I wrote:
> You know about the smartctl -l error /dev/hda command, don't you? That
> will show you if the *disk* thinks it needs replacing.
Tim wrote:
> Output below. Do you think this is an avoidable, or unavoidable error?
<snip, and the next bit is liberally snipped, too>
> Error 541 occurred at disk power-on lifetime: 960 hours (40 days + 0 hours)
> 40 51 08 bd 34 9b e1 Error: UNC 8 sectors at LBA = 0x019b34bd = 26948797
> Error 540 occurred at disk power-on lifetime: 960 hours (40 days + 0 hours)
> 40 51 48 bd 34 9b e1 Error: UNC 72 sectors at LBA = 0x019b34bd = 26948797
> Error 538 occurred at disk power-on lifetime: 960 hours (40 days + 0 hours)
> 40 51 50 bd 34 9b e1 Error: UNC 80 sectors at LBA = 0x019b34bd = 26948797
> Error 537 occurred at disk power-on lifetime: 960 hours (40 days + 0 hours)
> 40 51 58 bd 34 9b e1 Error: UNC 88 sectors at LBA = 0x019b34bd = 26948797
And from the smartctl man page:
UNC: UNCorrectable Error in Data
In other words, it's been trying to read data from that logical block
address, and failing.
Since you say that this is a "scratch" test PC, I'd do a
smartctl -H /dev/hda
(which is probably what I should have told you in the first place). If
that says "PASSED", I'd do a combination of
dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/hda
to blank the drive (that should remap all the bad sectors), and
dd if=/dev/hda of=/dev/null
to read them all back. Then check for any more errors. If you don't get
any, I'd trust the drive for testing purposes.
Obviously, get any data you care about off the drive, first!
Those dd commands will probably take several hours.
Hope this helps,
James.
--
E-mail: james@ | Hooray. "I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue" is back on, complete
aprilcottage.co.uk | with strip poker. Yes, this is on the radio.
| ("Erm.. five queens", "Barry, you're playing with
| postage stamps", "Oh.") -- Telsa Gwynne
