John Swartzentruber wrote:
The kernel version you are using can make a big difference, as well. I have the Si3112 SATA chipset, and until kernel 2.6.7, my drive was detected as a PATA drive (/dev/hde). Since 2.6.7, my drive is seen as a scsi drive (/dev/sda). We need more information before we can help you.
Can anyone tell me whether this kernel change is a bug or is the intentional design? More specifically, how does 2.6.9 detect SATA drives? When 2.6.8 came out, it broke things, so I went back to an older kernel. If this change is permanent, I will edit my fstab and try to get the new kernel to work.
It's not a bug. Support for SATA is still maturing and is better for some chipsets than others. In my case, with the Sil3112 chipset, I was using the drive in PATA mode until 2.6.7. With 2.6.7 and 2.6.8, libata is making my SATA drive look like a scsi drive. The first time I booted 2.6.7, my SATA drive (which is a second drive for data) did not mount and I got a message that /dev/hde could not be found. Looking in dmesg, I saw the drive was now recognized as a scsi drive. Once I changed fstab, I was able to mount the drive and use it as I had before.
I suspect that things will change as libata matures, I just don't know what those changes might be. Hopefully, you don't have to boot from a SATA drive.
