[mythtv-users] OT: Hard disks randomly not found

[Brian Wood]

On Monday 25 May 2009 07:30:49 Ma Begaj wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I had 3x320 GB (Samsung) in my desktop/mythbox. I decided to take out
> two of these drives, replace them with one 1TB disk (Samsung Green...)
> and leave one of these 320GB drives for some other files.
>
> I saw some I/O error in syslog while copying file from 320GB disks to
> 1TB disk but copying finished nicely.
>
> But the problem persisted.
>
> During boot process some disks are not being recognized and BIOS POST
> is taking minutes to list the hardware. 1st disk (/dev/sda, one of the
> those 320GB disks) is always found, but all other disks are making
> problems. Ctrl+Alt+Del (for reboot) usually helps and all disks are
> working without any problems after that. This happens pretty randomly.
> Cold boot does not make it better or worse.
>
> Smartmon finds no errors and hard disks were OK before I opened the
> case to replace disks.
> RAM has no errors, everything is working as it should.
> PSU has enough power for the hardware.
> I already checked the cables but I will do it again because SATA
> cables are terrible.
>
> I will update BIOS later. BIOS battery could be bad, but the
> motherboard is few months old. And I partly refuse to accept that
> battery or something else just accidentaly start making problems when
> I was replacing hardware.
>
> Any ideas?

While it might seem overly-coincidental that the problems started when you you 
replaced the drives, remember that every time you open the case and start 
putting your hands into it there is a good chance of bumping a card or a 
cable that was marginally loose to start with.

If it were me I'd remove and re-seat (not just push on to tighten) all cards 
and connectors, including the PSU cables. I'd also remove and replace all the 
drive cables. While at it, I'd R+R the RAM modules as well. Then give a good 
eyeball inspection to everything in the case. Check that the mobo mounting 
screws are tight and all present.

Problems that start after opening the case are often mechanical.

I'd also be concerned about those I/O errors, they shouldn't happen and should 
be tracked down, but if you're not getting them now there's notmuch you can 
do about them.

I know all the above is obvious, but it's often the obvious stuff that bites 
you.

-- 
beww
beww at beww.org