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Thanks for the response BRiT. Unfortunately I don't have a cache drive and no slot available to add one.

I'm using the great cache_dirs script to keep folders and files listings in memory. I have a situation where I need to keep one file and its contents always in memory for a particular NFS share: \\TOWER\Videos\settings.txt The file itself is under 60 bytes. I have a media player that will attempt to read this file whenever the "Videos" share is accessed and I don't want it to end up spinning up the drive that contains the file just so that 60 bytes of material need be read. Thanks.

Thanks again to @Helmonder and @trurl for your help. The "CORRECT" parity check completed and now reports 0 errors.

Thanks for catching that. I didn't realize the second time was running the CORRECT parity check. Thanks you @trurl for looking into the syslog and discovering this. I would have never noticed it. I should have followed @Helmonder original recommendation and let the second parity check run its course. I'm running the third parity check right now and will report what occurs after it's done. One thing I've already noticed with this third parity check, is that the GUI is showing "Sync errors: 0" When I ran the second, incomplete parity check this morning it immediately showed "Sync errors: 3", so perhaps that means the second parity check I previously cut short did infact correct the errors and this currently running third check will just confirm that? Thanks again.

Will do. I've attached it. Includes instances of both parity checks (the first fully completed one, and the second one I stopped). Thanks. syslog.txt

Hi @trurl. When I ran the parity check a second time, it reported the same three errors a minute or so after beginning, so it looks like it's doing a non-correcting (e.g., NOCORRECT) parity check by default. It looks like I'm going to have to figure out how to run a "CORRECT" parameter parity check via the command line instead of the GUI. It does look like the option/parameter does exist within v4.6, but it's just not an available option within the GUI. That option/checkbox must have been added as a later option. Thanks.

I just started another parity check, and the log file at the outset is showing the same three errors. It's showing "3 sync errors": Aug 2 00:57:12 Tower kernel: md: recovery thread woken up ... Aug 2 00:57:12 Tower kernel: md: recovery thread checking parity... Aug 2 00:57:12 Tower kernel: md: using 1152k window, over a total of 1953514552 blocks. Aug 2 00:57:34 Tower kernel: md: parity incorrect: 7680 Aug 2 00:57:34 Tower kernel: md: parity incorrect: 7688 Aug 2 00:57:34 Tower kernel: md: parity incorrect: 7696 I stopped the parity check after 15 minutes, as it looks like it's reporting the same 3 errors a minute or so after starting. @Helmonder I did want to respond to the first part of this. I don't believe I've experienced any recent unclean shutdowns. I've always stopped the array, then chose power down. The computer is attached to an APC backup battery. It also has a clean auto-power down script that properly shuts down if the APC battery is close to running out of juice. As far as I know, there hasn't been any power outages recently. I was looking at the package manager in unmenu, and it shows the following for the monthly parity check scheduler: So the option to run a CORRECT instead of default NOCORRECT parity check does appear to be available in v4.6 of UNRAID. There's a similar post of something discussing NOCORRECT with their 4.6 setup: http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=11972.0 So, it seems clear to me, based on what @Helmonder originally recommended -- that I run a parity check with "CORRECT" option/flag chosen, but how do I do this? There's no option within the GUI. Is there a command I could execute via command line? Thanks.

Thanks Helmonder. I'll go ahead and do that.

Helmonder, thanks for responding. With my version of unraid (4.6) I don't see an option to run a correcting parity check. I've attached a screenshot of the admin area to show you what I mean. Thanks.

I'm on an old Unraid, version 4.6. I know this is the v5.0 forum, but I didn't know a more appropriate sub-forum to put this in. Moderator(s), please feel free to move this if appropriate. Thanks. For today's monthly parity run, it reported 3 errors. All drives are green. Here are lines from the log file. You can see the scheduled parity check start at 4am, and it appears the 3 errors are occurred back to back 22 seconds after the parity check began. Jul 31 20:30:10 Tower dhcpcd[2628]: dhcpIPaddrLeaseTime=86400 in DHCP server response. (Routine) Jul 31 20:30:10 Tower dhcpcd[2628]: DHCP_ACK received from (192.168.1.1) (Routine) Aug 1 04:00:01 Tower kernel: mdcmd (39): check NOCORRECT (unRAID engine) Aug 1 04:00:01 Tower kernel: (Routine) Aug 1 04:00:01 Tower kernel: md: recovery thread woken up ... (unRAID engine) Aug 1 04:00:01 Tower kernel: md: recovery thread checking parity... (unRAID engine) Aug 1 04:00:01 Tower kernel: md: using 1152k window, over a total of 1953514552 blocks. (unRAID engine) Aug 1 04:00:22 Tower kernel: md: parity incorrect: 7680 (Errors) Aug 1 04:00:22 Tower kernel: md: parity incorrect: 7688 (Errors) Aug 1 04:00:22 Tower kernel: md: parity incorrect: 7696 (Errors) Aug 1 07:11:18 Tower dhcpcd[2628]: sending DHCP_REQUEST for 192.168.1.102 to 192.168.1.1 (Routine) Aug 1 07:11:18 Tower dhcpcd[2628]: dhcpIPaddrLeaseTime=86400 in DHCP server response. (Routine) Aug 1 07:11:18 Tower dhcpcd[2628]: DHCP_ACK received from (192.168.1.1) (Routine) Aug 1 13:13:49 Tower kernel: md: sync done. time=33228sec rate=58791K/sec (unRAID engine) Aug 1 13:13:49 Tower kernel: md: recovery thread sync completion status: 0 (unRAID engine) By the way, the parity drive does report the following: reallocated_sector_ct=1 reallocated_event_count=1 current_pending_sector=1 But it's been showing those 3 values for years, and they've never incremented. I've had 100% successful rebuilds for two failed drives while those three issues have been reported. I've posted about it a few years back here: http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=15521.msg145003 All my data drives show zero for the following within their quick SMART reports: reallocated_sector_ct reallocated_event_count current_pending_sector offline_uncorrectable multi_zone_error_rate I really don't know what 3 errors Unraid is referring to. The last red ball replaced drive was about a month ago, and the follow-up parity check reported no errors. The only out of the ordinary thing I've done since then was power down the drives/computer two to three times in the past 30 days. I've read about running a parity check again and choosing the "correct" option, but it appears that option is unavailable to me because I'm on v4.6 of Unraid. I understand I'd have to upgrade to 4.7 then 5.0 (or above), but I'd like to avoid upgrading for now if possible. I'm not really confident I won't mess things up, and if it's not broke, I want to avoid unnecessarily fixing something. So, these 3 errors? Significant, worth ignoring for now? I'm wondering if the next parity check is going to keep reporting it. Thanks.

Thanks dirtysanchez and interwebtech

I have an old Unraid version 4.6 where the parity drive is a 2tb WD20EARS and the data drives are also WD20EARS? Unfortunately, the last drive I added (which is actually model WD20EADS) has shown 500+ errors during the monthly parity run. The drive is marked as failed and disabled (DISK_DSBL). Would it be ok to swap it with the WD20EZRX model even though it's a sata III drive and the parity is the much older sata II WD20EARS? Thanks.

Same as any linux command you start on the comand line: type Control-C (hold down the "Control" key and press the letter "C") Thanks Joe. And thanks for your great script.

I've got preclear disk running on one disk. Is there a way to cleanly cancel its process? I want to restart preclear again later.

Thanks for confirming this. You're right. The other disk are all showing green and unmenu doesn't report any smart errors for the rest, so I'll just have to hope the others won't go bad during the eventual rebuild. As I understand it, a rebuild takes as long as a parity check, so I should be up and running after about 11 hours. Even though the parity disk is showing current_pending_sector=1 I don't think I have any choice but to keep it there and hope it can successfully rebuild the replaced data disk. I've put in an RMA with Western Digital and should be receiving the replacement in a few days. I decided not to go with the Seagate as it's too cost-prohibitive to make a new drive purchase at the current price levels. Thanks for your help.

In the main page of the Unmenu interface one of my data drives shows 678 errors in the right-most "Errors" column. In unMenu > myMain > Smart (view) it shows: Parity Drive: » current_pending_sector=1 Disk 5: » current_pending_sector=154 » offline_uncorrectable=41 » multi_zone_error_rate=567 I've attached a syslog and smart reports for the two drives. The parity drive's "current_pending_sector" value of 1 has been there for about four months and hasn't budged after four monthly parity checks, so I assume that drive is ok. Disk 5 reported a multi_zone_error_rate=40 about two months ago, but it hasn't been a problem until today. All of a sudden the errors have ballooned, although unmenu still shows all drives as green. Both drives are 2GB WD20EARS. So does it look like the data drive needs to be replaced and rebuilt? If so, a few questions: 1) I've been using 2TB Western Digital WD20EARS for all my drives. I'm thinking of replacing the potentially faulty disk 5 with a Seagate Barracuda 2TB (Model: ST320005N4A). Is it possible the Seagate drive size may be a few bytes more than my parity drive? And if so, would the rebuild fail or even fail to start? 2) Let's say I replace the drive and the rebuild process fails for whatever reason. My offline, faulty Disk 5 "was" still readable at the time of removal, so would I be able to pop it back into unraid and copy the files back to the new Seagate I put in? Could I pop it into a Windows eSata hard drive dock and read the Reiser files with something like the YAReG utility and copy files back to unRaid? 3) Should I just stop worrying and trust that unraid will successfully rebuild the disk even though the parity drive has been showing current_pending_sector=1 for nearly four months? 4) On second thought, I may just try to do a speedy "Advanced RMA" with Western Digital where I'll receive a replacement drive in the middle of next week? Do you guys think it's ok to wait that long before swapping out the disks? Thanks. smart_report_disk_5.txt smart_report_parity_disk.txt syslog-2011-11-18.zip

Thanks for the reply dlandon. Even though the current pending sector is only 1 my concern is that it's been reported on the parity drive. That is the one drive out of the array that I wouldn't want to be deteriorated. What happens if one my data drives goes bad and the parity drive has to rebuild it? Could that current pending sector value of 1 result in a failed or contaminated restoration?

While looking in MyMain, my parity drive shows current_pending_sector=1 and one of my data drives shows multi_zone_error_rate=40 I've attached both smart reports to this topic. They're both 2GB WD20EARS. I'm not sure what to do. Do I need to replace the data drive, and if I do how could parity rebuild it if it's also problematic? I first saw the current_pending_sector=1 a month ago and forgot about it. Since then, a monthly parity check was ran and it didn't report a problem with the parity drive, even with the current_pending_sector=1 I'm using unraid version 4.6. Thanks in advance for anyone's help. parity_disk.txt data_disk.txt

I'm running 4.5.4. Can I upgrade directly to this release or should I go through 4.5.6 first? Thanks. Nevermind. I just noticed the upgrade instructions at the bottom of the first post that says it's ok to upgrade from my version.

bdolnik, you may want to reconsider. I have both and the newegg one you cited is superior to the stock cage that comes with the CM590. What makes the STB-3T4-E3-GP 4-in-3 better is that it has a drawer/floor underneath each drive slot. This makes it easy to slide drives in and out, while securely separating each drive bay with a divider. The stock CM590 cage does not have this. The drives just hang in open space. It's difficult to get them screwed in because they keep floating out of alignment. As eroz said, the black faceplate on the STB-3T4-E3-GP 4-in-3 is detachable and the cage will fit in the CM590 without a problem. Build quality is also better.

$107.99 shipped from buy.com: http://www.buy.com/prod/supermicro-aoc-saslp-mv8-8-ports-sas-raid-controller-pci-express-x4/q/loc/101/211410774.html

Thanks Joe. L. That's exactly what it was.

I have two drives attached to the Supermicro AOC-SASLP-MV8. One of the drives has content, the other is empty. When the first drive is spun up, the second drive spins up as well. They both go to sleep after one hour of being idle, which is normal. This is unusual behavior considering the drives I have connected to the motherboard's sata ports act independently. For motherboard attached drives, when one spins up, the others remain asleep. Any ideas why the Supermicro AOC-SASLP-MV8 doesn't allow drives to spin up independently? Fyi, using version 4.5.4.Thanks.

I have the Cooler Master 590 and opted to use the Cooler Master 4-in-3 cage over the Scythe. I prefer it because it comes with a fan and the Scythe does not. The face plate you see in the 4-in-3 photos can be removed, so you'll have just the drive cage and fan. It's a quality, quiet fan, which is a plus. The 4-in-3 is an actual cage, with drawers. This allows you to put any drive in any position while keeping them still, flat, and stable. The Scythe looks flimsy by comparison, as it's only constructed of two side panels. The 4-in-3 cost twice as much, but you get what you pay for.

Google "powerline ethernet" if nothing else works for you. You'll get about a 3rd of the speed of a wired LAN, but you might be able to live with that if all you are doing is accessing the web through the router. It is NOT fast enough to watch a video over, but will work otherwise. I've used the powerline adapters Joe L. mentioned with varying success. Joe L. what do you think of the following netgear that's to be for sale soon: http://www.itechnews.net/2010/03/02/netgear-xavb5001-and-xavb5501-powerline-av-adapter-kits/ http://www.netgear.com/Products/PowerlineNetworking/PowerlineforHighPerformance/XAVB5001.aspx It's supposed to get 500 Mbps transfer speeds. The next fastest netgear is 200 Mbps, which was released a while ago. I haven't actually seen this on sale anywhere though.