IDE controller problems

[greven79]

Hi.

I'm having problems with my ide controller.

I have a Shuttle av61 mobo with a VIA VT82C596B south bridge. I've read thet there are problems with this chip but can't figure out any solution.

As soon as I switch on DMA I get lots of:

hda: dma_intr: status=0x51 { DriveReady SeekComplete Error }
hda: dma_intr: error=0x84 { DriveStatusError BadCRC }

I have tried to compile a new 2.4.22 kernel (earlier 2.4.20). But I get eaven more of these errors then.

Anyone have any suggestion what to do.

[greven79]

I've searched posted and mailed about this problem but still no solution =(

[JusKickNit]

I had that problem until i put in a new ide cable. Might check that out?

[mrBen]

Sounds like it is not communicating with the drive properly. JusKickNit's suggestion is a good one - DMA does not always work properly with the default cables that come with machines - you should make sure that you get an 80-core DMA cable.

[dysharmonic]

40 wire = ATA 33
80 wire = ATA 66/100/133

[Satanic Atheist]

I had a very similar problem, but I don't think this is likely to help you.

My old hard drive was stuffed, with constant read-errors and really got screwy on times. Checking the logs after a problem, I had the Drive Not Ready and Seek Error messages cropping up all the time.

Just as the others said:

Are you using a UDMA66 cable or the (old) UDMA33 cable?

If you don't have a newer cable, you may be able to find a piece of software for your drive on the net that will allow it to be switched down (didn't help me, and I had a Quantum Fireball which had this utility).

James

[mdwatts]

From the kernel source documentation...


CONFIG_IDEDISK_MULTI_MODE:=y
If you get this error, try to say Y here:

hda: set_multmode: status=0x51 { DriveReady SeekComplete Error }
hda: set_multmode: error=0x04 { DriveStatusError }


Searching the JL forums for 'DriveReady SeekComplete Error' will also find other threads on the same problem.

Try using hdparm to enable MultiMode.

[greven79]

I have enabled multimode when I compiled the kernel.

I have an 80-pin cable on channel 1 and a 40-pin on channel 2. I'll try with another cable when I get home.

[DMR]

When checking out the cabling, remember that the 80-wire cables do have an orientation to them- one of the connectors should be marked in some way, and that connector needs to be plugged into the controller. If the cable is reversed you won't get the proper grounding needed for stable operation at the higher speeds.

[greven79]

I checked the cables and ther are ok.

After putting an 80-pin cable my secondary disk does dma without a problem.

So it seems that it is my root drive (IBM-DPTA-372050) that has problems with dma.

[DMR]

There are different modes for drive parameters such as pio, DMA, and ULTRA-DMA. Perhaps the system is trying to "talk" to the IBM drive at a mode higher than the drive supports.

Read up on the "hdparm" program; it can test (and set) drive parameters. I'm away from my Linux boxen right now, so I can't offer more info on hdparm at the moment.

[DMR]

Also- I'm moving this to the Hardware Forum, as it seems better fitted to that area.

:)

[implant24]

I've got the same problem with my PC. I've installed a new motherbord (Abit NF7) with 2 Western Digital HD (Identical 80GB model).

I've also tried several distributions,
SuSE 8.2 crashed completly where as Red Hat 9 And mandrake both report the SeakRead error thats mentioned in this thred.

I've also got XP home installed on one drive so i booted into XP and checked too only not very much detail there (theres a supprise).

I've tried replacing the cable with a new one and i still get the problem.

The only way i've managed to solve the problem is to take a drive out. now when i want to switch between XP and Linux i have to open up a pc swap the drives.

I wander if my drives just don;t like being slave drives.

I thought about putting them on seperate IDE channels but if i put my cd burner or DVD player on the same IDE channel as my drive then won't that stop UDMA alltogether?

any comment or suggestions

My only other alternative is to save up for a cheap laptop £400 from Dabs.com and use that for linux

[mrBen]

Originally posted by greven79
I checked the cables and ther are ok.

After putting an 80-pin cable my secondary disk does dma without a problem.

So it seems that it is my root drive (IBM-DPTA-372050) that has problems with dma.

OK - few more pointers:

1. As mentioned above, double check that the cable is the correct way round - usually there is a blue plug that goes to the motherboard, a black one for the master, and a grey one for the slave. They must be put in the correct way.

2. Check the jumpers for the drives, to ensure that they are setup correctly. In the case of the IBM drive the settings are as follows:

Master= |::| Slave=::||

where you look at the jumpers from the back, with the power cable to the right.

If the jumpers are set incorrectly, then you might experience some loss of performance.

3. Test your IBM drive with the DFT (Drive Fitness Test) tool from here (http://www.hgst.com/hdd/support/download.htm).
Also on that page is the Feature Tool, which you can use to check that the full DMA settings have been enabled.

4. In response to the other query above, DMA will only go as fast as the slowest item within the connections, where the items are controller, master and slave. (ie to run at UDMA-100, you need to have a UDMA100 controller and 2 UDMA 100 drives)


HTH

[greven79]

I have checked the cable and it is ok. I also tried another cable.

I ran a lot of tests with drive fitnes test and according to it the drive is ok. I will check it out again to make sure.

I have managed to get i running in MDMA2 without problems. So now its only a little bit slower than UDMA.

[DMR]

Originally posted by greven79
I have managed to get i running in MDMA2 without problems. That might be the highest mode the drive supports (I never could find the exact specs for the drive).

[mdwatts]

What command options are you using for hdparm? Have you set '-m' for multimode (I believe that is the correct option for mm).

I have

hda: -q -X69 -d1 -u1 -m16 -c3 -A1 -a24 -k1

hdc: -q -c1 -d1

in /etc/hdparm.conf for my HD (hda) and dvd (hdc).

[mrBen]

The specs are at http://www.hgst.com/hdd/desk/ds34gxp.htm

It's a UDMA/66 drive.