[How-To] Boot Entirely from SATA

[karog]

Thanks to both WarheadsSE and Geoff for your replies. I ran smartctl -a /dev/sda as suggested and got:

Code: Select all

smartctl 5.42 2011-10-20 r3458 [armv6l-linux-2.6.31.6_SMP_820] (local build)
Copyright (C) 2002-11 by Bruce Allen, http://smartmontools.sourceforge.net

=== START OF INFORMATION SECTION ===
Model Family:     Seagate Momentus 7200.3
Device Model:     ST9320421ASG
Serial Number:    5TJ0BYDX
LU WWN Device Id: 5 000c50 011e13a98
Firmware Version: DE14
User Capacity:    320,072,933,376 bytes [320 GB]
Sector Size:      512 bytes logical/physical
Device is:        In smartctl database [for details use: -P show]
ATA Version is:   8
ATA Standard is:  ATA-8-ACS revision 4
Local Time is:    Thu May 10 12:13:27 2012 EDT
SMART support is: Available - device has SMART capability.
SMART support is: Enabled

=== START OF READ SMART DATA SECTION ===
SMART overall-health self-assessment test result: PASSED
See vendor-specific Attribute list for marginal Attributes.

General SMART Values:
Offline data collection status:  (0x00)   Offline data collection activity
               was never started.
               Auto Offline Data Collection: Disabled.
Self-test execution status:      (   0)   The previous self-test routine completed
               without error or no self-test has ever
               been run.
Total time to complete Offline
data collection:       (    0) seconds.
Offline data collection
capabilities:           (0x73) SMART execute Offline immediate.
               Auto Offline data collection on/off support.
               Suspend Offline collection upon new
               command.
               No Offline surface scan supported.
               Self-test supported.
               Conveyance Self-test supported.
               Selective Self-test supported.
SMART capabilities:            (0x0003)   Saves SMART data before entering
               power-saving mode.
               Supports SMART auto save timer.
Error logging capability:        (0x01)   Error logging supported.
               General Purpose Logging supported.
Short self-test routine
recommended polling time:     (   1) minutes.
Extended self-test routine
recommended polling time:     (  94) minutes.
Conveyance self-test routine
recommended polling time:     (   2) minutes.
SCT capabilities:           (0x103f)   SCT Status supported.
               SCT Error Recovery Control supported.
               SCT Feature Control supported.
               SCT Data Table supported.

SMART Attributes Data Structure revision number: 10
Vendor Specific SMART Attributes with Thresholds:
ID# ATTRIBUTE_NAME          FLAG     VALUE WORST THRESH TYPE      UPDATED  WHEN_FAILED RAW_VALUE
  1 Raw_Read_Error_Rate     0x000f   118   086   006    Pre-fail  Always       -       171416267
  3 Spin_Up_Time            0x0003   100   097   085    Pre-fail  Always       -       0
  4 Start_Stop_Count        0x0032   099   099   020    Old_age   Always       -       1289
  5 Reallocated_Sector_Ct   0x0033   100   100   036    Pre-fail  Always       -       34
  7 Seek_Error_Rate         0x000f   074   060   030    Pre-fail  Always       -       8642147697
  9 Power_On_Hours          0x0032   097   097   000    Old_age   Always       -       3217
 10 Spin_Retry_Count        0x0013   100   100   097    Pre-fail  Always       -       5
 12 Power_Cycle_Count       0x0032   099   037   020    Old_age   Always       -       1287
184 End-to-End_Error        0x0032   096   096   099    Old_age   Always   FAILING_NOW 4
187 Reported_Uncorrect      0x0032   001   001   000    Old_age   Always       -       2231
188 Command_Timeout         0x0032   100   099   000    Old_age   Always       -       21475164181
189 High_Fly_Writes         0x003a   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
190 Airflow_Temperature_Cel 0x0022   070   051   045    Old_age   Always       -       30 (Min/Max 27/30)
191 G-Sense_Error_Rate      0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
192 Power-Off_Retract_Count 0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       23
193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0032   005   005   000    Old_age   Always       -       190200
194 Temperature_Celsius     0x0022   030   049   000    Old_age   Always       -       30 (0 18 0 0 0)
195 Hardware_ECC_Recovered  0x001a   053   041   000    Old_age   Always       -       171416267
197 Current_Pending_Sector  0x0012   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
198 Offline_Uncorrectable   0x0010   100   100   000    Old_age   Offline      -       0
199 UDMA_CRC_Error_Count    0x003e   200   200   000    Old_age   Always       -       1
240 Head_Flying_Hours       0x0000   100   253   000    Old_age   Offline      -       231743550392388
241 Total_LBAs_Written      0x0000   100   253   000    Old_age   Offline      -       327306033
242 Total_LBAs_Read         0x0000   100   253   000    Old_age   Offline      -       2212430183
254 Free_Fall_Sensor        0x0032   001   001   000    Old_age   Always       -       2

SMART Error Log Version: 1
ATA Error Count: 2218 (device log contains only the most recent five errors)
   CR = Command Register [HEX]
   FR = Features Register [HEX]
   SC = Sector Count Register [HEX]
   SN = Sector Number Register [HEX]
   CL = Cylinder Low Register [HEX]
   CH = Cylinder High Register [HEX]
   DH = Device/Head Register [HEX]
   DC = Device Command Register [HEX]
   ER = Error register [HEX]
   ST = Status register [HEX]
Powered_Up_Time is measured from power on, and printed as
DDd+hh:mm:SS.sss where DD=days, hh=hours, mm=minutes,
SS=sec, and sss=millisec. It "wraps" after 49.710 days.

Error 2218 occurred at disk power-on lifetime: 2948 hours (122 days + 20 hours)
  When the command that caused the error occurred, the device was active or idle.

  After command completion occurred, registers were:
  ER ST SC SN CL CH DH
  -- -- -- -- -- -- --
  40 51 00 f7 3b a1 01  Error: UNC at LBA = 0x01a13bf7 = 27343863

  Commands leading to the command that caused the error were:
  CR FR SC SN CL CH DH DC   Powered_Up_Time  Command/Feature_Name
  -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --  ----------------  --------------------
  25 00 01 f7 3b a1 41 00      01:50:24.221  READ DMA EXT
  25 00 01 f6 3b a1 41 00      01:50:24.218  READ DMA EXT
  25 00 01 f5 3b a1 41 00      01:50:24.218  READ DMA EXT
  25 00 01 f4 3b a1 41 00      01:50:24.218  READ DMA EXT
  25 00 01 f3 3b a1 41 00      01:50:24.218  READ DMA EXT

Error 2217 occurred at disk power-on lifetime: 2948 hours (122 days + 20 hours)
  When the command that caused the error occurred, the device was active or idle.

  After command completion occurred, registers were:
  ER ST SC SN CL CH DH
  -- -- -- -- -- -- --
  40 51 00 f7 3b a1 01  Error: UNC at LBA = 0x01a13bf7 = 27343863

  Commands leading to the command that caused the error were:
  CR FR SC SN CL CH DH DC   Powered_Up_Time  Command/Feature_Name
  -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --  ----------------  --------------------
  42 00 00 00 3b a1 41 00      01:50:21.402  READ VERIFY SECTOR(S) EXT
  42 00 00 00 ce 9b 41 00      01:50:19.342  READ VERIFY SECTOR(S) EXT
  42 00 00 00 dc 8b 41 00      01:50:13.305  READ VERIFY SECTOR(S) EXT
  42 00 00 00 e6 7b 41 00      01:50:07.256  READ VERIFY SECTOR(S) EXT
  42 00 00 00 f4 6b 41 00      01:50:01.218  READ VERIFY SECTOR(S) EXT

Error 2216 occurred at disk power-on lifetime: 2947 hours (122 days + 19 hours)
  When the command that caused the error occurred, the device was active or idle.

  After command completion occurred, registers were:
  ER ST SC SN CL CH DH
  -- -- -- -- -- -- --
  40 51 00 ff ff ff 0f  Error: UNC at LBA = 0x0fffffff = 268435455

  Commands leading to the command that caused the error were:
  CR FR SC SN CL CH DH DC   Powered_Up_Time  Command/Feature_Name
  -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --  ----------------  --------------------
  25 00 01 ff ff ff 4f 00      00:53:23.995  READ DMA EXT
  b0 d6 10 9e 4f c2 40 00      00:53:23.962  SMART WRITE LOG
  b0 d5 10 9e 4f c2 40 00      00:53:23.940  SMART READ LOG
  b0 d5 01 00 4f c2 40 00      00:53:23.928  SMART READ LOG
  b0 d5 10 9f 4f c2 40 00      00:53:23.882  SMART READ LOG

Error 2215 occurred at disk power-on lifetime: 2946 hours (122 days + 18 hours)
  When the command that caused the error occurred, the device was active or idle.

  After command completion occurred, registers were:
  ER ST SC SN CL CH DH
  -- -- -- -- -- -- --
  40 51 00 ff ff ff 0f  Error: UNC at LBA = 0x0fffffff = 268435455

  Commands leading to the command that caused the error were:
  CR FR SC SN CL CH DH DC   Powered_Up_Time  Command/Feature_Name
  -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --  ----------------  --------------------
  25 00 01 ff ff ff 4f 00      00:49:46.480  READ DMA EXT
  25 00 01 ff ff ff 4f 00      00:49:46.478  READ DMA EXT
  25 00 01 ff ff ff 4f 00      00:49:46.478  READ DMA EXT
  25 00 01 ff ff ff 4f 00      00:49:46.478  READ DMA EXT
  25 00 01 ff ff ff 4f 00      00:49:46.477  READ DMA EXT

Error 2214 occurred at disk power-on lifetime: 2946 hours (122 days + 18 hours)
  When the command that caused the error occurred, the device was active or idle.

  After command completion occurred, registers were:
  ER ST SC SN CL CH DH
  -- -- -- -- -- -- --
  40 51 00 ff ff ff 0f  Error: UNC at LBA = 0x0fffffff = 268435455

  Commands leading to the command that caused the error were:
  CR FR SC SN CL CH DH DC   Powered_Up_Time  Command/Feature_Name
  -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --  ----------------  --------------------
  25 00 80 ff ff ff 4f 00      00:49:36.573  READ DMA EXT
  25 00 80 ff ff ff 4f 00      00:49:36.564  READ DMA EXT
  25 00 80 ff ff ff 4f 00      00:49:29.264  READ DMA EXT
  25 00 80 ff ff ff 4f 00      00:49:29.255  READ DMA EXT
  25 00 80 ff ff ff 4f 00      00:49:21.919  READ DMA EXT

SMART Self-test log structure revision number 1
Num  Test_Description    Status                  Remaining  LifeTime(hours)  LBA_of_first_error
# 1  Short offline       Completed: read failure       90%      2967         27343863
# 2  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      2946         -
# 3  Short offline       Interrupted (host reset)      00%      2946         -
# 4  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      2946         -
# 5  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      2945         -
# 6  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      2943         -
# 7  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      2927         -
# 8  Short offline       Completed without error       00%         2         -
# 9  Short offline       Completed without error       00%         0         -

SMART Selective self-test log data structure revision number 1
 SPAN  MIN_LBA  MAX_LBA  CURRENT_TEST_STATUS
    1        0        0  Not_testing
    2        0        0  Not_testing
    3        0        0  Not_testing
    4        0        0  Not_testing
    5        0        0  Not_testing
Selective self-test flags (0x0):
  After scanning selected spans, do NOT read-scan remainder of disk.
If Selective self-test is pending on power-up, resume after 0 minute delay.



This is supposed to be a new drive and appeared so.

I have no experience with all this smartctl info. But particularly troubling is the End-to-End_Error FAILING_NOW and 2218 errors.

Does this in fact look like a bad drive I should return?

[Geoff]

Does this in fact look like a bad drive I should return?

So it would seem. I have almost the identical drive on my PPro: Seagate Momentus 7200.4 ST9320423AS; your 7200.3 appears to be a discontinued model. Mine produces no errors when I run the same test as you did. (You have to ignore the large random numbers in some categories, which look like uninitialized data).

[karog]

Does this in fact look like a bad drive I should return?

So it would seem. I have almost the identical drive on my PPro: Seagate Momentus 7200.4 ST9320423AS; your 7200.3 appears to be a discontinued model. Mine produces no errors when I run the same test as you did. (You have to ignore the large random numbers in some categories, which look like uninitialized data).

Thanks. It is primarily the things I mentioned above that bother me.

I have an RMA number now and will be shipping it back.

[darth]

Thanks to the instructions here I was able to move my rootfs from my USB key to a 15gb IBM Server SSD. Works! However, on reading about creating a swapfile, I saw the warning about swapfiles on flash drives. My question is this: Does anyone know if the same caution applies to SATA SSD drives? This one was designed for server use, so I am somewhat confused and woefully ignorant. I have tried Googling my way out of this, but have no definitive answer. Any and all advice would be appreciated.

ANSWERED MYSELF: Yet more Googling the particular SSD I have (an IBM 43W7678) provided the answer I more or less knew all along...Swapfiles on any flash based SSD is probably a real bad idea. The one I have is forgiving of such travesties, but not immune. I did, however, come across a DDR2 solution that is simply amazing... hmmmm a $29 pogoplug sporting a $3,000, ultra fast, 128gb SATA Ram Disk... by golly, it could work!

[eok]

Just thought I'd provide some feedback...

I have a Pogoplug B01 & decided to use the guide at the beginning of this thread for a SATA-based boot drive. Worked like a charm.

After I finished all the steps, it booted clean. No issues. The first thing I did upon the initial login was get everything up to date. The commands I used are covered here:

viewtopic.php?f=29&t=2690&start=40#p17328

This setup is perfect for my tastes because it doesn't touch NAND at all - so no risk of truly "bricking" my 'Plug by misconfiguring something in the NAND fs. So, I can boot my own 100% Arch setup via SATA - or leave the SATA drive off & boot the vanilla CloudEngines setup. If I muck-up my SATA boot drive so it's non-bootable, I can just attach the drive to another Linux box & repair the problem offline. No real need for special serial cables. Perfect.

Everything works fine. Many thanks to WarheadsSE for pulling together great instructions and the developing the tools to prep a boot drive. Great stuff. Thanks!!

---
eok

[ldi9999]

Is there any change made on rootfs? I was able to prepare SATA drive by following the instructions multiple time a few month ago. Today, I was trying to prepare a new drive. I followed the instructions step by step. But after pluged it to pogoplug, the indicator flashed a while and then turned itself off. I re-do the whole process multiple time and got the same result. I do not believe I missed any steps, since I did this multiple time before and pretty much understand what I'm doing. One thing I noticed that the rootfs is different from the one I used before (a few months ago). One thing I noticed that after extracting the whole rootfs, there was no mac_adds file under /usr/local when I did it a few month ago. But this time, there is a mac_adds file. By the way, I changed it with my mac address,

Any idea?

[WarheadsSE]

If you don't make the kernel match, you're going to have problems.

I have a feeling that my little script tarball needs you to update the uImage.xxx from the rootfs.

[jmandawg]

To elaborate on what Warhead said:

Code: Select all

#Mount your rootfs on a linux box where sdx is your sata drive:
mkdir -p /mnt/tmp
mount /dev/sdx2 /mnt/tmp

#Write new kernel
dd if=/mnt/tmp/boot/uImage.nopci of=/dev/sdx1 bs=512
sync
umount /mnt/tmp

[ldi9999]

If you don't make the kernel match, you're going to have problems.

I have a feeling that my little script tarball needs you to update the uImage.xxx from the rootfs.

I did change and uncomment the first line to match my disk in disk_create script
I deleted uImage.pci and renamed uImage.nopci to uImage.pci (Not sure if here is the problem, but that what I did before with success)

Like I said, I did the process multiple times (more than 10). Unless there is something new or changes made, I can't think of anything I'm missing.

Any suggestion?

Thanks!

[karog]

If you don't make the kernel match, you're going to have problems.

I have a feeling that my little script tarball needs you to update the uImage.xxx from the rootfs.

I did change and uncomment the first line to match my disk in disk_create script
I deleted uImage.pci and renamed uImage.nopci to uImage.pci

Like I said, I did the process multiple times (more than 10). Unless there is something new or changes made, I can't think of anything I'm missing.

Any suggestion?

Thanks!

The uImage.* files in the old update with disk_create may be old. Use the uImage.pci from the /boot dir of the new rootfs.