Question about running multiple pre-clear passes

[UhClem]

Thanks. I'll assume 512B.

 

Looks like I have to dig into the kernel. (If you want to get to the bottom of something, you have to go to the bottom.)

 

[The last time I was in the bowels of a Unix kernel, gasoline was less than $.50/gal]

 

--UhClem

 

[WeeboTech]

Thanks. I'll assume 512B.

 

Looks like I have to dig into the kernel. (If you want to get to the bottom of something, you have to go to the bottom.)

 

[The last time I was in the bowels of a Unix kernel, gasoline was less than $.50/gal]

 

--UhClem

 

 

You're revealing your age on that one! LOL!

[bman]

use badblocks.

 

in destructive write mode it does what a preclear does, but with 4 passes with 4 different patterns.

0xaa = 01010101

0x55 = 10101010

0xff  = 11111111

0x00 = 00000000

 

If you do the -o /tmp/badblocks.out it will log what bad blocks it found. Then you will know if the drive is safe to use or not.

 

There is also the non destructive read/write/read/write mode. This one really works out the drive and it's slow. > 120 hours for a 2TB drive.

 

I had never heard of badblocks before, but I will now attempt to work out a 320GB cache drive that has recently been sent to bad sector threshold error stages.  Maybe it'll rework the guts better so it won't complain so much?  Or it will fail miserably and I'll know I done right by swapping it out.

 

Seems like badblocks plus a final preclear stage could be just the thing to ferret out bad drives before I lose my family photos.

[WeeboTech]

use badblocks.

 

in destructive write mode it does what a preclear does, but with 4 passes with 4 different patterns.

0xaa = 01010101

0x55 = 10101010

0xff  = 11111111

0x00 = 00000000

 

If you do the -o /tmp/badblocks.out it will log what bad blocks it found. Then you will know if the drive is safe to use or not.

 

There is also the non destructive read/write/read/write mode. This one really works out the drive and it's slow. > 120 hours for a 2TB drive.

 

I had never heard of badblocks before, but I will now attempt to work out a 320GB cache drive that has recently been sent to bad sector threshold error stages.  Maybe it'll rework the guts better so it won't complain so much?  Or it will fail miserably and I'll know I done right by swapping it out.

 

Seems like badblocks plus a final preclear stage could be just the thing to ferret out bad drives before I lose my family photos.

 

I'm finding it to be a good tool to exercise and weed out bad drives.

I got a whole box of drives recently and I'm able to weed out the ones that are going to give me trouble.