Sun, 24 Apr 2022 22:52:15 -0700 David Christensen wrote:
Rather than a Live Linux distribution for troubleshooting, I install
Debian onto a USB flash drive (SanDisk Ultra Fit USB 3.0 16 GB). I
keep it updated/ upgraded, and install whatever tools I want. You
might want to make one that matches your Debian instance -- that
should eliminate the device enumeration differences.
Would that have solved this transposition?
I would expect two matching Debian instances would enumerate the same
drives in the same order on the same machine, but...
I suspect that Linux sets up
the boot drive as sda regardless of how the firmware sees things.
I have seen examples to the contrary.
When installing, I make sure the target device is /dev/sda -- installing
to /dev/sdb, etc., is a recipe for future problems.
But otherwise a good idea, if a bit of work.
A complete Debian instance on a USB flash drive is an invaluable tool,
and well worth the time to create and maintain.
Those Alchemy SATA cables look good. Assuming you like them, I would
replace the factory cables with new Alchemy cables.
I'll keep that in mind. I have one spare, so I can swap that in in
pretty quick order if need be.
I would order more and make everything match.
I did figure that out, and tested the three remaining drives. All
tested with no errors.
Good.
I've done some of these. But as I am not seeing any more hard drive
issues, I'm not going to spend any more time on the rest.
Agreed.
7. Boot memtest86+ and run overnight or longer.
Interestingly enough, memtest86 locks up right at the 4096 MB mark. It
also completely refuses to run on another system I have here. I'm going
to do some further testing, then report what I see in a new thread.
If you are certain your memtest86+ tool is good, then that is a
significant finding. I would download a current copy, burn it to USB,
and try again.
Did you figure out what was preventing Debian from booting? Is the
Debian instance fixed?
> Update. I had a friend with a power supply checker check the power
> supply. The +12 volt line is running at 11.5v, barely within spec.
> Fishy, but livable for the nonce.
>
> I had been running Finnix as Debian wouldn't boot. I pulled all the
> external USB lines except for a 3.5" external floppy disk drive. The
> USB problem that started all this went away, i.e. I stopped getting
> error messages in dmesg. I rebooted Finnix, and did not see the error
> message. Also, the boot speed was back to normal.
>
> An hour and a half ago I booted to the installed Debian system, and
> that now runs fine. I see no error messages for USB or for any of the
> drives. RAID looks nominal. I will monitor.
>
> The next step will be to add back external USB lines, one at a time,
> and see if the problem re-appears. It may have been something as simple
> as mild corrosion on a connector.
What is the make and model of the PSU?
Have you done a power budget calculation? I wonder if your PC is
pushing the PSU to the limit, and the USB devices push it over?
A weak PSU could cause memory errors, which will cause strange
malfunctions. Beware of chasing misleading symptoms. If you can afford
a spare PSU, A/B testing could be revealing.
David
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