"E.L. Meijer \(Eric\)" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Make backups quickly! I have seen this kind of messages three times > now, and each time they came from a dying hard disk. Especially the > fact that it occurs at decreasing intervals is alarming. Try to > backup > valuable data first, and then do a fsck on the disk. If you find a > lot > of errors, it is almost certain the disk is failing. > > The problem could also be in the hard disk controller or the > motherboard. Maybe reseating the connectors helps.
About 18 months ago I upgraded my hard drive and was plagued with these messages. I got a Quantum Bigfoot and ended up taking it back and swapping it for something else. To cut a long story short, I went through a few drives before I found one which did not exhibit the errors. I still don't really know what caused the problem. I have seen *many* postings about it on the 'net and no real answers. I suppose people don't usually try half a dozen disk drives and log the problems encountered with each. I do suspect it does not necessarily mean a failing drive since it occurs with brand new drives too. Have a look at whether you are using Ultra DMA and try disabling it. I have had few problems with drives bought in the last year - my current drive, a Quantum Fireball EX 6.4 GB, has behaved flawlessly. Maybe it is the interaction between motherboard and hard drive? -- Phillip Deackes Debian Linux (Potato)
