[mythtv-users] Is this a failing drive?

Tue Nov 22 09:04:19 UTC 2011

On 22 November 2011 03:32, Don Brett <dlbrett at zoominternet.net> wrote:
> On 11/21/2011 10:29 PM, Don Brett wrote:
>
> On 11/21/2011 11:12 AM, Keith Pyle wrote:
>
> On 11/21/11 06:00, Manuel McLure wrote:
>
> On Sun, Nov 20, 2011 at 7:40 PM, Don Brett <dlbrett at zoominternet.net> wrote:
>
> This is a little off-topic, but it's a new drive on a new Mythbuntu
> installation. ?Symptoms are:
>
> -partition table got corrupted (after about 50 hours on the drive); an
> 8-hour low level format got it back
> -the box occasionally freezes-up for a few seconds
> -I see multiple instances of these errors in /var/log/syslog:
>
> Nov 20 09:54:02 zedo kernel: [ ? ?6.292384] EXT4-fs (sda2): re-mounted.
> Opts: errors=remount-ro
> Nov 20 09:55:12 zedo kernel: [ ? 81.573425] EXT4-fs (sda2): re-mounted.
> Opts: errors=remount-ro,commit=0
> Nov 20 09:58:51 zedo kernel: [ ?300.004041] [Hardware Error]: Machine
> check events logged
>
>
> ?From /var/log/mcelog, I see multiple entries of this:
>
> mcelog: failed to prefill DIMM database from DMI data
> Kernel does not support page offline interface
> mcelog: mcelog read: No such device
> Hardware event. This is not a software error.
> MCE 0
> CPU 0 4 northbridge
> MISC c008000001000000 ADDR 1844184
> TIME 1321843678 Sun Nov 20 21:47:58 2011
> ? Northbridge NB Array Error
> ? ? ? ?bit42 = L3 subcache in error bit 0
> ? ? ? ?bit43 = L3 subcache in error bit 1
> ? ? ? ?bit46 = corrected ecc error
> ? ? ? ?bit59 = misc error valid
> ? ? ? ?bit62 = error overflow (multiple errors)
> ? memory/cache error 'evict mem transaction, generic transaction, level
> generic'
> STATUS dc074c60001c017b MCGSTATUS 0
> MCGCAP 106 APICID 0 SOCKETID 0
> CPUID Vendor AMD Family 16 Model 5
> Hardware event. This is not a software error.
>
>
> I replaced the sata drive cables, disconnected the dvd drive, tried a
> different power supply. ?I also tried another drive on the same box (but
> it was an ide) and had no errors. ?With a different motherboard...still
> got the "re-mount" errors but none of the "[Hardware Error]" entries.
> Anyone have a suggestion?
>
>
> PS - the hardware is: (everything but the power supply and case is new)
> -ASUS M4A78LT-M AM3 AMD 760G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
> -SAMSUNG EcoGreen F4 HD204UI 2TB SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
> -ADATA Gaming Series 2GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
> Desktop Memory
> -ZOTAC ZT-20203-10L GeForce GT 220 1GB 128-bit DDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16
> HDCP Ready Video Card
> -ThermalTake 430 power supply
>
> It's not a disk problem, that's a CPU or motherboard problem. The disk
> corruption is caused by your memory contents getting corrupted and
> being written to disk.
>
> See http://halobates.de/mce.pdf for details on exactly what a "machine
> check exception" is.
>
> With the caveat that I'm not an expert on this...
>
> I suspect your cache memory or perhaps the Northbridge (handles
> communication among cores, possibly RAM, video) has a problem.
> Depending on your specific CPU, the Northbridge may be on the CPU, i.e.,
> CPU cores and Northbridge are all in one package.  This is the case for
> many recent, mainstream processors from both Intel and AMD.
>
> The errors you included suggest a multi-bit error in the L3 cache.  L3
> is special memory where (a limited amount of) recently used instructions
> and data are stored for faster access by the CPU than going to main
> RAM.  As Manuel wrote, if the cache is corrupted, it could lead to all
> manner of intermittent and seemingly random problems, including those
> you mentioned.
>
> If this is a Northbridge/cache problem and the Northbridge is on the CPU
> die, then your only fix will be to replace the CPU.  If the Northbridge
> is a separate chip on the motherboard, then you'll have to replace the
> motherboard but could keep the CPU.
>
> It may be worthwhile trying to see if Asus will help you if this a new
> motherboard.  (I have no personal experience with Asus support and don't
> know if/how they will help.)
>
> Keith
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>
>
> I just notice that I hadn't included the cpu on the list of hardware; it's
> an AMD Athlon II X3 445 Rana (3.1GHz Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Desktop
> Processor ADX445WFGMBOX).  Apparently this processor doesn't have an L3
> cache (from Toms Hardware - Rana, triple-core, no L3 cache (2.7+ GHz)), does
> that matter, or is the cache on the motherboard?
>

shouldnt really matter.

> I looked up the features on the motherboard chipset, it has a North Bridge
> (AMD 760G); I assume that means the cpu does not have an integrated
> northbridge...right?  So it looks like my problem might be with the
> motherboard.
>
> Sidenote - Some other threads implied it might be a memory problem, so I
> played with it a little.  The box started with (2) 2 gig ddr3's.  I removed
> one of the sticks...similar behavior.  Replaced that with the other stick
> (still running with a single stick)...errors increased a lot, 2-3 errors a
> minute.   Does that mean anything?
>

could well be a faulty motherboard. although i dont have any real-life
tails, i'd of thought a faulty DIMM slot would of also showed in the
memtest you've ran.

> I forgot to mention, I ran memtest86.  I showed no errors after 5 passes (it
> ran for about 4 hours).
>

it's not the ram then.
the only thing left now is CPU and/or motherboard, so based of other
peoples' and your own opinions, i'd also say motherboard.