papnikol

Well, the drive is a WD 2TB EARS and it has a jumper on it which means I installed it before unraid 4.6 and according to Unraid it is unaligned. I will proceed to rebuilding the superblock. But, before I make any permanent changes, is it possible to use any tool that locates lost files in it? (outside the scope of Unraid). I know that there are some such tools in windows but I would think they work for Disks that are (or were) NTFS. Also, since it does not see a /dev/md9, maybe instead of reiserfsck --rebuild-sb /dev/md9 I should run reiserfsck --rebuild-sb /dev/sdj1?

Thanks for your reply. May I add that just before writing this, we had a mini-blackout and when unraid came back it started a parity check. I stopped it promptly but it obviously ran a bit. Hope it does not make things worse (although the moment i stopped it it was reporting 0 errors). So, here we go: 1. Before I ran reiserfsck I followed the instructions in the wiki but I could not umount /dev/md9 : umount: /dev/md9: not found I guess it couldn't be mounted since it seemed unformatted. I then ran reiserfsck --check /dev/md9 and, naturally: Failed to open the device '/dev/md9': No such file or directory I also tried reiserfsck --check /dev/sdj: reiserfs_open: the reiserfs superblock cannot be found on /dev/sdj. Failed to open the filesystem. 2. I then ran fdisk -lu /dev/sdj: Disk /dev/sdj: 2000.3 GB, 2000398934016 bytes 1 heads, 63 sectors/track, 62016336 cylinders, total 3907029168 sectors Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes Disk identifier: 0x00000000 Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System /dev/sdj1 63 3907029167 1953514552+ 83 Linux Partition 1 does not end on cylinder boundary. and dd if=/dev/sdj count=195 | od -c -A d | sed 30q root@Tower:~# dd if=/dev/sdj count=195 | od -c -A d | sed 30q 0000000 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 * 0000448 \0 \0 203 \0 \0 \0 ? \0 \0 \0 q 210 340 350 \0 \0 0000464 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 * 0000496 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 U 252 0000512 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 * 0097792 , 332 c 221 E 016 226 ? 335 e 2 m \n 230 355 W 0097808 311 c E 207 \n 370 U Y 206 374 275 260 D 342 t u 0097824 377 F + 327 b S 223 276 035 334 265 201 Y ^ } 3 0097840 307 332 366 361 364 2 214 > w 234 ] 037 [ X i p 0097856 m 205 Q @ W 255 037 366 275 356 R 310 023 236 321 w 0097872 257 211 % 034 [ 246 214 026 177 + b 325 / 361 242 ' 0097888 c 372 ) 354 \t 257 355 @ Y . s 343 B 310 # v 0097904 331 030 235 304 2 341 274 1 277 320 304 8 ` 254 X 020 0097920 265 a @ * 307 274 u 267 004 004 021 M \b 252 u 214 0097936 s p < 215 345 220 E , 023 4 s 024 002 \b c $ 0097952 b 252 y & 252 306 H 365 025 026 031 005 246 217 ^ \a 0097968 371 | 314 254 c 020 240 021 327 201 s 221 017 Z 303 1 0097984 021 300 354 y \ . ! N n 343 R 021 ] 376 234 . 0098000 027 V n 343 030 004 ] 376 i @ X 333 s P 263 \v 0098016 347 305 372 243 } 267 212 H 5 C 201 301 025 Z \t 0098032 217 304 T 035 351 & U ! 324 021 H 210 U 263 A 244 0098048 003 327 \t B 217 225 001 0 S 227 211 210 M 364 240 227 0098064 277 312 323 J F ` : 001 372 264 370 | 330 033 i 241 0098080 I 8 001 4 031 u 005 / 327 267 Q \t 220 > 325 } 0098096 231 264 232 222 275 F 204 4 250 256 D 225 d 034 002 020 0098112 352 B 343 ) q 215 225 210 315 261 002 025 027 \b 0 0098128 \ 212 310 \b 7 032 201 261 } 021 210 0 y 313 D 1 195+0 records in 195+0 records out 99840 bytes (100 kB) copied, 0.0040271 s, 24.8 MB/s I am afraid I did not see anything like what you expected. Finally I tried dd if=/dev/sdj count=195 | od -c -A d | sed '/R\ \ \ e\ \ \ I\ \ \ s\ \ \ E\ \ \ r\ \ \ 2\ \ \ F\ \ \ s/q' root@Tower:~# dd if=/dev/sdj count=195 | od -c -A d | sed '/R e I s E r 2 F s/q' 0000000 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 * 0000448 \0 \0 203 \0 \0 \0 ? \0 \0 \0 q 210 340 350 \0 \0 0000464 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 * 0000496 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 U 252 0000512 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 * 0097792 , 332 c 221 E 016 226 ? 335 e 2 m \n 230 355 W 0097808 311 c E 207 \n 370 U Y 206 374 275 260 D 342 t u 0097824 377 F + 327 b S 223 276 035 334 265 201 Y ^ } 3 0097840 307 332 366 361 364 2 214 > w 234 ] 037 [ X i p 0097856 m 205 Q @ W 255 037 366 275 356 R 310 023 236 321 w 0097872 257 211 % 034 [ 246 214 026 177 + b 325 / 361 242 ' 0097888 c 372 ) 354 \t 257 355 @ Y . s 343 B 310 # v 0097904 331 030 235 304 2 341 274 1 277 320 304 8 ` 254 X 020 0097920 265 a @ * 307 274 u 267 004 004 021 M \b 252 u 214 0097936 s p < 215 345 220 E , 023 4 s 024 002 \b c $ 0097952 b 252 y & 252 306 H 365 025 026 031 005 246 217 ^ \a 0097968 371 | 314 254 c 020 240 021 327 201 s 221 017 Z 303 1 0097984 021 300 354 y \ . ! N n 343 R 021 ] 376 234 . 0098000 027 V n 343 030 004 ] 376 i @ X 333 s P 263 \v 0098016 347 305 372 243 } 267 212 H 5 C 201 301 025 Z \t 0098032 217 304 T 035 351 & U ! 324 021 H 210 U 263 A 244 0098048 003 327 \t B 217 225 001 0 S 227 211 210 M 364 240 227 0098064 277 312 323 J F ` : 001 372 264 370 | 330 033 i 241 0098080 I 8 001 4 031 u 005 / 327 267 Q \t 220 > 325 } 0098096 231 264 232 222 275 F 204 4 250 256 D 225 d 034 002 020 0098112 352 B 343 ) q 215 225 210 315 261 002 025 027 \b 0 0098128 \ 212 310 \b 7 032 201 261 } 021 210 0 y 313 D 1 0098144 \b % 202 L k 347 254 232 335 331 235 3 275 \a 203 \0 0098160 274 375 016 242 m 020 n \0 375 q 341 226 w 210 016 342 0098176 032 E 252 ! 334 017 \b 212 x 0 f o \n \b ) 0098192 m 246 005 244 370 d h 311 t I 027 l 274 A ^ 0098208 @ L Q 245 213 d % > + 270 } 347 220 226 334 327 0098224 ` 353 333 $ 270 363 337 ] 371 z 277 u 350 272 270 9 0098240 s 216 . V I ( 356 330 ' m g 237 340 } 9 232 0098256 237 o 302 314 202 256 ` \0 257 355 304 \t v 0 224 265 0098272 016 376 376 241 ! 003 272 237 230 366 305 304 u 216 241 \f 0098288 e \a 005 004 326 030 361 6 364 324 340 332 \n , 375 210 0098304 243 032 " ! d 326 232 207 331 316 315 p 022 216 [ 202 0098320 310 307 347 203 312 256 , A 323 / / 201 200 030 r ! 0098336 346 306 020 204 l 355 ) 261 V M 374 x 032 032 304 234 0098352 357 036 246 227 \a \n ! 017 } v 300 206 213 ^ 274 264 0098368 D 230 210 1 370 \b ! 217 343 1 214 \0 203 347 361 0098384 t , \a 376 \v 201 206 3 234 006 D 221 306 F 352 $ 0098400 245 257 . F 004 n A 5 315 230 $ 212 330 ^ 261 210 0098416 265 276 R m 206 6 331 020 2 U 361 001 _ 321 o z 0098432 033 6 035 217 z Y 027 V 333 234 \ 264 u y 372 J 0098448 " 344 303 r 033 230 204 256 ? F A / 317 w 254 366 0098464 316 305 267 031 002 M L , 251 N 252 6 @ D 026 $ 0098480 177 x 324 254 x 006 244 320 P \v $ 224 r f @ I 0098496 351 327 \0 224 332 \f 021 B 311 6 I @ 332 \v G 365 0098512 201 \a [ X D 337 E & 342 212 242 213 W ! 027 317 0098528 224 275 022 _ z 353 \t ( @ 242 ? 023 * 025 \n b 0098544 f 025 \0 320 } 024 \0 ! B 6 021 247 215 031 k 312 0098560 303 006 " 211 5 220 n u 332 R \ D 244 265 001 247 0098576 264 C E M \a 035 k 237 \0 242 K J 300 q 3 250 0098592 G 022 022 . 267 312 N 362 h 377 342 350 312 313 220 276 0098608 026 201 260 303 335 241 264 261 266 022 006 a 267 d q i 0098624 017 ! 363 372 a 304 244 236 247 277 Z 367 224 220 G 322 0098640 004 213 375 353 364 270 ( W \n 312 \ 343 E 306 376 177 0098656 341 272 B 321 f ~ 003 032 351 306 017 % < 367 034 017 0098672 002 223 031 C \a 310 307 275 223 340 361 334 0 a 026 p 0098688 r 233 b \f 274 S 4 323 314 366 D 025 003 037 265 250 0098704 213 242 312 212 232 315 305 D g F } 016 f z 223 351 0098720 226 \t 365 275 211 \f 255 \v 325 345 316 ! 274 a Q G 0098736 F 257 035 N ? 361 207 c 251 230 z 245 q y 035 v 0098752 ] 270 221 272 I F 256 . \ 262 245 017 346 236 v C 0098768 I B 036 212 344 ) 277 272 245 - o i 301 [ X \t 0098784 6 351 213 253 365 252 9 327 224 C 035 y 323 + b 364 0098800 9 032 L T 306 K 344 273 374 373 306 275 276 \a ~ 302 0098816 5 r 374 372 207 307 v 374 ! 213 237 336 316 u 324 8 0098832 025 5 325 223 023 252 213 023 8 316 374 177 321 203 x 376 0098848 M ! 242 341 313 277 o I 203 363 224 L 362 347 : 030 0098864 A x 365 324 377 T ' 371 Z 227 207 , 325 364 0098880 224 314 351 266 a < : 277 323 3 235 331 347 204 a w 0098896 002 j H > 243 214 302 241 4 370 \r 321 322 \t 246 035 0098912 p 030 331 307 373 021 214 s y 323 9 [ 027 305 256 i 0098928 314 240 300 @ 312 7 002 O ^ 205 360 254 235 % \t 211 0098944 322 375 367 324 302 211 w 264 243 335 321 w R \r + 276 0098960 - 374 231 274 317 374 / a a K 375 356 243 304 247 H 0098976 H 362 267 235 321 366 ] C 002 N 301 ( 320 ; k h 0098992 270 367 w 234 221 345 317 6 } 363 351 322 032 305 u m 0099008 H 377 215 246 ] 002 / 017 323 314 030 213 ? \n ( 0099024 033 267 343 212 212 304 367 200 331 310 005 275 - | S 237 0099040 1 355 261 C \t 222 327 247 @ 301 i 273 ^ 311 u ; 0099056 d 376 w 206 003 \t 221 261 020 331 P 335 003 \f f 0099072 332 227 212 016 # b P M 354 \a | L V e 035 L 0099088 5 354 343 357 361 m 240 237 N 330 260 D ] 313 > 303 0099104 367 240 002 u q 337 256 250 253 & 2 \ 355 257 K 307 0099120 304 * 232 214 356 327 322 u # P < x 314 271 G 303 0099136 w 304 365 216 021 217 347 257 ? 5 m F > 327 343 ] 0099152 ` 371 \0 V t 221 240 315 035 251 210 270 255 m ( 0099168 003 355 360 207 371 320 303 U 310 } 031 020 b 353 235 325 0099184 ^ 265 n @ 033 202 371 2 245 241 P 372 342 351 1 W 0099200 035 357 025 d $ 327 262 373 = 247 316 X c 310 f \t 0099216 221 217 177 ` 240 250 322 k 236 i 370 f 211 i U 363 0099232 @ 313 214 335 324 307 k 3 u C F i 234 310 Q 253 0099248 267 263 217 343 j I \f . < 204 353 220 l h 355 ; 0099264 351 277 3 275 006 214 324 263 002 3 255 243 > 362 317 334 0099280 021 \ U i 230 # 352 264 , m 306 020 274 204 246 O 0099296 026 206 q 371 # 022 230 343 \v 004 215 214 E C 224 376 0099312 366 W 031 374 036 002 264 215 016 a 374 337 p 240 027 ; 0099328 035 k 375 364 317 256 8 b = 0 337 214 360 [ 375 373 0099344 230 N > 203 364 R 274 257 355 B { I 203 270 373 332 0099360 265 031 332 b 325 214 357 272 I \t m 031 $ 5 273 B 0099376 @ 300 001 f h \f A 252 \r 243 v 327 t 326 5 352 0099392 205 353 366 223 025 277 351 " 207 003 " 203 F 6 323 314 0099408 ( 331 216 232 A [ F 253 205 365 004 Z z 244 225 9 0099424 X 177 _ 205 264 244 W L T 340 204 033 376 i 252 006 0099440 351 . 022 T @ 251 260 \n 231 370 021 ( 332 273 ? ; 0099456 2 245 9 H 7 240 255 F 354 i 334 375 314 301 265 302 0099472 247 241 331 363 x 215 247 327 323 307 351 313 335 1 % s 0099488 234 1 + 327 302 ? 247 ( u $ 360 \a 006 221 017 333 0099504 003 232 z 277 } s 002 w 251 367 310 033 4 201 R 273 0099520 226 e 357 \t # 177 223 q \ 313 351 255 6 323 351 \ 0099536 214 ) l & 342 ; 254 - 243 372 { 301 333 354 \f V 0099552 202 265 C / 211 g " 374 177 < 202 026 205 271 347 253 0099568 A \r ] 022 207 335 365 314 025 337 1 266 247 373 303 321 0099584 ~ 372 # q \f 016 216 u < 207 002 \ 302 x 345 - 0099600 S 316 335 235 344 q v , 300 S < 371 316 335 345 s 0099616 324 276 325 267 363 254 023 , i 257 236 330 n c 352 341 0099632 331 S 313 343 376 B ~ 365 245 305 332 I 203 374 I \a 0099648 361 p = \b \n K 246 017 375 022 0 @ \ 002 324 d 0099664 $ 204 1 - W 324 A 326 ? 215 < ? 025 v S 213 0099680 250 024 023 023 017 d 333 223 / 333 i 327 207 " 363 \r 0099696 R 025 v 343 6 002 , 020 334 \ 231 326 ) 025 316 360 0099712 \t = 362 234 035 \n 277 Y 366 325 M 365 P 346 016 0099728 * w 8 [ 372 s @ U x 202 213 247 [ k 022 021 0099744 311 221 235 024 246 216 = L 370 360 324 316 S 256 n 325 0099760 003 244 035 3 J 232 y 026 311 ; 310 254 N b @ 220 0099776 [ A 027 8 370 221 247 236 036 o & V 217 } 031 275 0099792 255 + 367 206 326 x 001 001 7 L a 253 367 345 : 336 0099808 z > < 355 s 315 313 321 304 325 v 300 255 312 & 0099824 346 221 K f . , 306 ? I \v 210 006 \b N \a z 0099840 195+0 records in 195+0 records out 99840 bytes (100 kB) copied, 0.00459505 s, 21.7 MB/s Nothing here too, I think (certainly not on 097840 or 0098352) Does this help you help me? (Because it does not help me )

Hi again, just finished rebuilding. All drives have a green ball and the array is running but the drive in question is still showing unformatted and is not mounted. Doing a file system check I get: Sorry, no file system detected on /dev/md9 Have I lost the data? I have a spare HD of th same size. Should I replace the problematic drive and rebuild or there is no point to it now? Any help would be appreciated.... syslog-2012-11-8.txt

Hi everybody, a disk of my array got red ballled. i checked the smart report and it is healthy and I am pretty certain it is a cable problem. Since I was writing to the disk at the time, I though it would be safer if I rebuilt it and that is what I am doing now (I am at 2%). Should I worry that the disk in saying unformatted? It also shows as DISK_INVALID in unmenu and unmounted. Thanks in advance

Hi NAS I was wondering if you have found a solution. I seem to have a similar problem with you. After I used mc, my previously funtional cache_dirs command: cache_dirs -d 2 -m 3 -M 4 -w -F never stops. I even tried to decrease the depth but to no avail. I wonder if you have found a solution. PS: I have 2.5GB of ram (and 1.5 GB seem to be free) and i am using cache_dirs 1.6.5. i also get this: Executed find in 838.856452 seconds, weighted avg=841.972656 seconds, now sleeping 4 seconds which I know is normal but I thought it was supposed to start after cache_dirs has fully scanned my disks

UPDATE: The new 5.0-rc10 version fixed the NIC driver problem. Now everything works fine Hi everyone So, I decided to upgrade from 4.7 to 5 rc8a. I followed the instructions and it boots alright (actually, faster than the older version). I can login locally. The problem is that I cannot connect remotely. I tried ifconfig eth0 and I get the response that there is no such device. Could it be that the drivers of my NIC are not included in the distribution? (it is an onboard NIC, according to the Mobo's site, it is a Realtek® 8110SB LAN chipset). Or could it be a completely different problem? Btw, I reverted to 4.7 and it works fine, 'ifconfig eth0' shows a NIC too. I appreciate any help syslog_29-10-2012.txt

Thanks everyone for your answers. I use Samba not NFS, so it looks like I am good to go. I have not used SimpleFeatures since it seems to be new and Unraid5-specific. Does it perform all unMenu functions or are both addons complementary? I know I will find soon enough but I can't wait

Hi everyone I have been using UnRaid for 2-3 years but during the last year I had to abandon it because of some personal reasons. At that time I was using UnRaid 4.7 and UnRaid 5 was still in a more primitive form. Now, I want to move to UnRaid 5 (mainly for the 3Tb HDs but also just because I need to upgrade stuff now and then ) but since I have missed a lot I would like some help and info. So, here it goes: [*]Is UnRaid 5 safe for use? This is my main concern. (I mean, is there a chance of data corruption, assuming, of course, that I do not deviate from the upgrade instructions) [*]Should I use v5.0-rc8a or is an earlier version more stable? [*]I have unMenu, cache_dirs and various packages installed. if I change the go script just by commenting the 3 lines that invoke them, would that be enough? [*]After I reboot and check that everything works fine, is it OK to uncomment the previous lines? Or would it be better if I completely removed the extra packages and reinstalled them from scratch? Thanks in advance

I performed two non-corrective parity chacks. Both found 373 errors. I found those messages in the syslog. They existed in both parity checks and they are identical: Oct 18 21:19:00 Tower kernel: md: parity incorrect: 1856549616 Oct 18 21:59:18 Tower kernel: md: parity incorrect: 2013348976 Oct 18 21:59:18 Tower kernel: md: parity incorrect: 2013348984 Oct 18 21:59:18 Tower kernel: md: parity incorrect: 2013348992 Oct 18 21:59:18 Tower kernel: md: parity incorrect: 2013349000 Oct 18 21:59:18 Tower kernel: md: parity incorrect: 2013349008 Oct 18 21:59:18 Tower kernel: md: parity incorrect: 2013349016 Oct 18 21:59:18 Tower kernel: md: parity incorrect: 2013349024 Oct 18 21:59:18 Tower kernel: md: parity incorrect: 2013349032 Oct 18 21:59:18 Tower kernel: md: parity incorrect: 2013349040 Oct 18 21:59:18 Tower kernel: md: parity incorrect: 2013349048 Oct 18 21:59:18 Tower kernel: md: parity incorrect: 2013349056 Oct 18 21:59:18 Tower kernel: md: parity incorrect: 2013349064 Oct 18 21:59:18 Tower kernel: md: parity incorrect: 2013349072 Oct 18 21:59:18 Tower kernel: md: parity incorrect: 2013349080 Oct 18 21:59:18 Tower kernel: md: parity incorrect: 2013349088 Oct 18 21:59:18 Tower kernel: md: parity incorrect: 2013349096 Oct 18 21:59:18 Tower kernel: md: parity incorrect: 2013349104 Oct 18 21:59:18 Tower kernel: md: parity incorrect: 2013349112 Oct 18 21:59:18 Tower kernel: md: parity incorrect: 2013349120 I don't know what the fact that those numbers are clustered means (if they represent bits, maybe I bumped my server at the moment this part was being written, or there was a small power fluctuation). But shouldn't I find 373 such messages? (again, assuming the numbers represent bits).

pity. I guess it would also be useful, once an error is found to be checked for a 2nd time. This way it would verify or eliminate the possibility of the error being due to bad memory or faulty power, wouldn't it? I just finished a second parity test. there appears to be the same number of mistakes. That probably indicates it is not an artifact of some faulty component. I will still run memtest but I ran it recently and everything was OK. SMART reports no problems. Assuming that memtest shows no problems too, should I proceed to fixing the parity errors?

Hello everybody I have been away from my UnRaid Server for almost a year thanks to some personal problems. I recently managed to restart it and the first thing I did was to do a parity check (without correction). Unfortunately, up to now (75%), i have about 400 sync errors. Since I never had so many, I will have to check what is causing the problems. I guess I have to follow the instructions from here: http://lime-technology.com/wiki/index.php/FAQ#Why_am_I_getting_repeated_parity_errors.3F (memtest, smart reports for all disks, reiserfsck for all disks) But I was wondering: when there is a sync error, there is either a problem with a data drive or with the parity drive. The only way to be absolutely sure is to check if the respective stored files are ok. Is there a way (a tool maybe?) to pinpoint the files on each disk that correspond to each parity error? For example if there is a parity error on bit 345666567: 1.find the files on each of my 12 disks that contain this bit. 2. check if said files work. 3a. If they work the problem is on the parity drive and I just need to run a new parity check with sync correction 3b. If there is a problem with a specific drive, files on this drive will be problematic. I pose this question because I cannot think of a way one can be sure that everything is OK when fixing parity errors. It could just mean the perpetuation of errors in data disks. Thanks in advance for any answers

thing is, most of the market wont do any kind of testing. unraid is a small niche of people who will do that but most common people wont test the hard drive. most shops that will sell you a custom pc wont do any testing either. Also, fixing the drives might cost but, in the long run, replacing them could cost more (although i guess they estimate that).

Looks good ya? Took a while Elapsed Time: 74:50:01 seems ok to me. but 3 days? it takes 25-30hrs for a 2TB WD EARS in my pc (and it is quite old, sata I - not that it makes any much difference) when nothing else is running

come to think of it now, isnt that supposed to be one of the seagate drives that cave to have their firmware update because of the "click of death" issue? If it came with the old firmware, that might be your problem. I hope you now understand how important and useful preclear is, Joe (just kidding)

larson might have a point. although i could not think of a practical solution, i have a possible conspiracy theory explanation: is it possible that this drive has been actually used before, returned and then sent again as new? that would explain your problems...

There generally seems to be a problem with EARS and unraid. i have noticed that many-many times in the forums. i, personally, had problems with 2 EARS drives (fresh from the box and jumpered). they would get stuck always at the same point of preclear. i tried unjumpering, i performed extensive smart and factory tests, i even tried SpinRite and they showed no errors. But they lock in unraid (at least in preclear). Obviously, i did not want to risk it so i RMA'd them....

i assume the system crashed so you had to restart. the drive wont be listed in the webgui anyways since it is not part of the array. you should be able to see it in Joe's unMenu or if you connect with telnet. if you still cannot see it there, i would guess, that the drive is either faulty or your sata cable should be resitted. to be sure, check if you can see it through the BIOS.

Joe, i hope you are not implying that you have created regular expressions to automatically answer to our posts. Even you cannot be THAT good?

this seems hardware related. Have you tried a memtest?

Hi Joe I was trying to preclear an EARS 2T and i got the same error i have had with the same type of disk some time ago: it stoped at a point during preread and when i try again to precleal i get the message: /boot/preclear_disk.sh: line 550: 1+( 2556951756)%() : syntax error: operand expected (error token is ") ") Would you happen to have an update as to why this error occurs? is it preclear-related or would i have had the same kind of problem if i had put it straight to the array? PS:I have two other 2Tb EARS HDDs that were precleared with no problems...

Userpaul, it seems your rig has created a lot of envy which 8 port sata cards are you using? I myself am using the saslp-mv8 and they get quite hot. so, i was wondering where you got those fans that fit underneath the saslp? UPDATE: i found some in amazon.co.uk ( i live in europe using keywords: pci + fan) http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=pci+fan&x=0&y=0 So i am just wondering if yours is silent? if yes i would rather buy the same type as yours than a fan about which i know nothing... I have the same cards as you I bought mine from the local Maplin store just up the road (impulse purchase). Whilst I was preclearing my HDD's I noticed that the saslp-mv8 cards got very very hot so I had a fan propped on the psu cooling them down. These are the fans. http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=28679 Both fans are controlled with the Skythe fan speed controller and I have a temp sensor on each card. The fans reduce the temps of the cards by around 20 C The advantage of having the fans managed by the Skythe controller is I can strike a balance between fan speed and noise level. I plan to install a small fan onto the heatsink and I am currently looking at kits to do that. thanx for the info unfortunately this creates more questions (at least to me): 1. the temp sensor is something that comes with the fan speed controller or something you bought separately? 2. i have never had a fan controller but i was thinking of buying one. How does it work? does it provide power straight to the fan thus working like a dimmer?

Userpaul, it seems your rig has created a lot of envy which 8 port sata cards are you using? I myself am using the saslp-mv8 and they get quite hot. so, i was wondering where you got those fans that fit underneath the saslp? UPDATE: i found some in amazon.co.uk ( i live in europe using keywords: pci + fan) http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=pci+fan&x=0&y=0 So i am just wondering if yours is silent? if yes i would rather buy the same type as yours than a fan about which i know nothing...

Yes, you can

@Tom899 & MvL: You can preclear up to 6 disk simultaneously (according to Joe, I myself have only tried 2 simultaneously). Also, whenever you use a remote connection to preclear, it would be very useful to use 'screen'. otherwise, if the remote session (e.g. putty) ends, your preclear will stop and you would have to start from scratch (I imagine it will be more annoying if it happens while preclearing many HDs simultaneously)

Hi, I bought an EARS 2TB few days ago and run preclear These were the results i got: root@Tower:~# screen -r 6946 = Step 1 of 10 - Copying zeros to first 2048k bytes DONE = Step 2 of 10 - Copying zeros to remainder of disk to clear it DONE = Step 3 of 10 - Disk is now cleared from MBR onward. DONE = Step 4 of 10 - Clearing MBR bytes for partition 2,3 & 4 DONE = Step 5 of 10 - Clearing MBR code area DONE = Step 6 of 10 - Setting MBR signature bytes DONE = Step 7 of 10 - Setting partition 1 to precleared state DONE = Step 8 of 10 - Notifying kernel we changed the partitioning DONE = Step 9 of 10 - Creating the /dev/disk/by* entries DONE = Step 10 of 10 - Testing if the clear has been successful. DONE = Disk Post-Clear-Read completed DONE Disk Temperature: 30C, Elapsed Time: 27:56:04 ============================================================================ == == Disk /dev/sdc has been successfully precleared == ============================================================================ S.M.A.R.T. error count differences detected after pre-clear note, some 'raw' values may change, but not be an indication of a problem 19,20c19,20 < Offline data collection status: (0x80) Offline data collection activity < was never started. --- > Offline data collection status: (0x84) Offline data collection activity > was suspended by an interrupting command from host. 54c54 < 1 Raw_Read_Error_Rate 0x002f 100 253 051 Pre-fail Always - 0 --- > 1 Raw_Read_Error_Rate 0x002f 200 200 051 Pre-fail Always - 0 58c58 < 7 Seek_Error_Rate 0x002e 100 253 000 Old_age Always - 0 --- > 7 Seek_Error_Rate 0x002e 200 200 000 Old_age Always - 0 63c63 < 193 Load_Cycle_Count 0x0032 200 200 000 Old_age Always - 11 --- > 193 Load_Cycle_Count 0x0032 200 200 000 Old_age Always - 12 67c67 < 199 UDMA_CRC_Error_Count 0x0032 200 253 000 Old_age Always - 0 --- > 199 UDMA_CRC_Error_Count 0x0032 200 200 000 Old_age Always - 0 ============================================================================ Having had some problems with an EARS few weeks ago i decided to run preclear a second time, just to be sure. I have been away for some time and when i came back i reconnected using screen. I guess preclear was over and i saw this screen: > Conveyance self-test routine > recommended polling time: ( 5) minutes. > SCT capabilities: (0x3035) SCT Status supported. > SCT Feature Control supported. > SCT Data Table supported. > > SMART Attributes Data Structure revision number: 16 > Vendor Specific SMART Attributes with Thresholds: > ID# ATTRIBUTE_NAME FLAG VALUE WORST THRESH TYPE UPDATED WHEN_FAILED RAW_VALUE > 1 Raw_Read_Error_Rate 0x002f 200 200 051 Pre-fail Always - 0 > 3 Spin_Up_Time 0x0027 253 253 021 Pre-fail Always - 1091 > 4 Start_Stop_Count 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 10 > 5 Reallocated_Sector_Ct 0x0033 200 200 140 Pre-fail Always - 0 > 7 Seek_Error_Rate 0x002e 200 200 000 Old_age Always - 0 > 10 Spin_Retry_Count 0x0032 100 253 000 Old_age Always - 0 > 11 Calibration_Retry_Count 0x0032 100 253 000 Old_age Always - 0 > 12 Power_Cycle_Count 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 8 > 192 Power-Off_Retract_Count 0x0032 200 200 000 Old_age Always - 7 > 193 Load_Cycle_Count 0x0032 200 200 000 Old_age Always - 15 > 196 Reallocated_Event_Count 0x0032 200 200 000 Old_age Always - 0 > 197 Current_Pending_Sector 0x0032 200 200 000 Old_age Always - 0 > 198 Offline_Uncorrectable 0x0030 100 253 000 Old_age Offline - 0 > 199 UDMA_CRC_Error_Count 0x0032 200 200 000 Old_age Always - 0 > 200 Multi_Zone_Error_Rate 0x0008 100 253 000 Old_age Offline - 0 > > SMART Error Log Version: 1 > No Errors Logged > > SMART Self-test log structure revision number 1 > No self-tests have been logged. [To run self-tests, use: smartctl -t] > > > 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. > ============================================================================ So, what does that mean? Could preclear, have stoped abruptly?