ASUS P5PE-VM with Promise SATA controller: Who's is working?


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I'm game.

 

Current configuration:

 

Case:              S411 19" 4U Rackmount Case

Drive Cage:      Twin SATA Backplanes (one with four drives, one unpopulated)

Power Supply:  Enermax NoiseTaker II 600W

Motherboard:    Asus P5PE-VM

CPU:                Intel Celeron D 2.53Ghz

Memory:          1GB of Corsair DDR400 memory (two 512MB sticks)

Controller:        Promise SATA300 TX4 (one in use, one unpopulated)

Hard Drive:        Seagate 500GB 7K 16MB SATA2 (four)

Flash Drive:        Sony Microvault Tiny 512MB

UPS:                Belkin 1500VA

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Hi BillK,

 

So to clarify, you have 4 seagate 500G drives connected to a Promise TX4.  Have you ever had any read errors while writing large blocks of data to the TX4 (like 50G)?  I've gone through 2 of these cards, about 5 drives, 2 motherboards and 2 powersupplies, but I continue to reliably get read errors on drives attached to the TX4.... I'm trying to see if it is some kind of a compatibility issue.

 

The only difference is that I have Western Digital drives (500G).

 

-Greg 

 

 

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Correct, although now I've added two Western Digital 250GB IDE drives to the mix (for a total of six drives).

 

Yes, but not nearly as many as you.  When I first fired up my unRAID server and moved the bulk of my video/photographic/program files over from my PC (~400GB), I did see a single read error on both the parity and data drive http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=434.0.  I figured I had a high quality power supply (a Enermax NoiseTaker II 600W unit) based on Tom's recommendations in other parts of the forums, so I focused on replacing my existing SATA cables (i.e., that came with my drives) with the ones supplied by Promise (i.e., the ones with the metal clips at both ends to help provide a "secure" connection).  So far, so good.  I do have a second Promise card, but haven't had the opportunity to stress test it yet, so I'll keep my fingers crossed.

 

Sorry you've been having such problems.  What type (& size) power supply are you using?

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As far as your motherboard and Promise card, did you update anything on them, or are you using them out of the box?

 

I used them straight out of the box.

 

Also, my Promise card cables don't have any metal clips on the ends....

 

I stand corrected.  I went back and double-checked one of the packages from Newegg and the cables from Promise don't have metal clips.  They must have come with the SATA backplanes (i.e., the hot-swap, plug & play, four SATA drives in the space of three 5 1/4" drive bays aluminum racks) I purchased.

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  • 2 weeks later...

BillK,

 

I'm now on my 3rd promise controller card... and my second ASUS motherboard.  I continue to get spurious read errors when writing to any drive attached to the Promise SATA TX4.  The only thing I can think of is that there is a compatibility issue between my drives (Western Digital 500G SATA) and the Promise card.  As far as I can tell, that is the only difference between my setup and yours (i.e. you are using Seagates).

 

... And the fact that you are using different SATA cables.  I am using the cables that came with the TX4.

 

Any thoughts?

 

-Greg

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Knock on wood, I haven't seen a single read (or write) error since my initial setup.  Sorry you aren't experiencing the same.

 

First, are the read errors occurring all on one drive or scattered evenly across the drives?  The former would indicate a bad drive or cable.  The latter to some type of incompatibliity (since you've already swapped out cards) or power supply issue.

 

As to "what's next", I'd recommend purchasing a few high quality SATA cables and see if that makes a difference.

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Hi,

 

I have read Wannatheater's  post here and other places and it sounds like a power problem. When so many others are using the same equipment without such difficulties, its time to look out of the "CASE". This with the presumption that all connectors in the case have been thoroughly checked.

 

Are you conditioning your power before your PS? Have you checked your actual voltage out of the wall outlet? What condition is the outlet in? I have found loose AC connections at the circuit breakers, outlets and outlet & switch connections upstream, which have caused strange electronic events. It is important, for unRaid as it is for your theater equipment, to provide stable AC. Even  power conditioners and/or UPSs  may not be able to overcome a bad connection. How many devices and what types of devices share your server's AC circuit? I have seen refrigerators on circuits used for HT!! You would never know, unless you identified all of your circuits by turning them off on at a time.

 

It maybe a wild goose chase, but the process of elimination can be very powerful. I would identify your server's circuit breaker, turn it off and check the tightness of the wire terminal and then replace the outlet which serves the unRaid. A good quality outlet is only 8-10 dollars. The key is to make sure your connections are tight. Minimally, eliminate all heating or motorized devices which may share the circuit.

 

The best policy for servers and High End electronics is to run  isolated / dedicated home run circuits originating from your AC panel and directly to the outlets serving this equipment. Meaning, the Ground, Neutral and Hot wires never branch or share from origination in the Panel to the HT/unRaid serving outlet(s). This eliminates noise from shared grounds, neutrals and hots. This is a spec CISCO makes of its Server systems.  I do this, and have never had a failure. Lately I have also incorporated Brickwall power conditioners.

 

Also, to iterate what others have said, upgrade your drive cables, PATA and SATA!

 

I hope somewhere along the line you find the problem - Do the cheap things first.

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

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