On 02/07/08 04:38 pm Ed Durrant wrote:

>>>> It seems that my 73GB Seagate SCSI drive (still in
warranty) is dying, but
>>>>
>>>> (a) the BIOS Verify utility says it is fine;
>>>>
>>>> (b) dfSee detects multiple write errors on *some* partitions;
>>>>
>>>> (c) under eCS some write operations fail on partitions
that dfSee finds 
>>>> to be error free.
>>>>
>>>> Why the discrepancy?

>>> I wouldn't  trust the BIOS Verify utility as much as DFSee or actual 
>>> operation of the system. You could have the old favorite - a
termination 
>>> error on the SCSI chain or (worse) it could be the controller that's 
>>> going faulty not the drive.

>> Bur this is only one drive of the four on the same chain, so I don't 
>> think it's a controller or termination problem.

> Are you sure that the SCSI chain is ONLY terminated at both ends - that 
> means if the card is at one end of the chain, it should be set to 
> terminate the chain and the drive at the other end of the chain set to 
> terminate the chain. NONE of the drives in between should be set to 
> terminate. If the controller card is in the middle of the chain, such as 
> when both an internal and external connector are in use, the card should 
> NOT be set to tern\minate only the devices (diaks or tape drives) at the 
> ends of the run should be set to terminate.


Leaving aside the fact that everything was running fine for 18 months or 
so on this controller, here's a brief excerpt from the spec.:

"External Connectors
	One 68-pin HD for LVD SCSI devices
Internal Connectors
	One 68-pin for LVD SCSI
One 68-pin for Ultra Wide SCSI
One 50-pin for Ultra SCSI"

Nothing is connected to the external connector.

I have four SCSI drives (1xU320, 1xU160, 1xU2W [previously two of 
those]) and an LVD tape drive attached to the 68-pin LVD connector. 
There is a terminator at the end of the chain.

I have a SCSI CD-ROM drive attached to the 50-pin connector. Termination 
is ON.

Termination for the adapter itself is set in the SCSI BIOS to Auto.

I did manage to find a Knoppix boot CD and ran the Seagate Linux 
diagnostics. A "long" drive Self-Test said all was OK -- so Seagate 
isn't going to want to replace the drive anyway.

I have moved the problem drive from ID1 to ID4 in case there was a 
problem with the address lines, but dfSee still finds numerous errors, 
and attempting to unzip a file to a partition on the drive hung the system.

I've been looking out for an Adaptec U320 adapter on eBay, but so far I 
haven't found the right one at the right price.

I might try the drive in a different machine and see what results I get.

-=-
Alan


 
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