So my parity drive failed...WD EARX 2TB.  Disk Invalid...I can't run a smart report as it says /dev/sde failed - no such device.  If I power cycle my Tower the drive is available, I can run the short smart test and get results that say it passed.  Before bed I started the long smart test and when I woke up I clicked to get the report and it said /dev/sde failed no such device.  Syslog attached.

 

Any suggestions...should I pull the drive and run WD diagnostics on the drive from a windows machine?  The drive is under warranty until 06/2014.

 

In the mean time I feel like I need to purchase a replacement.  I went to the hardware list and many of the recommended drives are no longer available.  What are people recommending for parity drives? 

I got a newegg deal this morning for this drive for $79 with a promo code:

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=22-148-834&nm_mc=EMC-GD082813&cm_mmc=EMC-GD082813-_-index-_-Item-_-22-148-834&

 

Thanks,

 

Dan

syslog-2013-08-28.zip

It's possible you simply have a loose cable -- did you re-seat all of the connections to your parity drive (SATA cable, power cable, and -- if it's in a hot-swap cage - the drive itself) ??

 

If that doesn't resolve it, then Yes, you absolutely want to replace it as quickly as possible.

 

I always recommend NAS-quality drives for their higher designed duty cycle [either enterprise drives; or a WD Red or Seagate NAS] ... especially for the parity drive ==> but the drive you've already ordered is okay.

 

Unfortunately you're limited to a 2TB drive, since you're still on version 4.  Otherwise, I'd suggest getting a larger parity drive so you could use larger drives for future expansion.

 

But the key thing is to get the parity drive replaced so you're not running "at risk" any longer than necessary.

 

... by the way, since the failed drive is your parity drive, another option would be to simply update your flash drive to v5RC16c;  boot to it; do a "New Config";  assign all of your data drives; and THEN assign your new parity drive.

 

That isn't a bad idea regardless, but what it would also let you do is buy a larger parity drive (3 or 4 TB).   

I agree with garycase on looking at this event as an opportunity to update to v5RC16c. Of course before updating, backup the contents of your flash drive just to be on the safe side. 

I did plug and unplug the parity drive cable...I even moved it to the other breakout cable on the AOC SAS 8mv.  I performed all of the tests in my original post and got the same results.

 

I did not order my replacement drive yet...so a larger drive is still an option.  To be honest I have not followed the threads on version 5 of unraid...I have been waiting for it to be final before upgrading. 

 

Based on your post I see it is labeled as a release candidate...since time is of the essence...is it your opinion that it is stable enough to make the transition to version 5.  Are there any compatibility issues with the Supermicro C2SEE motherboard with Realtek RTL8111C ethernet, intel celeron 1200 cpu or the Supermicro AOC SAS 8mv?

 

Thanks,

 

Dan

 

 

Started looking at unraid 5RC16c...it looks like it is considered stable. 

 

I can't seem to find any deals on a 3 TB NAS drive...not sure what I am going to do...the seagate deal in my first post is good...I have a need for a 2TB drive for off site backup of photos, etc...Maybe I'll buy the drive in my first post and use it as a parity drive until I can find a deal on a 3 TB NAS drive.

 

Dan

Started looking at unraid 5RC16c...it looks like it is considered stable.

If anything it is probably more stable than 4.7! 

 

As far as your hardware is concerned the obvious thing is to simply check it out by upgrading the USB stick and see if everything is recognised.    If you first make a backup of the current contents of your USB stick you can always revert if any issue arises.

I think you should try loading up the v5rc16c on another USB drive and see it there's any issues with your hardware. I'm guessing since you have the "unofficial" 4.7 mobo you'll be OK. I'll assume Tom tests the newer builds against his older "supported" hardware.

 

It's been noted here that if you run into a boot problem you can use use a 4.7 boot image and "update" it with v5rc16c components. It has to do with syslinux that ships with v5rc16c doesn't work with some older BIOS.'

http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=28547.msg254068#msg254068 There are a couple of different ways to approach it, but essentially you would use the older boot loader.

 

I know there's a bit more to it than just getting the new version of unRAID to see your hardware. It seems like there's been enough people posting after they've upgraded from 4.7 to validate this current "RC" being final.

 

I hope it works for you!

As you've probably noticed, v5.0 was posted today, so it's now the "stable" release -- no longer a "candidate".

 

UnRAID v4.7 had an early version of support for your SAS card, so I have to agree with the others about upgrading to v5.0 for the improved SAS support.  The SAS error handling in your syslog is rather frustrating, cryptic about the actual issues, but it is clear about dropping both your Parity drive (at Aug 27 23:40:52) AND Disk 8 (at Aug 27 23:47:21).  The Parity drive was on the SAS card, and I cannot tell anything about why it was dropped.  Disk 8 was on the motherboard, so it's using the standard exception handler.  Unfortunately, it's not clear either why it was dropped, but it *might* have been either a power issue or it jiggled loose.  Since it says the SATA link was down, and stayed down, it looks like the drive lost power.

 

In neither case is there any evidence that there is an actual problem with the drives.  There might be, but there are no actual drive errors, so you CANNOT conclude there is anything at all wrong with either drive.  I would obtain SMART reports for both, when you can, and verify the drives are fine.  You might check all of the connections to Disk 8, make sure everything is tight.

 

I do have one recommendation, I see ata_piix being used, which usually means that in your BIOS SATA settings, you have SATA mode set to IDE emulation.  I strongly urge you to change that to a native SATA mode, preferably AHCI, anything but an IDE emulation mode.  It should be slightly faster, and a little safer.